INLAND NAVIGATION.

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men of the neighbourhood of them have had interest enough in the na-vigation board to get a part only voted; and from the variety of undertak-ings going on at the fame time, all are, for the fame reason, incomplete.The advantage to the public has been more trifling from all, than from asingle one finished. Sorry I am to say, that a history of public worksin Ireland would be a history of jobs, which have been, and will proveof much worse consequence than they may at first appear. They havegiven a considerable check to allowing grants of money. Administra-tion, seeing the uses to which it has been applied, has viewed these mis-applications, as they are esteemed, of the public money with a very jea-lous eye. They have been greatly curtailed ; until another very ques-tionable measure, the bounty on the inland carriage of corn to Dublin,demanded so much, as to leave nothing for jobs of a different sort.That measure may be repealed, and the money applied to it will be atthe disposal of parliament, either for the common purpose of govern-ment, or some national improvement of a more decisive nature. Thelatter may, after so many instances, be. rejected, for fear it should be-come a job. How melancholy a consideration is it, that in a kingdomwhich, from various causes, had been so fortunate as to fee a great por-tion of public treasure annually voted for public purposes, that fame trea-sure should be so abominably misapplied, and pocketed by individuals,as to bring a ridicule and reproach upon the very idea of such grants!There is such a want of public spirit, of candour, and of care for the in-terests of posterity in such a conduct, that it cannot be branded with anexpression too harsh, or condemned in terms too pointed; nor does itless deserve our detestation, should it be found to flow from politicaland secret motives, which aim at burthening the public revenues to ren-der private factions of more importance.

The coal-mines nearest the grand canal are principally at Castlecomer,the estate of lord Wandesford, who is said to clear ten thousand poundsannually by them. If the grand canal were finished to the Barrow, hewould probably make much more, for that would open a communication

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