The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-29 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1870.

Taking all things into consideration the House of
Commons did well last night with the Irish Land
Bill, and set to work in a very energetic manner to
dispose of the arduous duties before them. Mr.
HEADLAM occupied the at ention of the House for
some little time, but his amendment was summarily
disposed of, which was about the best thing that
could happen to it, considering the pressure of cir-
cumstances and the urgent necessity for progress.
Sir F. HEYGATE made some very sensible obser-
vations, and truly declared that they had
reached a very momentous crisis in the history
of the Bill. Speaking for the Irish members, he was
impressed by the great and overpowering necessity
that there should be as little delay as possible in pass-
ing the Bill. " Instead of endeavouring to alter the
principles of the Bill hon. members ought to try to
make the Bill work in the best manner possible."
Sir F. HEYGATE deserves great credit for this out-
spoken language, and it is of the greater importance
that be should thus have expressed himself so clearly
because of his position in the House, sitting on the
Conservative benches, and being the representative of
an Ulster constituency. Let us hope that with this
timely counsel the committee will take a fresh start,
and set out on their work with the firm resolve to
bring it to a successful completion. It must be re-
membered that more is at stake than the mere settle-
ment of the Land Question in Ireland, important as
that may be, and possessed of great intrinsic inte-
rest. It is well, at this advanced period of the
Session, for hon. members on both sides of the House
to take heed to their ways, and consider how gnat is
the responsibility that devolves upon them. To allow
the Session to go by, and to have effected no legis-
lative improvement fur Ireland, would be, indeed,
a most grievous thing. It would be a confession
of weakness and want of unity among the Liberals,
and display a lack of patriotism and statesmanlike
judgment on the Fart of the Conservatives that
would offend and dismay the people of this country,
but in Ireland the consequences would Le far more
serious. It is difficult to say if the effects produced
by the failure of the Irish Land Bill would be most
regrettable so far as regards the well-meaning or
the disaffected classes. In one case we should have,
in all probability, a renewal of disturbances, and
scenes of violence would be enacted which must
call for stern measures of repression, and iu the
other the disappointment universally experienced
would be most unfortunate. If the Irish people
lose faith in our good intentions towards them,
the Government and the Parliament will have hard
work to do away with the fatal effects of the in-
jurious impression, and it is no exaggeration to say
that it would have been better not to have at-
tempted the task at all. Thera is the greater
necessity for urging these considerations on account
of the hints and inuendoes that have been made dur-
ing the Easter recess. Friends and foes, supporters
and opponents, of the bill, and its framers have
agreed to condemn the part taken by the Ministry,
and to predict all sorts of failures for ti e measure
before Parliament ; in fact, they seemed quite con-
vinced that to bring it to a successful issue vi-ould be
a work of supererogation. To disprove these gloomy
forebodings, and to falsify these prophets of evil is
now the duty of the Committee which is investi-
gating the provisions of the Bill, and they will need
all their energy and enterprise to carry out the
wishes of the country in respect to the important
measure. It will not be a suitable arrangement if
the House of Lords is called upon to consider the
matter at the fag end of the Session, and the circum-
stance may give rise to those vexatious suggestions and
discussions concerning the du ies and privileges of
the Upper Branch of the Legislature, which have
already produced such unfavourable impressions,
and led to no one single good result. To sum up
the case in a few words, it may be said that the
duty of the House of Commons is to pass the
Irish Land Bill with all convenient despatch, and
to sink all minor differences, in the firm resolve
that they will reach that desirable end. Changes
and modifications may be made in it hereafter,
but if this Session goes by without the accom-
plishment of the work in question, it may be
long, if ever, before we retrieve the evil con-
sequences.

The ordinary tranquillity and indifference which
characterise an English House of Lords was yesterday
varied by unusual (motion. The painful and startling
tragedy which has so deeply moved all hearts and
sympathies in the country was brought prominently
under notice, and Lord CLARENDON'S simple and
straightforward recital of his own personal share in
the fruitless negotiations seemed to bring the melan-
choly facts of the case more vividly home to the
audience. Still more strongly did they realise the
disaster, which had carried tears and lamentation into
so many English homes, when the near relative of
one of the murdered men rose in his place, and, with
deep emotion, tendered his earnest thanks to the
Foreign Secretary for his strenuous efforts to
avert the catastrophe. Lord CLARENDON had
thought it necessary to explain the some-
what exceptional proceeding to which he had
given the direct sanction of an English Cabinet
Minister—the removal of the brigands from Greece
in an English ship. He was fully sensible, he
said, of what might be called the indignity of
such a proceeding, but on reflection he perceived
that rar•som and plunder would be useless to the
brigands unless they could escape. The delay
of an hour might be fatal. There was none