The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-04-22
Irish Land For Irisllmen.

Irish Land For lrISlmen.
LONDON, April 16.-Mr. Gladstone.
propounded his Irish land bill 10 the
House Of Commons this evening, There
was hardly any excitement attending the
event.
Mr.. Gladstone rose in his place at 5.25
aud was greeted with cheers. He said
that the present efforts of the members
of the Government were directed towards
securing contentment among the people
of Ireland and the permanent restoration
of social order. The bills proposals
would greatly benefit the tenants Of
Ireland, but the landlords were the prin-
ciple object of the measure, although he
thought that many of these landlords
were most hostile to the Governments
policy. At the outset the speaker wished
to make the most emphatic denial that it
was his intention to ask the Scotch
and English to run any pecuniary risk
on account of the landlords of Ireland.
The history of Ireland was one long in
dictment against its landowners. Agra.
rian crime had originated and increased
under the absanteeism of landlords and
the raising of rents, as their expenses,
while away from Ireland, increased.
Privation, married to misery, had hide.
Gus progeny. Crime had been endowed
with vitality to perpetuate itself and
hand down its miserable inheritance from
generation to generation. England was
not clear of responsibility, for the deeds
of the Irish landlords were English deeds.
With the power in our hands we have
looked on and done nothing. After the
union absenteeism became general,
national sentiment ceased to have bene.
fetal influence on the relations between
landlord and tenant. The union itself
was obtained against the sense and wish
of every class by wholesale bribery and
unblushing intimidation.
The Land Act was intended to 60 into
effect on the same day on which the home
rule bill would become operative. It
could not go on without the operation of
the other, which would provide a Legis.
lature in Ireland to appoint statutory
authority to deal with landed estates and
act between the vender and the purchaser.
The purchases would be made through
the issue of 91S0000,000 of three per
cent. stock, issued at par. These low
Irish consols might, with the consent of
the treasury, be committed for stock of q
lower denomination. If stock could not
be issued forthwith, scrip of equal value
would be issued for the same purpose
The act was to give landlords the option
to sell out under its terms. Its enact.
meuts were confined to agricultural hold.
ings aud did not include mansions hav-
ing demesnes and woods. State authori-
ties acting between the peasant and the
landowner would purchase from the latter
and put the peasant in possession as
absolute proprietor, subject to all annual
rent charge until the total payments
equalled the purchase money.
The State would not force small occu-
piers to become proprietors. In districts
where population was congested the State
would have the power to decide whether
the appropriation of too crowded land
should be compulsory. Nobody except
immediate landlords would have the
option to sell to the incumbrancer, and
then be must sell by foreclosure and not
at an option for himself. Applications
to sell would have to be made by all the
tenants as an estate, aud all these appli.
cations and sales would be registered.
The land commission would be empower
ed to refuse applications.
The bases of prices would depend
upon the rental for fixed period. The
judicial rental of 1S45 would be the
standard in all cases wherein the rent of
land to be sold was then fixed. In all
other cases the land commission would
have power to arrive at a price by COM
pairing other judicial rentals with Grif-
fth's valuation. The land commission
would also be allowed to examine the
books concerning estates ten years back.
Twenty years. rental would be the nor
NAL purchase; in exceptional cases
twenty-five years rental would make
purchase. Applications for sale would
not be received after March 81, 1890.
e22OOO,0O0 of stock would be issued
during 1887, e20,000,OO0 in 1888, 920,-
100000 in 1889.
When the proposals were first placed
before the speakers colleagues he pro-
posed to raise f13O,000,0O0 Immediately.
Chamberlain and Trevelyan both object.
ed to this as a wholesale issue which
would depreciate values. The speaker,
therefore, thanked both gentlemen for
having given him occasion to reconsider
that original proposition. He now
thought it was an error to ask forthwith
for anything like the outside estimate,
and he believed that by appointing re.
ceiver for general rents, armed with
sufficient authority to collect them, but
without coming into contact with the
new proprietary, the repayment of the
purchase money would be amply secured.
The charge upon the Irish exchequer
would be 100000 per annum, to meet
which it would be able to levy rents
amounting to e2,5OO,OOO per annum, and
this sum would be the first charge on
rents aud taxes raised by the Irish Gov.
ernment Adding to this the imperial
contributions, the sum paid to England
by Ireland would be G6,242,000 per an.
mum, secured on revenue amounting
to G10,S50,000, no portion of which
would be applied to any purpose until
G6,OOO,OO0 was paid into the English ex.
chequer.
The present contribution Of the Irish
taxpayers 10 England was GG,9SO,O0O, of
which England paid back in the Irish
civil service aud in the service of collec-
ton G4,S4O,000. The residue, which
was secured to represent an imperial con;
trihntinn fnr The armv. navy. national
debt and imperial civil charges, was
e2,OS5, 900. What did England do with
it? AS all instance, she sent an army of
5000 men TO Ireland and kept them
there at an annual cost of e3,0O0,000,
9915, 600 more than the balance men
toned. That was specimen of The
economy that the speaker wanted to root
up.
Mr.. Gladstone spoke for one hour and
thirty-fve minutes, and sat down amid
great applause.