, 1881-02-06

I The lHlad SITUATION.
The cable news from Europe is mainly OF
cupied with reports Of. the exciting, reyolu
tionary, and most extraordinary proceeding
IN the British House Of Commons, and re
] ports Of the feverish and hardly-restrainabl
! feeling among the whole Irish people, ant
the intense Interest among all classes Of tn
English. Perhaps 1t may not be out Of plac'
to state again, briefly, such facts as may Ill
swer the question, "lVhat is it all ab6ut?''
| In round numbers, there are five million!
! OF people In Ireland, who are, by reason O.
] foreign rule, dependent exclusively for OK
| istence Oh the products Of the soil, nearly all
manufacturing having been crushed out. II
tho farm products fail, or be destroyed, or be
carried off to any considerable extent. then
there are fnmine n1iI death by the roadside.
only alleviated by compulsory emigration or
! charitable contributions by the Americans.
The entire soil Of ireland upon which the
five millions Of native population are depend
ent for the ordinary means IT existence is
owned BY about 5000 persons. whose titles
rest ON confiscatlQn, and who, with few ex-
ceptlons. nre non-resldents, and are aliens to
Ireland In every sense. Their interest, as
q body, Is purely proprietary. The lands
were taken from the native owners 4 couple
OF centuries since by force, and conferred
under feudal tenure upon English courticrs
Of the Crown. With slight exceptions no
part Of the land is cultivated BY the alleged
owners, the proprietors dividing it into small
tracts, renting 1t to tenants at rates Of ront
which, even III the most prosperous seasons,
0ff fnn oFt. 1,tr
" food enough to maintain life. If the crop
fail or fall short, then there is of necessity
deficiency OF food and an Inability to pay
the rack-rent, and eviction follows.
There is, therefore, . perpetual struggle on
the p;rt Of the occupants between famine
and the landlords. There are always more
families to whom land is II necessity than
there Is land to be had In quantities equal to
even small farm in this country: so to meet
this demand the land Is cut up into holdings
ranging from five to twenty-five acres, alll,
able to exact any rate Of rent llo may fix,
The tenant has no choice. II he have no
land he must starye for want Of food, IS
there Is no other means to obtain it. 0'he
rack-rent has first to be paid out of the prod
uct of the land; the necessity for foud Is sub
ordinate to the payment Of the rent, even If
to discharge the latter take every potato,
pig, chicken, and cgs produced.
The products Of the land, whether they be
cattle. pigs, sheep, poultry, grain, hay, or
are sold to meet the incxorable and
enormous demand for rent, and OF the pro-
ceeds SEQ, ,0oo, 900 are annually rctnittcd 10
nj nTaf IN - nQ Nat jpllo
this money is expended In ireland, and this
drain Of the substance OF tho land has been
continuous for two hundred years.
This tenure by which land is held by the
tenants, except in a few northern counties, Is
at tho will Of the owner. II the
:enaut fall to pay the rent at the time fixed,
he is served with notice, and in brief time Is
evicted, d,-thnt IS, expelled from the farm he
has been occupying,-and this Is done by
lrmcd force An evicted tenant Is with his |
amily condemned to death or the Poor |
Iouse. Without land lie cannot earn liy- |
ng; all eyicted tenant cannot obtain other [
and; and it is the landlord rule in Ireland |
hat NO tenant can llarbor, or shelter, or 9TH
rWlse aid d tenant who has been eylcted for |
lon-payment Of rack-rent without forfeiting
lis own lease. An eviction, therefore, means
denial Of the means Of existence, and an
yicted family has no refuge but the ronu-
ide, where in bad seasons they perish from
tarvatIon and exposure.
II the tenant during his occupancy add
ny improvements to the land, these i'm
rovenacnts are contiscatcd. As Mr.. Glad
tone said year ago, II the 15,G00 evic-
ions Of which notice had been given in
reland were executed, 1t would involve the
eEial Of the right Of existence to $4,000
uulan beings, and the legal sacrifice of that
lany human lives.
The crops Of 1878 a1ld3lS79 were bad,-so |
ad that to pay the rents Of those years
wept the acculnulations Of the Island, leaving
ne great mass OF the land occupants without
)od and without money. When 1850 opened
here had to be an appeal 10 the charity Of |
10 world to avert famine. Money and |
3od were sent for general relief, but ffom
yery village and town and city In the United
tates there were private remittances sent |
:on sons and daughters and kindred aggre-
ating millions Of dollars, every penny Of
hich was applied to paying overdue rack
,nts in order to avert the denth in the other
'rm resulting from eviction.
The Land League was formed On the model
tradcs-unlons, to agitute for redress Of /
rieyances by the British Parliament. They
lvised the farmers to pay no exorbitant
mt: when 1t was choice between pay
z rack-rent and going without food, to pay
lly 4 part Ut the demand; and they advised
II the common good that no man should |
mt any land from which tenant had been s
'icted, and to enforce all these suggestions,
Ut by violence, but by COMMON consent and
.neral opinion. The result was that tens Of
ousands Of evlctions were postponed: that =,
actual famine was averted; and that land t
rds were brought face to face with an agi- !
ton for the reform Of the land tenures. The +
Ind League asked Of the British Parliament +
change Iii land law that would secure to
e people "Fixed tenures, Free sale, and n
lir rents" I
Against these demands the whole Tory q
rty In England, and the Whigor landlord '
rtion Of the Liberal party, united. The =
'cussion was carried into England, and in =
cry portion Of England aud Scotland the i:
lole question has been discussed with c
frt.