The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-19 00:00:00

LONDON, SA7URD4Y, MARCH 19, 1870.

THE debate on the Peace Preservation (Ireland)
Bill opened in a manner worthy of the country to
which it refers. Nothing could have been more
ludicrously incongruous than the sedate solemnity of
the House of Commons as Mr. Chichester Fortescue
rose to introduce his measure, and the opening sen-
tence of his speech. For a Minister to say that
h!s object is the "preservation of life, and above all
of property" sounds very like a bull, and perhaps it
did riot convey the Chief Secretary's meaning. At
the same. time, was it wholly inappropriate ? If
agrarian crime is any test of the estimation in which
life and property are held in Ireland, it must be con-
fussed that the second
.is valued much more highly
than the first. "Rory of the Hill " wants a
bit of potato ground, and he " tumbles
a landlord" in - order to get it; or be
wants to keep down the price of eggs, and he
massacres an unfortunate egg dealer, who had been
buying rather more largely than Rory approvcs; or he
has a dislike to paying his rent, and he puts an ounce
of lead into the brain of the bailiff who ventures to ask
him for payment. Life is the thing which is held most
cheaply in Ireland, and Mr. Fortescue shewed that he
had yielded to the prevailing sentiment when he
described the bill which he introduced on Monday
night. Perhaps it was the same circumstance which
led him to defer the introduction of the measure
until now. Lives have been lost before this ;
assassinations have not been unfrequent ; but it is
only within the last week or two that Rory has
taken to burning farms ,and homesteads. This was
the last ounce which broke down the patience of a.
much-enduring Government, and thus ft came to pass
that Ministers aro offering a measure "for the pre-
servation of life, - and above all, of property in
Ireland." • - -
But -a truce to jest. Let us consider this measure
seriously. In the first place, has it been too long
delayed ; in the second place, is it likely to be
efficient ? In reply to the first question, we would

point out that it is easy to be wise after the
event. It is quite true that certain politicians
predicted. that the messages of peace to Ireland
which the Government was sending in the shape of
a Church Bill and a Land Bill would utterly fail to

effect peace, and the result proves that they pro

phesied truly. But Ministers hoped otherwise. They
hoped that after the provisions of their Land Bill

had become known, and,that tenants saw they would

henceforth be protected against capricious eviction,
there would be a cessation of that agrarian crime

which originated, so far as the present outbreak
is concerned, in that most unfortunate and cen-
surable eviction at Ballycohey in August
1868. The event proves that they were too sanguine.
But believing as they did they were bound to act as
they did. It would have been illogical, and more than
illogical, it would hiiVe been unjustifiable, if they had
attempted pehal legislation when they believed they
had had a good prospect of attaining their end by reme-
dial legislation. Moreover, it must be remembered that
the penal legislation is to be temporary, the remedial
is to be permanent; and that it would have been ex-
ceedingly unwise to imperil the success of the more
important measures by arousing such hostility against
them as would have been aroused if penal legislation
had had precedence.
A far more important question than this respecting

the opportuneness of the present measure is that
respecting its effectiveness. Is it sufficiently
stringent ? Is it too stringent ? It must be ad-
mitted at once that some of the provisions are very
stringent. It is a serious thing, for instance, that
persons merely suspected of being ne'er-do-wells
should be liable to imprisonment for six months
unless they can give a good account of . themselves;
or that magistrates should have power to sentence t 6
a similar term summarily, that is without allowing
the prisoner the benefit of a trial by jury.
But then, it must be remembered that these
very severe regulations will be in force only under
very special circumstances. Ireland will, in fact, be
divisible under this Act into three districts—lreland
in a normal condition ; Ireland in a condition requir-
ing precautions with regard to the possession of arms
and proclaimed for that object by the Lord Lieu-
tenant; and Ireland- in a state of terrorism,
(such as we suppose the Government would consider
Mayo to be at the present time), and which would be
specially proclaimed. So far as the first division
is concerned, it will be provided that every sale of
arms and ammunition must be registered, that com-
pensation shall be levied on any district in which an
outrage occurs, and that newspapers which publish
treason or sedition shall be seized and suppressed,
the proprietor having a right of appeal and a claim
to substantial damages if the Crown cannot prove
that sedition or treason has been published. In
the second division—the proclaimed districts—a
game license will no longer exempt the
possessor from the necessity of obtaining also
a license to carry arms ; a special license will be
required for the possession of a revolver; power will
be given to search for arms by night as well as by
day, and also to search for documents connected with
threatening letters; magistrates will also have power
to examine persons on oath, and to commit them for
refusing to give evidence, even where no one is
accused of any offence, and they will have d:scret:oti
to refits° bail.. Then as regards the specially
proclaimed districts, persons found out at night
under suspicious circumstances may be taken before
a magistrate, and if unable to give a satisfactory ac-
count of themselves, may be committed for s:-Z
months; strangers may be dealt with in a s:milar
manner and committed to gaol until they find security
fur good behaviour; the executive may close
public-houses (the nurseries and hot-beds of agrarian
crime) after sunset; and.,itmay change the venue for
any trial prising in one tof These proclaimed districts,