The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-01 00:00:00

-
KR. BRIGHT ON THE IRISH lAND
QUESTION.

DUBLIN, Wionsuet Nicer.
Pursuant to arrangement, a deputation from the
Cork Farmers' Club waited oa Mr. Bright at 12 o'elo4 to.
day at the residence of Mr. Ju. Naughton, for the moss
of presenting him with an address.

N. W.
9. W.
N.W.

co i

—culty Mnthanrral:aGia
should be amMr.inßa:Gruchsliiirmad intiwrepdlyiffi,Mr.
three or four hundred people to speak to on an
this kind, but I observe in the second p7:11:2
address which you have kindly brought that yea melt
eapposed services which I have rendered to the eiZ'
ts.,
humanity and freedom. The fact is, I feel what I sece„..--
everybody feels who is honestly engaged in petro
that after a great deal of work, of many
labour, very little has been a, no, for the
seems to move on very slowly, end what —4 •
man can do to make it move appear
very little. But I have always had the
that people are very much what their Imes make th;o7l
entirely disbelieve those theories which imam' tat
does not matter very much what kind of laws ya
that, after all, everything depends on a man's ac,
-
great deal depends on a man's self, but a greet dal &
panda on the laws, and I think if we trace bleary he;
and lost over the countries we know something
shall find that the people are in the main what theichs,
and institutions make them. Now, my mind, from eyy
young age, has led me always to a feeling that lam NZ
be equal, and should be just ; that all the people 1,,
sa4l. •
a country have an equal right to be considered id-
Masted by the institutions and laws under which theyg,;-.
Now in this country, more, perhaps, than in almost tee
other country in Europe, that has not been the
.
on which the government has been conducted, lieetsc, ft;
quite clear that the laws have been rude,atg
•
recently, by a party, or rather for the superset
of a party, than for the whole people ; sad 'nil
regard to the land, which is the question to which foe
-
Ocularly refer, there can be no kind of doubt of this..C4
the laws have been absolutely the product of the nu.
ness and ignorance of the landed proprietors, sod by
means the product of the general intelligence of slam
in this country. It is the same to a great estate' gag.
land, where Mr. Murphy knows perfectly well that ix the
House of Commons there are questions which yos tea du.
cuss with an expectation that they will be fairly con.
dered ; but if you come to any question connected rah
the land—with the supremacy of that particular papery
in the country—the argument is of no and star
ever, and the slightest tendency to what I vow
call intelligence and justice with regard to that
be met by the most determined opposition by the yett
landowning classes in the house. Of course that no
many admirable exeeptions there, as there are bee, Wok
the whole the great weight of that party and elm is A•
rected against any wise change in regard to ,the kee •
affecting their property. Now, twenty years ago*
thought we were going to ruin them when we were peep
lug to allow foreign oorn to come to this country fire g
duty, and I believe there were many of them she aa
absolutely believe that their estates would he of so an,
and that, as far as landowning went in Great Idna
and Ireland, the world was about coming to as mi.
They find now they have got rid of all the odium el the
system, and at the same time they have not got rid d the
land, but their land is of more value than ever it els
Certainly in England farmers are in a more withal
position than they were before. The whole toss of teat
in England is wonderfully improved by the cheese
took place in 1846. I believe that if in England an
Ireland the laws of political economy were applied toil
we should find just as great a change from ales
point forward with regard to matters which is
influenced by laws affecting land as we In
found in past times by the abolition of the he
which prevented the importation of corn. lis
member my lamented friend, Kr. Cobden, who we a
likely to undervalue the effect of free trade in inns ay.
ing, on more than one occasion, that the wen who
veil
hereafter entirely free the laud and place the lair uth
regard to land on a just and satisfactory footing, oat
at least confer as great a benefit upon the people se he at
those of that former agitation had been able to oak W
the success of our movement. He was no mean Mae d
such a matter, and his opinion is worth taking no la -'
