The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-04-23
IRISH MAIL NEWS.
dates to April lst |

The proceedings of the House of Com
mons this week, have been more than us
nally interesting and important to the
Irish people. Two undoubte. J ssh gTiev-
ances CT the first magnitude have been
brought under the notice of that assembly -,
and remedy in each case suggested f; and
in each case the result has been n II at de-
NAL of justice. First the Land Bill drafted
and by Mr.: Butt approved of by the public
opinion of Ireland came on for a second
reading on "Wednesday. In introducing it
Mr.. Butt delivered, as might have been ex-
pected, mastery address and he was
followed, on the same side, by Captain
Nolan, MIR. John George Mccarthy, and
The O'Donoghue On the o her side there
epoke an English member named Give !;
Mr.. Herbert, the member for Kerry, who
denounced the bill a measure of copfis-
cation Lord EIcho, a Scotch Tory, who
highly eulogised the line taken by The
OConor Don and MI. Herbert; and, tiually,
by the Chief Secretary. Sir NJ. H. Beach,
who declared that sue, a bill " would
never receive the cons. t of any sembly
which dealt with it or ,'ruciples of Justice"
After Sir NJ. II. Be u had said his say,
MIR. Butt and Mr.. A. ~. Sullivan suggested
an adjournment of the debate, and pressed
the Government to grant day on which
the discussion might be resumed. This
request was treated with something like
levlty by the Prime Minister, who refused
to fix any particular day, and talked of the
Irish Laud Question as one" of an abstract
nature not occasioned by any existing
circumstances" The subject, he further
said, would be "just as fresh a month
hence )" and, of course, the Tory landlords
at his back, as in duty bound, received his
sallies with cloud laughter" In the re-
suit, the debate was adjourned to Monday
night with a view to then appointing
time for it's resumption and 30 ended the
first day g discussion on what the landlords,
g ~.
cover to be very serious question indeed
for themselves and for " the Empire" On
Tuesday evening the question of the Irish
parliamentary franchise was brought be-
fore the House, in the form of a resolution.
Mr.. Meldon led the way in stating the Irish
case, and that he made an irresistible claim
for the establishment of household suffrage
in the Irish boroughs has been admitted
even by the London journals. The mem
Der for Kildare was supported by several
other Irish members, including at least one
Liberal, and by some English members, in
Guiding Mr.. John Bright, who, in an elo-
quent and powerful speech, went so far as
to assert that the restrictions on the Irish
borough franchise were 30 great as to be
indefensible, and that not q single arPu-
ment had been urged against the proposed
reform which had not been urged twenty
times against the extension of the franchise
in England, and then thrown overheard by
the Conservatives themselves in as little
time as it took them to cross from one side
of the House to the other. Nevertheless,
the Irish demand was met in the usual
manner. 1t was refused. Two or three of
their Irish henchman were put up by the
Government to say something-it mattered
not what-in reply to the Home Rulers
and then the Chief Secretary, repeating
once more the stock objections to giving
Ireland what Great Britain enjoys, declar.
ed that the Government had q valid and
bona .1ide programme of Irish measures for
this session and the next, and did not de
sire to have their hands fettered by having
this Franchise measure thrust on them by
Mr.. Butt. A division followed, the closest,
probably, of the session, and irish wishes
were once more voted down by the intru-