Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-10-20
The Outlook in ireland.


dences have multiplied daily that Eng
land must turn Ireland into a camp.
Having seized the head Of the sgitatiOn,
the government could do no less than do
likewise with his formidable subordi-
mates. Ireland is so honey-combed with
the League branches. however, that II
the organization does not collapse the
task of silencing disturbances viii be
gigantic. Thus far, but little If any
success has attended the governments
efforts towards enforcing obedience, and
the measure Of disorder that has follow
ed the coup Of PsrnelI's removal has not
met the expectations Of those who look
ed for immediate instruction.
How the government esn reeede with
safety is hard to see, and yet it should
hesitate TO go on in the path it has
marked out The passage Of the land
bill, for which Archbishop Coke, Gayan
Duffy and other Irishmen of varied
views have urged a fair trial, shas broken
in a large measure the soliditY Of the
hish. The eoerciVe policy of the gov
eminent, however, justified from lis
standpoint, if pushed to extremes, will
DO much to weld the discOrdant masses
together. and It is doubtful if Mr.. Glad
stone. Mr. Forster and their colleagues
are prepared for the responsibility that
their course may entail, although revo-
luton in Ireland would be of value to
the government by uniting the major
par. of the people Of the rest Of the king
dom in support of its suppression.
Mainly occupied with this, the ques-
ton of law reform in England and Scot
land would be adjourned, and the dis
turbances in Ireland would yield a
moral that the British landlord would be
quick to point Il may be questioned
therefore whether patriotism or cunning
weighs most with the Premier. He per
mitted disorders far greater than those
Of late ere he asked for his extraordinary
powers, and there can be little doubt
that the stroke that has won him such
eclat was planned to disarm the British
Radicals, who were growing dangerously
importunate
There is one weapon in the hands Of
the League which, if widely used, viii
bother the Ministry, and, possibly, bring
The Irish and English face to face in q
struggle that will tax the energies Of the
government This is a general rent
strike, which, it is announced, viii be
inaugurated. If successful, it is easy to
see where it viii end. a people cannot
be evicted, nor can a very large part Of
a people. OF the justice Of such a step
on the part Of the Irish We need not
speak. 1t is a weapon they can use if
they choose, and it remains to be seen
how far they will employ it.
The land question stands briefly thus:
The Irish agitators demanded peasant
proprietorships: the government granted
partially the demand, and now say that
what they have conceded shall have q
fair trial. A section of the League say
aye to this, but Parnell and those that
side with him, while willing to take
what they have been offered, do not pro
pose to stop at that, but to 60 on till
their demands are granted in full The
government steps in, arrests Parnen and
his more able lieutenants, and asks the
friends Of the land bill TO support them
in allowing it a peaceful trial. If the
Irishmen who desire this side with the
government or stand neuter, the League
will only labor for nothing If, on the
other hand, they join hands with the
League, the land question, so far from
being disposed Of, will only have been
begun. twill come up for settlement
not only in Ireland but in England and
Scotland, too. and whether the govern
meDt succeeds or not in adjourniug it by
coercion, it must ultimately be disposed
OF, and the longer it is delayed the greater
| the concessions that must be made.
After it, or perhaps with it, will come
home rule for Ireland. Mr.. Gladstone,
in his GuldhsH speech, said he would
favor any promising system Of local gov
ernmeut for Ireland that did not menace
England's sovereignty-an honest con-
fession from Minister whose chief re
Gauce Is the sword
Once independent Of the lords of the
soil, the Irish would be in position to
demand self-government, and what
would now be a splendid concession
would then be an exsction from the gov
eminent that had delayed too long.
While we cannot but deplore the
scenes now witnessed in the
unfortunate island, and may depre-
cate the license that its people
at times display, we cannot but wish
them well in their battle for the right
every people should pOssess-the right to
rs1Ia themselves