, 1886-12-09
Che at'erEln Ar9us,
THURSDAY, DE.EHHEE o. l--s
The Irish Situation


:
The revolving treatment uf Tie tw.
old women who E,-In Tenants u. %
small holding ,. l"El IL k.u-'- cagu
", Ireland rv 81 n-Ute. and avav-
cIous landlord. reported the other
day, may J." taken a- 81 f.ir example
OF the worst TLTa~" If -a' tyranny IF
wealth over poverty i'll tla- UuFyrtu-
nate country II Viii he argued ny
the opponents ui the reform iL tL.
system cf land tenure iu ireland that
but very few cases IF this kind May
be found Whether We doubt t.i-
statement ur not. itI-lgt an effective
reason against the contention Of Mr..
Parnell and Mr. Gladstone fog the
relief Of a distressed people. Il f.
the same imperfect argument that
was urged against the abolition Of
slavery in the south down t. the
Proclamation Of Emancipation Any
system winch renders possible such
Infamous cruelty q that which oc-
sured near TUllamoro i inhumau
and abominablc, and IS only worthy
of the yIiest racaof barbariau- And
s1ch a state Of things las existed for
century after century in Euglaui'a
sister isle. no farther distant from
wealth abusing London than Buffalo
Is from New York
This and other recent published
statements show how little sincerity
there was lit the Troy pretentiOns.
some weeks ago. that ireland was
haID,r ,..,,- IL ,...-G.I 81 ,l.,. i. ..
condition Of the peaSantry was i'm
proving. The Parnellites were in
clined to give the government party
chance to prove that II meant to
deal mildly with the delinquent
tenants according TO its promises.
that the landlords themselves were
disposed to be linient, If not yielding.
IN their legal demands. Instead of
that. we have the unmiti-atcd in
stance of savage ilIegality which has
jNst been recorded.
Lord Randolph Churchill was very
clever in seeking to gain time and L.
defer the political crisis which a
literal revelation of the truth must
bring about. lie deluded the Eng
ish public by mere iugglery OF
words. but for Il short time only.
One might have thought the Tories
were at once to take all the wind out
of Liberal OF even Parnellite sails.
But it turned out, as might have
been expected, thai the young i'm
itator of Disraeli did not speak by
the card. Salisbury aud the otEer
Conservatives were not quite pre-
pared to make heroic surrender aud
to revolutionize in a single day the
sopistical principles of their party.
The Irish landlords, at least, Wculd
have deserted it and would have
formed a small party of their own.
aided by a large class Of electors in
England who do not belieye that
any political good can cCme from the
display of even humane interest in
the woes of Irish tenants. The tories
have found that in the landlords they
have a most stubborn and very i'm
pudent set of political partners.
The present is not time for violence
and rashness on the part of the gov
ernment. 1t has evidently realized
this fact to some extent. 1t sent
General Butler, a very moderate man
to Ireland, to take charge of whatever
military measures were needful. His
soldiers We're to aid the constabulary
in evictions whenever he deemed ii
proper. At the same time royal
commissioners selected by Salisbury
have been making with the utmost
seeracy an investigation into the con
dition of the tenant population. Gen
Butler, by reason of his military
position and duties. has had as gooc
an opportunity, if not better thar
they, to learn the truth. 1t appears
that the warning influence OF the
government has had but little effect
in curbing the rapacity or calmine
the temper of the landlords. They
have hurt their own cause in the
esteem of their only potent friends
the moderate conservatives anG
unionists, whose TEMPORARY alliance