The Irish standard., 1903-09-12
The Bill a Partial Settlement of Question
Which is Settling Itself, But
A Landlord Measure.
Holds That Irish Party Ought to be Blamed
For Not Pressing For the
Convention Amendments

/ property at thirty-two millions above
the market value.
s. Not single amendment adopted
by the national convention is found in
the bill, in the terms or spirit in which
the convention demanded such an
amendment; neither the omission of
Clause 1, nor the congested districts
amendment, nor those relating to the
agricultural laborers; nor did the
Irish Party attempt to divide the COM
mittee of the House of Commons in
behalf of solitary amendment press
ed for by the assembly which spoke
for Ireland in that convention.
8. Two of these amendments, one
demanding that representative from
each congested districts county coun-
Gil should have a seat on the con-
gested districts board, and the other
calling for the provision c. home
stead law, as a guarantee against fu-
ture dangers of eviction for debt or
other causes, We're deliberately boy
cotted by the Irish Party in Westmin-
ster, after having been cheered by
them in Dublin. One was abandoned
amidst Nationalist cheers,' according
to the newspaper reports, while a
prominent member of the party intim-
ated, in speech the night previous to
the discussion of the congested dis
tricts representation amendment, lhat
what was wanted on the congested dis
tricts board was the inclusion of men
like Sir A. MacDonnell and Mr.. NIicks,
two government officials. And this is
the representation the board will
now receive, in addition to it's exist
ing pro-oficial majority. In other
words, the castle kicks out the pro-
posed national representation called
for by the convention.
10. The bill will be partial settle
ment of question which was and is
settling itself; but the measure is a
landlord bill, on the lines of the Dun
raven scheme; brought forward by a
landlord government; to be admins
tered by officials nominated by such
government, with powers of compul-
sion given to landlords to force tenants
to buy, which are in no sense given to
the latter to compel the landlord to
| dispose of his land. And
II. The bill does nothing whatever
for the agricultural laborers.
These are some facts about this
mucl-vaunted measure which may not
be pleasant to insist upon, but soft
words and Parliamentary fattery and
unlimited fapdoodle will not lessen the
number of years. purchase which Irish
farmers must now think of Offering
for their holdings. On the contrary,
this language of gush and exaggera-
tion-this tireless and tiresome talk
about "blessed revolutions" trans
formations, cancellations, and all the
rest, is directly responsible for the op-
position which it encouraged Mr..
Wyndham to give to the conventions
amendments. 1t will also tempt the
House of Lords to insist upon putting
back into the first clause the minimum
and maximum prices which they can
easily discover over the signatures of
AIessrs. Redmond, O'Brien and Russell
in the precious Dunraven compact.
Mr.. Redmond is not justified in
blaming the government for the de.
| fects in the bill; nor is he warranted
by the facts in asserting that there
would have been no bill but for the
land conference. I hold that the
Irish party are rightly to be blamed
| for their tame submission to the Dun.
raven-Wyndham influence in not
pressing for the convention amend.
ments. Every one of these amend.
ments could have been obtained If
fought for. The landlords would
never forego the f5O,O0O,O 900 they were
promised in the bill over the market
price. of their property for the mere
savage satisfaction of wrecking the
evicted tenants hopes or of thwartiuc
those of the agricultural laborers. To
imagine otherwise is to credit this
mercenary class with being blind to