The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-01-26
Discussed by w. H. Looney, Last Eve
ming.

Such was the topic of Mr.. Looney's lecture
in the M. G. III. A. course last evening, and
drew large audience, who frequently express
ed their appreciation by applause The follow
| ing is an abstract:
Mr.. Loouey opened his address by saying
that the Irish Land Question was living cues
! ton, which to-day made Ireland the cynosure
| of the world, and shakes the British Empire
| from center to circumference = a question
which contains the germs of some OF the lead
| ing economic and labor questions which are to
agitate this country in the not far distant fu-
| ture. He then paid tribute to the valor
| shown by Irishmen in the various wars in
which we have been engaged, and said that
| this American Republic owes much to Ireland
| which has exerted such powerful influence
| upon her past history and will upon her future
| destiny. When the destinies of this country
| hung suspended in the balance Gladst tone
| sympathized with Jefferson Davis in his efforts
| to turn this Nation into despotismi English
arms and English money sustained the South
ern Confederacy, while English cruisers prey
| ed upon and almost drove our commerce from
| abe seas.
Now in this contest between the organized
seltishness of Great Britain and the Irish peo-
ple in this death grapple between caste and
the Declaration OF Independence, the sympathy
of every true American should be not with
despotic England, but with liberty loving Ire
land.
He then gave brief sketch of the leading
points of Irish history to the conquest under
Henry H. The tenure of land under the old
code was then described, after which
he shew how the land system has changed, the
pretexts used and the infamous character of
English legislation during the different reigns
from Elizabeth to Victoria.
The provisions OF the penal code which
Montesquieu said "could have been written
only by devils, by pen dipped in blood. and
should be recorded in hell" were then given.
Mr.. Looney said that thanks to Jon-
athan Swift, thanks to Grattan, and
the other orators of the Irish Parliament,
whose eloquence shed ray of immortal glory
ever its fall, thanks to O'Connell, and above
all thanks to the indomitable energy and hero
ic courage of the Irish people, chain after
chain has fallen from her limbs, until now,
next to her lost Parliament, the accursed land
system alone remains This has been the |
Pandora's box of English legislation in Ireland.
From it has escaped plaques which have cursed,
blasted and almost destroyed her. The present |
landlords of Ireland are the descendants of the
military adyenturerS and corrupt libertines |
who came over to ireland under Elizabeth, |
the haberdashers, winters and fishmongers |
who came over under james and Charles Ill, |
and the coopers, cobblers and psalm singers |
who followed the fortunes OF Oliver Cromwell. |
These men boast OF their arstecrstic blood, |
called aristocrats as any class whose only pass
port to position is the knavery of some ances |
tor.
Seventy per cent. of these men are absentees. |
Their estates are managed by slave overseerS, |
called agents. who, in order to obtain as much |
money as possible for their masters, grind the |
poor tenant to starvation by rack rent. The |
money thus obtained by the industry of the !
tenant, instead of being used to develop the re- |
sources of the soil, goes to maintain these men |
in luxury in the different capitals of Europe. |
1t is estimated that from from 900 to |
$4,000, 900 yearly are taken from Ireland by |
the absentee landlords. Thus these men act |
as vamp ires sucking the life blood of the ma |
ton. While this system exists Ireland must |
continue poor The Land League, which, I'M |
der the leadership of Mr.. Parnell seeks to |
drive landlordism, root and branch, out of Ire |
land deserves the support Of all patriotic men. |
In every other country in Europe the |
density of the population depends upon the |
fertility of the sol-in Ireland it is just the |
reverse. There the people are driven to the |
mountains and bogs and the cattle occupy the |
plains.
Mr.. Looney here quoted from John Stuart |
Mill and Justin McCarty, showing the in |
iquity of rack rent.
Properly understood rent means what re-
mains after the tenant has been properly |
housed, fed and clad-in Ireland it means |
everything except mess of pottage day.
The improvements on the farms have |
been made not by the landlord but by the |
tenant. In equity the value of the land has |
been paid and paid over again by the tenant |
and should be his.
Mr.. Looney here quoted from Gustave De |
Beaumont, the distinguished French publicist |
Kohl, the great German writer; Lord Glare, |
the late Bishop Haven and Locke, showing
what these writers knew about the terrible |
restitution and misery of the Irish peasant un- I
der the Fendal land system which like an IN |
cnbus rests upon the necks of the Irish people.
The Land League, the graDdest and best dis |
Orynl mad rfro S1nfi nf rrNnd mn
founded by Michael Davitt for the purpose OF |
strangling this monster. The league is composed |
of the manhood and intelligence of ireland. The |
very flower of all classes are members OF II. l |
am aware that certain men in Ireland hereto |
fore of much influence have denounced the |
league. But the croakings of these fossils, these
Englishmen in Irishmen's skins have no |
earthly significance. Like many Bourbons in |
this country they are dead but not aware |
of it. Political Rip Van Wrinkles they have
been asleep for the last quarter of q century |
and don't know that the world has progressed |
during that time. They belong to the dead |
past not the living present. PCS 80
The demand of the Land League, viz:--For |
the government to buy out landlords, then re-
sell to to the tenants, taking back mortgages
thus establishing peasant proprietorship-has |
a precedent in Prussia, Russia and Prince Ed |
wards Island.
To the agitation of the Land League, not to
Mr.. Gladstone, belongs the doubtful credit of
the land bill. Mr.. Parnell is right in not &C
cepting that abortion called land bill as an
ultimatum. 1t was brought forward through
the instrumentality of the landlords who feared
lest landlordism would be abolished by the I'M
written law of Ireland. 1t was designed to
perpetuate landlordism not destroy it. Its pro-
visions rightly understood favor the landlord
not the tenant
Mr. Looney here discussed the bill at length
with view of establishing his assertion thatit
utterly failed to meet the exigencies of the
case.
Still he said Mr. Parnell was DESTROYS of
testing it. Mr.. Gladstone attacked him. He
replied with whitening force and Mr.. Gladstone
threw him into prison and abolished the
League. Mr.. Looney said that Gladstone
could utter homilies upon human rights when
the Zulus were concerned, but in his policy
toward ireland he shows his cloven foot. The
no-rent manifesto is just and proper. Rent in
ireland is tax by the English government,
imposed by its agents. the landlords. IT Lin
coin was justified in striking the shackles from
the slaves so are the tenants of Ireland The
no-rent manifesto struck landlordism in its
most vulnerable part. 1t is being obeyed by
the tenants nearly to man, and will soon
brine the landlords to their knees. They will
then be only too glad to accept the proposition
of the League
MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.