The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-08-24

selves unable to meet the rents fixed
by the Land Commission some years
previously. Recognizing the serious
ness Of the situation. Parnell intro
duced a bill in 1856 to deal with the
condition of things which then existed:
the Bill intended to deal with a sue
cession Of bad harvests. disastrous to
the farmers, and a, tremendous drop in
the price of all kinds of stock. which
made it impossible for the people to
meet the high rents fixed by the Land
Commission. That bill was opposed
and rejected by the Conservative
Government. The tenants were then
thrown upon their own resources. and.
in face of the terrible difficulties which
confronted them, what We're they to
do?
The Land Commission was fixing fair
rents on all the surrounding estates,
the Clanricarde estate inclusive, at an
average reduction Of 35 per cent. The
Clanricarde tenants petitioned and ex-
pressed themselves willing to accept
a temporary reduction of 90 per cent
to tide them over the bad years. but
the owner would concede them nothing
That the tenants upon the property
were not unreasonable in their request
put forward in the petition at the time,
may be inferred from the following ex-
tract taken from the Blue Book Re
port of the Evicted Tenants Comnis-
sion. which was appointed to inquire
into this difficult matter, and so re-
port to Parliament the best way of set
tling it:
"On the Clanricarde estate the evil
dence shows that the first demand Of
the tenants was not excessive. The
fairness of the tenants claim was, to
a large extent proved by the reduc-
tions granted on the estate by the Land
Commissioners in 1887 and 1888. and to
Lord Clanricardes resolution in the
first instance not to give a reduction,
his agent, Mr.. Joyce. attributed wholly
the very bad feeling which prevailed
in the locality"
In the course of the negotiations
Lord Clanricarde proposed to make
concessions, which the tenants consid-
cred Inadequate. He also expressed
t,;e 1ri,1;pooaee. '%o'' .a11 1,,,@ .,,,~%aa
twenty-five years purchase. In some
instances, as a condition of reinstate-
ment, it was insisted that the tenants
should pay. rent for the time. they
were out of possession, and in others
that they should take farms from
which their fellow tenants had been
evicted With respect to the manage
ment Of this estate, we desire to point
out that long before the appointment
Of this Commission it had been the
subject of grave censure by high ju-
dicial and official authority. Then it
was that the tenants on the estate were
obliged by the force of circumstances
to band themselves together in the
combination known as 1.-The Plan of
Campaign"
The direct and immediate result of
this concerted action was seen in the
next session of Parliament. when the
same Conservative Government intro
duced a bill, which was carried into
law, which automat tically reduced the
rents all over Ireland for the years
mentioned in Parnell's bill. and thus
saved people from ruin and disaster.
But, alas! The bill of the Government
was too late to save the Clanricarde
tenants. AS stated, they were obliged
in self-defence to form certain COM
bination. and whether for good and evil
they should abide the consequences.
In the meantime the agent on the es-
tate. Frank Joyce, was busy in point
ing out to his employer the advisable
ity of following the good example set
by kinsmen Of his. own in the county,
who. in order to assist the poor people
over the bad seasons, had voluntarily
remitted certain percentages of the
rent. But the landlord was consist
emily determined not to listen to any
such advice, but instructed his agent
to carry out the evictions forthwith.
and with all the rigors the law would
allow. Subsequently a quarrel ensued
between the agent and Clanricarde
arising out Of these evictions when
Mr.. Joyce was obliged to bring action
for libel against him, which resulted
in a verdict with exemplary damages.
This is the only other occasion Of Lord
Clanricarde visiting Ireland during the
past forty years, and under the extra
ordinary circumstances narrated, when
he appeared for the purpose Of de-
Tending himself against the libel ac-