Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-26
The New Irish Land Bill,

FROM the Philadelphia Press.
If the new Irish land bill is successful
the Irish question will receive its final
settlement in thirty years. or a century
since Daniel O'Connell was elected, in 1929,
to parliament, the first Roman Catholic
commoner chosen since the revolution the
beginning of modern Irish agitation OF
that century, the first fifty years went to
civil rights and the final presence in par
lament first of Butts home rulers and
next of Parnell. The last half goes to land
freedom, beginning in 1878 just forty-nine
years after OConnells election with the
organization of the Irish Land League I'M
der Michael Davitt. Yesterday he attend
ed the house for the first time since he
ceased to be a member. to hear the begin
ming of the end he began twenty-f five years
ago.
In the first quarter of century since
the Land League was organized the strug-
gle for land justice and land freedom has
gone through three stages First. rents
We're twice revised under Gladstone's land
bill and its successors and reduced 40 per
cent. This reduction in the property rights
of landlords was effected without compen-
sation. but it was no greater than the re-
duction in rents worked by economic
| causes in England Some ten years ago
provision was made for the purchase of
holdings by an ingenious plan under which
the difference between the rate at which
the government and that at which the ten
ant could borrow was used to eXtinguisb
the purchase money.
In all, $1,000 tenants have bought under
this act. There remains a great swarm
of small tenants whose total rental was at
first estimated at $4,000, 600 but proves to
be only s20,0O0OOv. This rent is to be re-
duced from 10 to % per cent. the larger re-
duction for the poorer holding. In order
to put the tenant on his feet an advance
outright of s60,0OO.0O0 is to be made.
At thirty years purchase-the old land
purchase act was for eighteen years-the
total cost would be s6O0,OO0OOO Mr.
Wyndham last night put the capitalized
value Of the Irish land under consideration
at $75O,0OO,OOO. He expects that it can be
bought by issuing In all $5O0O00.O00 of
English 2& per cent bonds. These are to
be paid back. interest and principal, first
out OF the reduced rents and second out of
the reduced cost of Irish administration.
The interest charge on S5OoOO0COO of bonds
will be $13, 10000 year, but all will not
be issued for some time. About a quarter
will come from rents, about half from
auctions in government expenditures. The
rest is a direct contribution. The Econo-
mist puts this at a third Of the total or
81 100000.
If peace. amity and good will are bought
the price Is cheap. The measure has three
risks. First, it assumes that rents, after
falling thirty years, are to stop falling for
thirty years to come. Second, that the cost
of the Irish constabulary can be reduced,
and for this England pays 100000. or
over half the proposed interest, and, third,
that the tenants will pay the new rent and
will not sublet. One would deprive the
treasury of revenue. The other would
create new land question.
These are serious risks, but they are
less than those of going on sowing hate by
denying justice Yet this great experiment.
in which the landlord loses some 30 to 60
per cent of the yield of his property with
out compensation, and the state gives the
tenant large share of his land by rails
ing money out of taxation, must power
fully affect the solution of many other
social and economic problems the world
over.