The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-08
Prospects of the Irish Land Purchase
Bill.

1t is still question whether the dis
closures Of grave differences Of opinion in
the Balfour Cabinet concerning the ex-
pediency of introducing protectionist
and preferential tariff will not cause
Parliament to be dissolved before the
Irish Land Purchase bill becomes law.
The measure has passed the second
reading, and has now reached the COM
mittee stage. From certain declarations
made by the Prime Minister and by Mr..
WYNDHAM, the Chief Secretary to the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. there seems
to be ground for the belief that such con-
cessions will be made to the Nationalist
members as will assure the passage of the
bill in form acceptable to Ireland
In the debate on the second reading,
MIR. JOHN F.. REDMOND Parliamentary
leader of the Nationalist party, indicated
the scope and nature of the amendments
which, in his opinion, the bill requires.
He pointed out, in the first place, that the
fixing of minimum buying price was
out of place in voluntary measure, and
would cause great difficulty to tenants of
poor lands which did not fall within the
range Of activity of the Congested Dis
tricts Board He also directed atten-
ton to the fact that if the bonus payable
from the Imperial EXchequer were to be
distributed as the bill proposed, among
the landlords in inverse ratio to the
amount of the purchase money, the great
tat could ho Eart out 81 he III
Desiring to avert such result, the Irish
party advised uniform bonus all round
OF is per cent. Mr.. REDMOND further
insisted that evicted tenants must not be
excluded from the benefits of the bill.
He also condemned an inconsistent
feature Of the measure, which, while
leaving it optional with all landlords to
sell, provides that, where three -fourths
of the tenants of given estate agree to
purchase, the remaining fourth shall be
compelled to buy. He commended, lastly,
that the powers of the Congested Dis
tricts Board must be largely increased,
either by an amendment of the bill or by
a separate measure, for land bill which
did not settle the Connaught question
would not be worthy Of the name. We
have pointed out that in parts of Con-
naught the land is 80 poor that it is prac-
tically impossible for tenants to pay any
rent at all, and it would, consequently, be
impossible for them to purchase.
Mr.. BALFoUR, replying to objections
raised against the bill, declared that,
in view of the punctual payment of in
stallments since the first practical meas
ure of land purchase was passed by the
Conservatives in 1885, there could be no
cause for any gloomy forebodings as to
the risk to be placed upon the British
taxpayers. The new Land Purchase
project, comprehensive though it was,
involved no danger to British credit.
Neither, he said, could the Irish Land
question be considered purely local. On
the contrary, it was question Of i'm
perial magnitude. Turning to the press
ing need of solution. of the problem at
this time, he reminded his auditors that
Irish land was at present not market
able for nobody would buy a commodity
the value Of which was settled, not by
the free play OF supply and demand, but
by three Judges and Land Commissioners
who could never give verdict with
which either party would be content.
The fact was also recalled that in Ireland
the landlords did not contribute shillip,.
toward the cultivation of the land More
over, tho land was burdened with an
irksome weight of litigation Under all
the circumstances, the solution Of the
Irish land question proposed by the bill
before the House was indispensable. Mr..
BALFouR INDUCED in no illusions, he said,
as to tho political effect Of the measure.
He recognized that emotions which are