The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-31 00:00:00

THE IRISH LAND QUESTION.

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The opinion of the Irish Roman Catholic bishops
upon the Land Bill, expressed from their respective
districts, is apart from any intention they may have
of taking any united course of action with
regard to the measure. There are improve-
!l-lents, which they would wish to see
introduced into Mr. Gladstone's measure, though
the task of recasting the bill is acknowledged to be
almost h ipeless. The bishops desire that the right
of tenants throughout Ireland generally of improving
their holdings should be recognised ; that the tenant
in case of an attempt to raise his rent should have
the right of appeal to the Land Court for adjustment;
that all tenants on parting from their farms should
have the right to sell in open market their goodwill
and improvements ; that all clauses against tilling
any portion of grass farms be null and void ; and
that tenants should have the right to subdivide their
firms within reasonable ,limits in favour of their re-
lations.
CORRUPT PRACTICES AT SLIGO.
The report is issued of the Commissioners ap-
pointed to inquire into the existence of corrupt prac-
tices at the last election for Sligo. It. is
stated that such practices have e ivxtensely
conteexiste st
d
at the last three elections. At the last
Major Knox, the Conservative candidate, polled 241
vote, and Captain Flanagan, the Liberal candidate,
220. The Commissioners find that sixteen persons
were guilty of bribery, by either voting or agreeing
to vote for Major 'Knox, or by reframin
or agreeing to refrain from voting, in
promises of money.
Several of these subsequently
this f
Captain
Flanagan. The bribery proved at this
.election fell
short of what took place on former. occasions. Major
Knox's connexion with Sligo, with a view to his
being a candidate, involved an expenditure of about
£4,028. Part of this money was spent by him
in relieving cases of distress, and these cases did not
amount to actual bribery. Captain Ethelred Knox
advanced a sum of £3OO to be expended in bribing
electors. Both candidates spent money for payment
of mobs, consisting principally of non-electors.
and many of Major Knox s. supporters were afraid to
Violence and intimidation prevailed at the election
vote.

COMPULSORY SWEARING IN IRELAND.
A. party of armed men visited the dwelling of a
tenant of Sir Percy Nugent, Bart., of Donore,
named Loughry. Hearing a knock at the door
LoughrY, who was in bed, went down, when two men
caught hold of him, presented a pistol each, and
swore him not to pay a sum of thirty shillings which
bad been in abeyance with his landlord for
two years and a half, threatening that if he did
he would have cause to rue it. The
history of the 30s. is a key to the transaction.
Loughrf holds under one of the best and kindest
landlords in the country and has done so
for years. Some time since a wiseacre put it
into his head that his farm contained an acre less
than he paid rent for. Some sort of measurement
was made for him, and he tendered his rent in two
instances minus the 30s. It was refused, and
Loughry is a defaulter of-two quarters of rent. The
above proceeding furnishes a pretext for his perse-
vering m the refusal, but it remains to be seen whe-
ther his pretended entire ignorance of the men will
altogether excuse him from payment, as he seems
to expect.