The Irish standard., 1888-07-21
Il He IRISH STANDARD ! TIJlDAY, JUl1Y7 FL
Resolutions Of the Irissh Bishops g The
Land Question, I.
Dublin Freeman, July7.) Il


Land Question,
Dublin Freeman, July ~ II ,s
The following statement on the pres,
emit position of the Irish Lard Question:
was drawn up and unanimo uslY adopt
ed at the recent General Meeting Of the
Archbishops and Bishops Of Ireland, i
held in the College Of Maynooth, on
Wednesday and Thursday, the 9th and
'28th ultimo.
Having become aware from the re-
cent comments of many of the leading
organs of public opinion throughout
Europe that a widespread mtsconcep-
ton still prevails as to the existing
state Of land laws in Ireland, we deem
it our duty to make the following state
ment on the subject:
eve donot aim. at enumerating all
the grievances Of which the agricultur-
al tenants Of Ireland may justly COM
plain. We fully recognize the impossi-
bility of dealing with many of them in
the present session of Parliament. But
in our opinion there are certain most
pressing grievances which. in the m
terests of public order as we'll as OF
Justice, imperatively call for immediate
legal redress.
81. The fundamental demand of the
agricultural tenants Of Ireland. in the
matter of rent, is, as it has always in
substance been, for the establishment
of an impartial public tribunal to adju-
dictate between landlord and tenant.
The tenants do not claim that the
amount of rent to be paid should be
fixed by themselves. What thew object
to is that it should be determined by
the arbitrary will Of a landlord.
"2. 1t is unnecessary here to enum-
crate the special circumstances Of the
Irish land system which put the justice
of the tenants claim in this matter be-
yond question. The principle that
Irish agricultural tenants should be
protected by law against the imposition
of exorbitant rents, and against evic-
ton in consequence of the non-pay-
ment of such rents, has long since been
recognized by Parliament. 1t is the
fundamental principle of the Land Act
of 1881, and of several subsequent stat
utes.
SO. The present claim of the tenants,
then, is for the full and effective appli-
cation of this principle. Even as re-
CARDS those classes of agricultural ten
ants on whom the right of having their
rents fixed by public tribunal has
been conferred by Acts Of Parliament.
obstacles have been. allowed by the
Legislature to remain, which in very
many cases practically render those
Acts imperative.
"a. by far the most serious of these
obstacles is that which has arisen from
the accumulation of the arrears, Of ex-
orbitant rents. In the present state Of
the law, tenants weighed down by this
burden-and- such tenants are to be
numbered by the thousand throughout
the country-are hopelessly excluded
from the possibility of obtaining effsc-
tive redress through the courts. The
heavy Indebtedness Of such tenants
puts it in the power of a harsh land
lord to use the threat Of eviction as a
means of keeping back the tenant from
making any application to the Court;
and even in cases where the intsrven-
ticn of the Court is obtained, the Court
owing to its inability to lesson the debt
Of the arrears, is powerless to ward Off
from the tenant the danger Of eviction.
1t has, indeed, Jurisdiction to reduce
his exorbitant rent. But it has no pow
er to lesson in any way the heavy in
debtedness that has come upon him
from his inability to pay that exorbi-
tant rent in the past. So long as this
indebtedness remains he is at the mercy
of the landlord.
st5. Again. there are thousands Of
tenants throughout the country who
have been ousted from the right Of hay
ing recourse to the Courts, by the serv-
ice of eviction notices which have in
fact altogether deprived them of their
legal status as tenants.
sc. 1t cannot be alleged in excuse
for the continued failure to afford legal
protection to the tenants in the cases
we have. mentioned, and in others un-
necessary to enumerate here, that any
serious difficulty exists in providing an
adequate remedy.
81 IS CARDS the question + arrears,
for instance, it is a fact of public motor.
-iety that at the present moment there is
in operation in Scotland an Act of Par
lament specially devised to afford pro-
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