Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-01
BALFOUR'S LAND BILL
Parnell Says It's the Dishonest Meas
ure of a Dishonest Party.
ITS EVIL FEATURES POINTED OUT.
Useless 50 Long as the Pistol of Coercion
is at Tenants Heads.
JOBBERY THE RESULT IN THE PAST.
Amendments to the Old Land Act That Would Re-
suit in Much Good.

Mr. Parnell is in print with his reasons
for opposing the Irish land purchase bill.
He says it was conceived in dishonesty and
would end in jobbery. Real good could be
done by exempting tenants improvements
from rent, and other simple facts. ..
NEW YORK, May 31.-The North Ameri-
can ReuieD for June has an article by Mr..
Parnell stating the Irish party's grounds of
objection to Mr.. Balfour's Irish land pur-
chase bill. This measure Mr.. Parnell charac-
terizes as insufficient and dishonest"
though ostensibly brought forward for the
purpose of settling the land question on the
lines laid down By him when in America.
The measure is insufficient, because 1t would
not reach mere than one out OF every four Of
the Irish tenants, and there would be many
in the favored minority who have no right
or claim to enjoy the benefits Of land pur-
chase at the expense of the State.
On the basis of the operation of previous
enactments. it would take upward of 1885,
000 900 sterling to enable all Irish tenants
entitled to do so to become owners of their
holdings. The State would never advance
the vast sum necessary for the purpose, as
every once comedies that e33, 900, 900 ster-
ling is the utmost sum that the Brit
ish taxpayers can be induced to guarantee
IMPROVEMENTS MADE BY TENANTS.
"The Irish party holds, therefore, that
the land act of 81 should first be so amend
ed as to secure the tenants Improvements
| from the inf1iction of rent The bill, as it
stands, entities the landlord to ask the ten
ant to pay him 20 years purchase on the
Improvements made by the tenant himself,
as we'll as for the landlords property. By
freeing the tenants improvements from the
infliction of rent first the size of the ques-
tion and the amount of money involved
would be rendered much more manageable.
A further step in this direction would be
to refuse the benefit OF the measure to non-
resident tenants holding large tracts for
| grazing purposes, employing no labor and
making no outlay on their holdings. Three
fourths of Connaught, one-third of Munster
| and one-fourth of Leinster are so held. It
was not for the advantage of graziers and
combeen men that the flag of land for the
people was unfurled at Irishtown in 1879.
Great abuses have attended the working
of land purchase measures. Landlords have,
in many cases, divided their home farms
among bogus tenants, to whom they have
sold at inflated prices.
ONLY LAND JoBBERY
This shows that the principle of land pur-
chase has been degraded into land jobbery
and that the resources which, if husbanded, |
might have been sufficient for the settle |
mentIof the question are being scandalousiy |
misspent while the question is left unsolved. |
Moreover, the grossest favoritism has been |
shown in the selection OF estates for whose |
purchase advances of public money are to |
be made. The large absentee owners have
been favored, while the smaller resident |
owners have been lett out. Just the opposite
policy should have been followed.
Up to December 81, 1888, $50 owners sold |
estates to their tenants for 93,792,0O0. OF
these $50 owners, "a walked off with e.
251 900. If this bill is carried out in the |
same way, blythe time e40, 600, 900 have been
spent out of 10, 900 Irish land owners will
600, 900. This is not the manner in which
the land question should be settled.
STILL OTHER OBJECTIONS.
Another objection to the present bill is
the provision made for the hypothecation,
as a contemporaries against dishonesty
on the part of the new owners, of the
amounts paid by Parliament for certain
defined local purposes in Ireland, such as
medical aid to the poor, education, mainte-
nance of lunatics, etc.
The consideration, Mr.. Parnell says,
which has Influenced him as largely as any
thing else in opposing Mr.. Balfour's meas
ure, is the existence of coercion in Ireland,
(which renders it impossible for the tenants
to contract freely with their landlords in
arranging terms of sales"
A further objection Is that the method
adopted by the bill for dealing with the con-
gested districts In Ireland secures further
waste of the resources available, for it is pro-
posed to devote the public money indifer-
emily to the purchase of grass lands and con-
gested holdings.
THE BILL NO SOLUTION.
In conclusion Mr.. Parnell says he would
gladly welcome 'anY honest intention on
the part of the Government to solve this
land question. If the land question is un-
settled on Mr.. Gladstone's return to office,
the larger settlement of home rule will be
materially hampered. Difficulties be-
tween landlord and tenant, if they should
arise, will be most embarrassing for the
Irish Parliament and the new executive
depending upon that Parliament. But this
pretended land purchase bill is no solution.
1t seizes upon all our available resources,
and hypothecates them without our consent.
ut jobs away the limited number of mill
ions available, which, if husbanded and care
fully directed, as I have shown, would 60
far-very far-toward relieving all pressure
and difficulty in the future.
WILL FIGHT TO THE END.
"It selects the large and absentee owners
for favored treatment, while it compels the
tenant to buy his holding at an inflated
price, with a load of arrears around his neck
and the pistol of coercion at his head. We
be any party to a measure so brought
forward and constituted.
1--WE shall resist it clause by clause in
we shall, if possible, amend it,
and we believe that, as the progress of
events has justified every vote that we have
ever given in the House Of Commons on the
land question and every step that we have
ever taken to organize the Irish people
against oppression, so our action against :
this most dishonest bill, of dishonest
party and Government will benefit Ireland
and secure the verdict of history"
/