he was not a man of violent party feeling at all, bet*
this question perhaps with a dispasaionateness sod iish•
gence which have never been exceeded by any public '
*sumacs! us. Now there is this great difficulty is dame 'l'
your case in England, in fact in d•^—ag the elmletria
question—the great church party is the tory put,. lb •
boundaries which mark out the limits die
established church are almost the boundaries an
mark out the limits of the tory party. del
think that if the Irish church were got al
—if the voluntary principle were established u the a
vernal practice in Ireland, that principle would hyaalha
cross the Channel and raise an equal contest to be read
in like manner in Great Britain ; and although if yea ele
at the antipodes—l am speakiugof the March as sphere
institution—you might sweep it off the faceof the etre, saa
there would be no tears shed in the House of Comma Pt
being so near us, they have no doubt a great and to mem&
a natural dread that the same thing woula be Mesh
and done hereafter in England. And su with mpg
land in a degree not less obvious. They think the tic
concession of any measure of tenant right, or Nana fir
a tenant for his improvements, would be follmedle
east
coercive movement on the part of the tenants is Est
land and Scotland, and the tenant" arc so powerfslasel
they ever once put their heads in one direction times
possibility of withstanding them. They are mid ws
powerful than the tenants are here, because yea, sof
alone, have to act upon a great and a powerfil hale
in Loudon. If you bad a parliament in Callefere7
clearly the tenantry of Ireland, with the meant belie
Ireland, would bo able to force that parliament to 11/
1
measure of justice they named; but as you Wendel 1
with a great parliament sitting in Loudon, all the debar
you may make or the demands you may urge fnichtin
side of the Channel come with a ,very feeble effectic!
din*l
don, especially as it can only be represented bIP
members ; and of these it tuffortunately happen!
considerable 'limber are not willing to support the neew
that are made. But if in England the terontl7
ev
in Scotland the tenant farmers—the most cafehl!' ;
most intelligent, the best agriculturists, perhsPO,
world—if they were to join in favour of measures, 0°
measures hostile to the game laws, hostile to any inie.
which is supposed to exist with regard to the ineennedi
of tenants—it would be quite impossible for the Fl 6,
silent to resist their demands. You see, therefore.*
great difficulty you bare to contend with. You
wrest your rights from a parliament sitting in Ii ola%
whom you send 105 members ; perhaps half Pr
favour of your rights, and therefore the 10 a lest
to say, are lost in the CM they find MA
the effort on the part of your members to
anything is one of the most disheartmile *
that any representative of the people can Mee
(Hear, hear.) I have since I have been in •
now twenty-three years—heard one bundled •
mthueciihtolte
Irish liberal members are the most reePects!4.l_,..
most respected and most influential of all the WI
tnherey—dbolaratheereat.taclht eliwevethaetithierilb
ben that have sat in parliament for the last 2.3 rat_a_i
is my opinion. I think it is admitted in the
BP_
Commons universally that the Irish liberal menlwl
this parliament are not inferior, but are enPerwr
Irish liberal membersthat sat in former pediment,
the last 2.3 years ; but notwithstanding that, and 07
think they have a corresponding ionsaa
.
fluence, yet it is one of the meet (Omit
in the world for fifty men scting _
six hundred men some hundreds of
rnim
those whom they represent to work up Or go
which may be against the prejudices and aft
the 600 amongst whom they are acting;
Irish constituencies whilst they should maim new:,
in favour of any of those members who srs
towards them and do not do their duty, yet fer
,tine
are honest and do their duty they should mama ye
for the difficulties I have referred to. Now, ,
done with regard to this question I say I do-I_4s
have always given what support I could to 0/07101
that appeared to me reasonable and right me
in parliament. During the last session
lead
advantage of the assistance of a most eirug.T 50
member for Westminster, Mr. John Stuart htioi,t
government goes—which is notes thing imPenrotod
thing probably to be desired—other rwerv,_ 000
in will no doubt be under a distinct pledge.; oispe
to settle this land question upon a neon
_.
arrangement, and from that something ew