The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1903-03-28
THE lRI6a Land BIZ
lContrlbuted by REQUEST

NCpiiN p'tN ny lSiuIH'}
The Irish Land Bill which has just
passed its first reading in the English
House Of Commons, proves the truth OF
the old Irish saying: "a constant
drop wears a hole in the stone"
Excepting the Irish by birth or ex-
traction,in America. some philanthropic
souls, and still some others who saw
with sorrow the constant sending of
money by the Irish in this country to
their kinsfolk in the old country, very
few indeed understand the Importance
of the land bill just introduced by
Captain Wyndham.
There is practically no such thing as
land title in Ireland. With a generosi-
ty which is thoroughly characteristic
of the English governing class, the
kings of that country took the land
and estates of the Irish and bestowed
them upon their English r%etainers.
Then again the English government
in very many instances planted large
colonies of the English r%itf-ratf on
land deliberately and without com
%pensatioa, taken from the Irish, and
in this way corporations known in
England as the Salters, SINNERS and
Planters Corporations, sent hundreds
of men, mostly of the class mentioned
mentioned. from London, and had
them actually settle down on the Irish
mans holdings, dispossessing the
latter and even, but mob always taking
| the lives of these d%espoiled. The fore
| going is mentioned just to show that
ia the nature OF things it is impossible
that there should be anything in Ire
land known as q chain of titles when
dealing with real estate transactions.
A person, therefore, in Ireland in pur-
chasing land goes into the landed
estates court and receives a certificate
from that institution, and this is ibis
title to the land described in that in.
strument.
For upwards of four hundred and
fifty years the Irishman has battled
for what Burns would call "leave to
toil;" the right to live on his
native land. In 1879 Michael
Davitt was put in jail for advocating q
measure less radical than the one
which has just passed its first reading
in the House of Commons.
Since 1 have been old enough te
remember anything it has been an act
ual fact of history that a concession
which one English Parliament declared
! should never be granted to Ireland
the next succeeding Parliament actual
ly offered; and it so happens that the
Irishman seeing,-because sometimes
the Irishman is an apt pupii,-wha
power he was able to WELD stepped il
advance of his former position and de
mapded something more than tn
Parliaments as they convened wer,
willing to concede.
Finally in the lifetime of the late ant
ever to be lamented Charles Stwar
Parnell, his gifted sister Fannie,
bright, intellectual American girl, in
dited a poem. which then became an
ever since has remained a battle or,
for the Irish, and which runs some
thing as follows:
"Now by the God who made US all
the seignoir and the serf,
Rise up this day and e to hol
your W green Irish turf etc
The measure of the poem was catch.
and the spirit contagious, and the or
tire Irish people every where in Ire
land outside of Orange strong holds c
the north. adopted it as a battle cry
and from that day the Irish as wit
one voice and with a unanimity ur
equalled, l think, in the annals of an
people, and with a tenacity of purpos