The Irish standard., 1890-11-15


BALF0U R's BRu FAL no E. u.
Vim. o. BErien H1vgs3a Vivid Account Of the
Horrors Of Coercion in ireland.
VIM O 'Brien has prepared for puoll-
cation comp rehensive and thrilling
narrative Of the actual workings OF the
ont-age Irish coercion law. Itss .1or-
rible abuses and grotesque phases are
painted il vivid manner. Mr.. @ 'Bnen
| tells how police shadows = chased him
self and bride on bicycles. sailed with
them on the Lakes Of Killarney, and
noted what they ate, He relates how
even into the chamber of death Balfou1
sends his spies, and how priests, editors
and newsboys are under constant esplon
age. Instances Of death in the prison
are given as his introduction. Mr.,
O'Brien says
The core Of the Irish difficulty is the
fact that fiye-sixths of the population
are held down and dominated by land.
lord and governmental caste who are
alien to the race in sympathy and inter.
est. The bulk of this caste, who are
called the English garrisnn in Ireland,
consists of 10, GOO landlords and their de.
pendents, who, until quite recently, had
absolute power of life and death oyer
the whole agricultural population, whose
rents they fixed at will, and whom they
exterminated in thousands at their ca.
price. The results Of their operations
are told with eloquence in the fact that
in the memory of men still living that
is to say, since 1886 200, 900 of the
population have been evicted from the
homes which they or their fathers built,
from the farms in which they alone had
ever invested one shilling of capital for
improvements.
Mr.. Parnell and his party represent a
population of 4,25O,O0O out of total
population of 4. 700, 900. Yet the repre-
sentatives of the people have not the
smallest shadow OF power in the govern
ment Of the country, and are never con-
suited either as to any Legislation pro-
posed or as to any official appointed.
This population of 100000 is one
wholly disowned by a disowning act
which renders the possession of any
weapon crime punishable with six
months at hard labor. Yet to preserve
the semblance of government among
this smyN disowned population, Is. 600
armed policemen are kept up at cost
of $8 600, 900, and besides these there
are an army of 10000 who are called
into requisition to carry out ev,ctlons
and to suppress public meetings. That
is to say, in this small island 1t takes
twice the number of bayonets to keep
down the population that there are in
the 1hole of the United States army,
which has the guardianship Of vast
continent. These policemen are differed
wholly by Elglishmen and members of
the landlord class, nominated By Dublin
Castle. In Ireland the police lord it
over the people in way thatswould not
be endured in England for SINGLE mo-
ment. and so irritating is their behavior
that I can only wonder at the endur-
ance of the people under the extreme
provocation 10 say word to them is
criminal offence, or even to give q
cheer for popular member. It is i'm
possible to describe the impression
which the scenes We have witnessed
made upon us or to picture the misery
caused by ev,ctlons-a misery which
Mr.. Balfour is doing his best TO increase
and perpetuate.
In conclusion Mr.. y 'B1ea says: Eng
lishmen are beginning to realize that the
representatives of the people have alb
solutely no power; thas instead of being
consulted in their government they are
constantly attacked and imprisoned.
They are beginning to understand that
the net result Of this system Is that the
population of Ireland, Of all the coun
tries of Europe, is still diminishing by
hundreds of thousands. and that all the
hateful Things that are being done in
Irsland have had 80 little effect in coerc-
ing the spirit Of ehe people that at no
less than six elections which have taken
place recently north, south, east and
west in Ireland, the government ac-
knowledged themselves SO helpless that
they have not dared to challenge a yer.
dict Of the people under the ballot by
presenting candidate. Every fresh
police atrccity in Ireland is almost IN
variably followed by a triumphant by
election in England for us. Even Tories
fhams in their confidential mo