Extraordinary evils call for
extraordinary remedies. Nor would such a law be one whit more of an
interference with the rights of property than the law which enables a
railway company to make their line through a man's estate whether he
likes it or not, giving him such compensation as may be awarded by an
impartial tribunal. And this is just, for no private individual ought to
have the power of preventing what is for the general prosperity. But
important as the construction of a railway may be, there is no
comparison between its importance and that of saving the lives of a
whole people, for whose benefit railways are constructed, and all
material improvements projected and carried out.
That some compulsory clauses were necessary in the Drainage Bill is
clear from the statement of O'Connell, that but few availed themselves
of its provisions. Speaking of this Bill, a gentleman whose opinion must
carry much weight with it, says, that all acquainted with the subject
admit the whole cost of thorough draining would be returned by the first
crop, or the first two, or at least by the first three crops.[134]
"Under such circumstances," he asks, "how can the country be exposed to
danger or suffering from an infliction such as now threatens? It is
impossible, unless we assume all the parties interested--whether the
government, the landed proprietors, the farmers, or the labourers--to be
inert, and forgetful of their respective interests to an extent of which
the world has not yet seen a parallel .
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