The Irish standard., 1895-05-11


Europe. It Is due to over-popu latton,
says another. Look at Belgium, 9
smaller country than Ireland,yet it sup
ports three times the number of people.
It is due to the laziness of the Irish peo-
pie, says another. But wherever. the
Irish people have gone-and they have
gone into every part Of the world-they
will be found comparing favorably inin-
dustry and prosperity with other people.
It is extravaganza, says another. This
is the bitterest and at the same time
the most ridiculous charge Of all. 1t is
sad hunor to call a man who is half
starved and half clad extravagant be-
cause he spends for food and clothes
the money which his expatrialed coun-
trymen have, sent to him from other
lands
The Irish question will never be set
tied by abolishing entirely the relation
Of landlord and tenant
Says the writer in the Nation: "The
bill is based on principle, the justice
of which cannot be gainsaid, viz, that
it is right as between individuals, and
for the common good, that people should
enjoy the fruits of their own expendi-
tuye, and that the small land-owning
class should not retain the right to ap-
propriate to themselves, all the value
added to their estates by their tenants
outlay on works Of permanent benefit,
and utility The gist of the bill is that
tenants should not be taxed for the i'm
provements made by the tenants.
1t must be remembered that all the
irish landlords do in respect to the land
is to collect the rents; they never do any
repairing or make any, improvements.
In England the rule is entirely different.
The landlord does all the improvement
there. Another important feature Of the
bill is that it provides for the fixing OF
the rent every ten years instead Of every
fifteen years. This is right, inasnuch
as prices of produce change so much that
the rent fixed one year may be too large
or too small another year. The present
| famine and distress in Ireland is the
| strongest argument for the passage of
some radical measure. Every day Mr..
Morley is asked what he is going to do
| for this or that Western district. And
| so it goes. England is every now and
! then called upon to relieve the distress
of ireland. tForty years ago. says the
same writer, "John Bright said: Large
votes are annually required to keep the
| people quiet, aud large votes are ,annu-
ally required to keep the people alive
It is very much the same case still, ex~
cept that the people are fewer and the
votes are proportionately smaller.
Grants and loans of Irish money must
be made nearly every year to keep the
people alive and quiet, but the causes OF
pauperism and distress are not re-
moved
The whole system is wrong. "ln May
yo nine owners hold upwards of 10000
| acres each, and draw annually 100000
from this poor country" ..
The landlords carry Off this amount OF
! money to England without making a
penny's worth of return. It seems that
patching and tinkering is all that Eng
land is disposed to do in regard to the
! Irish land question. # England would
purchase the interest of foreign land
lords and place the title to the land where
it belongs, viz: in the people who work
| it, the difficulty would be at once at an
end. - -
Parliament can do this as easily as
our country has abolished all feudal
| tenures and incidents.