The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-11-28
The Dublin Freeman's Opposition to His
Policy of Cancellation One of the
Chief Reasons.
Has Faith That the Land Act Will Sooner
or Later Be the Means Of Solving
the Land Question.

business. The common sense of the
country has, in fact, decided for itself
already.
lhc difference, unhappily, is deeper
ana more vital. 1t strikes ut the roots
of the policy of moderation, to which
III" country has over and over again.
through every vehicle of representa-
tive opinion, pledged itself. 1t direct
" traverses both the spirit and the
methods of the policy of the directory,
ana. in fact, openly aims mt subvert-
ing the only principle of loyalty united
action by which any national policy
of any kind can ever be effectually
rralizcd. The spirit of the policy of
the directory was to regard the act
with friendly eye as 1.-The most SUBJ
stantial victory gained for centuries
ny the Irish race for the re-conquest
of the soil of Ireland by the people
ana the disbnndment of the alien gar
riS0n which has hitherto been en-
ploycd by England for the mainten-
anrc of pernicious and irresponsible
class ascendancy."
The spirit of all the Freeman's in.
Vulnerable writings since the land con-
ference, throughout the Parliamentary
stages Of the bill and since it passed
into law, is Il spirit of denunciation so
lar M A. hat I,
t" frame a single sentence of honest
praise for the measure which the di-
rrctory regards as the greatest ever
wrung from the English Parliament.
The methods of the directory were
SLOW, and cautious action by the ten
nntry, unitedly and after confidential
consultation among themselves and
with their organization, after the man.
nel of the landlords, until gradually
and in Il friendly way a price securing
FOR them the substantial equivalent of
the Ashbourne bargains should be by
mutual agreement hammered out. The
methods of the Freeman were to run
directly counter to all the plans of the
directory, to break up the arrange
ments for cautious and confidential
action by the tenants, to force the
country into Il premature and ill-in-
formed public controversy, to divulge
all tlleir plans and weak points to the
landlords, to stir up all that is worst
in the landlord body by every species
of wanton provocation, and to excite
their greed and stimulate their hopes
by exhibiting to them daily the spec
taclc of n panicstricken tenantry, d.
vidcd among themselves, and betrayed
by their leaders.
1T would be an excellent method IL
the national interest was to frustrate
the abolition Of landlordism, or to
make the act work under the worst
possible conditions for tile tenants.
1t is, In my poor judgment, an abso-
lutel y fatal method, if the object is
to secure the ownership of the land
for the people o.. euca and sensible
terms, to give the e,icted tenants
chance of reinstatement in their
homes and to make the power of the
peoples organization formidable for
this and every other great national
purpose. must decline to speculate
as to the real design of the Freeman's
extraordinary course of conduct since
the first sitting of the land conference,
in which its own persistent advocacy
lLtd principal part in compelling
the tenants representatives to take
part. All know for certain is that
the first effect of the bitter campaign
opened in it's columns was to prevent
I'll" government from giving fuller ef-
feet to .-e recommendations of the
land conference, and, in fact, to make
it for some time more than doubtful
whether there would be any bonus at
all: that the next effect was to ham,
per us grievously in obtaining amend
ments during the committee stages Of
the bill, and on more than one Occa-
sion to bring the bill to the very verge
of destruction; and that the only re-
SILT of its desperate efforts during the
last two months, to substitute its own
differentiation policy for the policy