The Washington herald., 1907-06-09
BRITISH IN TROUBLE
lmpOtenceOfth the Government
Causes Discomfort.
IRISH SITUATION GETS SERIOUS
Peasants Threaten Revolt if Land
Bill l. Not Passed-Reign of Law
Iessness Feared i'm Certain See
tiOns of Emerald IsIe-Fund Being
Raised to Defend Prisoners.

London, June S.-The increasing discom-
future and impotence Of the present gov
eminent numerically the strongest Great
Britain has ever known, continues TO fur
nish the most significant spectacle Of the
day.
Its ambitious programme, announced
when it came into power, was in great
part abandoned in the revised plan which
Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman indi-
Gated this week
The bills which the government viii
endeavor TO pass at the present session
are unimportant from the contentious
point of view. and the chief interest cen
ters In its plans FOR the next year.
The only possible inference from tie
/ premier's declarations is that it is the
intention to dissolve Parliament n the
House Of Lords rejects the new educa-
ton and old-age pensions bill As the up
I per house is cestain TO do this # Is
/ at least encouraging. for few doubt that
. the country viii return safe Uuiouist
majority at the earliest possible opp9r-
/ tunity 10 gets to turn out the present
n0udescript combination Of allied Liberal
. and Radical Socialist legislators
/ II cannot be denied that they have ac-
/ c0mplished considerable mischief in de-
stroying commercial and financial conf
deuce In the country. aside from actual
legislation. bur they have been p.tvingIy
| described as a hlank-c5rtridge govern
ment Their choice OF an issue DO deciding
/ 90 ride for a fall is on the whole sltisfac-
/ tory. II is 10 be q reform House of Lords
/ now. The hereditary branch OF the leeis-
/ iatuTe has never been a popular iust.tI-
/ ton in the ordinary sense of the word,
| but never before, in many years observa-
+ tion, has the present writer heard Eng
1 lishmen exclaim. Thank God for the
/ House Of Lords" so often as since the
/ present government came into power.
CompInint Of Liberals
/ The complaint of the Liberal party
against the upper house is from an acl-
/ dsm.c point OF view legitimate and 5lst-
I fed. They say their party is never really
| ia power, no matter how great the p0pu-
/ lar majority behind them. 30 I5ng as this
hereditary obstacle to the popular Will
exists
/ But everybody knows now that the
present government mo- longer possesses /
I tHe support and confidence OF the couu-
/ Try Even the man in the street Is u0w
I able % see that il Is only the House Of
Lords that averts the most appalling coll /
lapse of Great Britaius prosperity. which I
I would quickly betall f there was immi-
u-ut danger Of Premier CampbeIl-H4ursr-
mans sHcialis-io measures becoming th- /
/
/ the government has greatly strengthened /
/ iu popular esteem the very institution .
which it now proposes To- attack. The T.
awkw8Tdness ~ Mr.. B8uneISu8r's posi- .
ton is likely % increase as time goes on /
Getting Warm in ireland.
Things are getting pretty warm iu Ire /
/ land, and there is uo longer any doub, /
{ that tie government will soon be con-
fronted with an agitation so violent that
ordinary police measures will be quite in /
adequate 10 control the situation Then I
/ the premier minister must decide /
whether 60 allow reign NJ lswlessnses /
+ In "a large part Of Ireland or face anil
opposition stronger than any other I'm
Parliament of his former Irish allies.
This is also developing I'm ireland it. /
self The Sligo county council has let .
itself go against the government At a .
special meeting held this week. John 4
O.DoWd, the chairman said that seven /.
weeks ago the Irish party secured "a sec /
ond reading Of the Irish land bill and T.
their duty would be O. make ir hot Tor the I.
government both in The House OF Com /
mons and on the green hills Of ireland 4
If they did not pass that bill
Radicals Termed Enemies.
Henry Brennan, the vice chairman. /
characterized the Radicals as the biggest /
enemies of ireland, inasmuch as they had /
offered bogus Irish council bill The
Irish people. he said, would not allow
themselves to be humbugged any longer /
by the Radical majority. and ireland /.
would no longer accept the infamous gov
eminent Of Dublin Castle. Let every one /
raise the flag and organize his constit-
uents and fight, e need bee. AT the point
Of the bay0net. until their lost parla-
meut was restored 10 them In the fu-
ture Mr. Brennan said, they should not
pin their faith TO any English govern
ment. They should bind themselves TO
get her and keep their powder dry.
Your correspondent i'm ireland writes.
Up to date in the anticipating war the
people have won almost every case where
cattle We're driven from ranches. The
grazers have given up the lands in dis
pute. and the peasants await the sIcing
up Of the fields among them. I'm several
cases the defendants brought i'm by the
police have been sent to trial or to Jail
because they would not give bail. and
their neighbors have undertaken the work
of tilling their grounds and looking after
their farms, as was done in the earlier
Land League days.
Organizing Defense Fund.
'Roscommon has led the way in organ
izing a defense fund. The county coun-
ellis, a modified form cf home rule
granted a few years ago. have started
fund, and money is coming in freely II
will be devoted to defending prisoners.
and. where convictions are secured. 90
providing for the families Of men sent TO
Jail Two American delegates have been
through the West, and have seen the CON
ditions under which the people live They
agree with the peasants in the steps they
have taken.
Here and there in the west I found
clusters of cabins. Each was provided
with as much land as "a few blankets
would cover. while for miles around the
country is gr2Zed by cattle The peas
ants want the grazing land divided 50
that they may have adequate farms In
order TO secure this division they are
driving cattle away from the ranches so
that the lands may be left unproductive
and the landlords In self-defense will be
compelled to sell
Peasants Threaten Revolt
when the state began TO purchase the :
farms and make the people government
tenants. it was predicted that the peas
ants would one day revolt and refuse to