The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-05-07 00:00:00

THE STATE OF IRELAND.

LORD LANSDOWNE AND HIS TENANTRY.

Mr. Wm. O'Brien and Mr. Kilbride, one of the
evicted tenants on Lord Lansdowne's Luggacurran
property, left Queenstown on Sunday by the Cunard
steamer Umbria, on their projected tour through
Canada to raise a hostile feeling against the Governor
General for the evictions of some of his Irish tenants.
Mr. O'Brien was, says a Cork correspondent of the
Standard, received at Cork by the Mayor and several
members of the Corporation, who presented an
address, and accompanied him to Queenstown. Here
addresses were also presented, and Mr. O'Brien
replied, expressing the greatest confidence of success.
Previous to the departure of the Umbria Mr. O'Brien
accorded an interview to a correspondent of a New
York paper in which the Plan of Campaign in Canada
is set forth. Ho stated that on his arrival in New York
he intended to proceed immediately to Canada, where
meetings have been arranged in the four principal
cities—Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, and Toronto. These
he intended to compass, if possible, within eight days;
by which time he trusted Canadian public opinion
would have sufficient material to judge between Lord
Lansdowne and the hundreds of poor people he had
left homeless in Luggacurran. " I decline point
blank," said Mr. O'Brien, "to assume that a friendly
people, whose Parliament has just protested against
freedom of speech being smothered in Ireland, would
tolerate any attempt to refuse me fair play in plead-
ing our poor people's cause. If Lord Lansdowne has
no better answer to me than a warrant of arrest, it
will be a more crushing condemnation than any I
could pass upon him. As to what good would result
from the exposure of Lord Lansdowne's treatment of
his Luggacurran tenantry, I am very certain that the
people of Canada have the fate of that whole humble
community in the hollow of their hands. A mere
prehension of of Canadian opinion being appealed to in-
duced Lord Lansdowne's representatives to solicit a
settlement with the tenants; that settlement would
without doubt have been ratified by Lord Lansdowne
if he had not misconstrued certain manifestations of
disapproval of my visit into signs of sympathy with
him. Lord Lansdowne is carrying out the first sys-
tematic clearances attempted in Ireland since the years
following the great famine. He proposes to sweep the
estate bare of its whole population. Ido not believe
the Canadian people will allow that if they can pre-
vent it, and they can. Lord Lansdowne was selected
to carry out the first eviction under the Plan of
Campaign because he was supposed to be beyond
the range of Irish public opinion. I propose
to show that that is not so, and that even at so great
a distance and in his high station no man is now-
adays exempt from responsibility from the cruel suf-
ferings inflicted upon his poor Irish tenants. If I can
get the Canadian people to agree with me, Lugga-
curran is saved. Lord Lansdowne's judicial tenants
only sought a reduction of 20 per cent., and would
have paid even at 15; but Lord Lansdowne is depopu-
lating Luggacurran rather than make the smallest
concession. He offered the leaseholders the privi-
lege of having their leases broken—a privilege which,
the Tory Land Bill now before Parliament gives them
in spite of him. I suppose the tenants are now more
than ever determined to stand by the Plan of Cam-
paign. My journey is the strongest testimony of my
belief in the efficacy, almost of the omnipotence, of
American opinion." Asked if he anticipated an in-
crease of outrages in the country as the result of the
manner in which the provisions of the Crimes Act
would be enforced, Mr. O'Brien said, "That will
depend on how its provisions are enforced. I believe
that we will be quite a match for Mr. Balfour and his
Act if we get a shadow of fair play in a mere trial of
endurarce. That being so, until we are struck down.
I am c n ident that the people will be guided abso-
lutely by the solemn injunction of cur incomparable
leader, Mr. Parnell. Beyond that neitbor I nor any-
body else can answer."
The following address has been forwarded to Lord
Lansdowne in Canada by the tenantry of his Wiltshire
estates, 504 in number, in COE Aequence of the attacks
being made on him by Mr. W. O'Brien and others : "To
his Excellency the Marquis of Lansdowne, Governor
General of Canada,—May it please your Excellency,
We, the undersigned, being the tenants on your
English estates, having seen in the papers, and other-
wise heard that your Excellency has had differences
of a wide and serious nature with some of your Irish
tenants, and that some persons have intimated their
intew ion of proceeding to Canada in order, if pos-ible
to stir up unpleasantne.s between you and the
Canadian people, desire to express our esteem, regard,
and unabated confidence in your Excellency as a
landlord. You have with great personal sac7iflees,
from the time you entered into your family estates,
met us in a manner which reflects honour,
yourself and credit to your adviEers. ul:tve
expended a large proportion of
rental on !in
provements on your estat— 4,etnm farm-houses, build-
ings, drainage. cottages, and you have since the
agriculture met us liberally depressi,— n in n abate-
and reductions of rent. You have also endea-
voured in every way to better the condition of the
labouring poor, and the fact that your estates possess
one of the largest and best systems of allotments in
the United Kingdom speaks for itself. Baying always
believed and understood that the kindness, courtesy,
generosity, and good feeling which has always been
shown to us has been extended in an equal manner to
your Irish tenants, we cannot but learn with surprise
and regret that the latter should differ in so serious
a degree with your excellency, and we desire to ex-
press our sympathy with you. We wish your excel-
lency and your family long life, happiness, and pros-
perity, and express our hopes that the differences
above allud, d to may not long disturb the harmony
that has till £0 recently existed upon your estates."