The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-08-24
The Most Hated Landlord in Ireland With
Voice Shrill and Husky With
Passion Denounces Bill.
For the Last Quarter Of Century the Irish
Land Battles Have Ragged Around
His Name and Deeds.

man of indonitable spirit and uncon-
querable obstinacy, and what did he
say?
That the Estates Commissioners
could emulate the most tyrannical ex-
cesses of the worst times of even the
Tower of London and smother the
complaints of their victims with an
appeal to themselves as effectively as
Malmsey Butt. That "these Irish sops
don't satiate, but only whet greed:
that last Irish sop. the Town Tenants
Act, is only a few months old; thai
hardly was the ink dry when this fresh
sop was demanded. The one blue
patch in dirty sky was that the bill
would at least deck the brow of Angus
tine Birrell with legislative laurels,
but that even such blessings might be
bought too dear and at the price of
bill tainted with inept callous levity
of despotism, unworthy any sane gov
ernment accountable fer the liberties
OF any free people" $50
This and other sentences gave
younger Peers an idea Of Lord Clanri-
carde's stock of rhetorical vehemence.
The whole speech Of this old man of
seventy-five was a scathing denuncia-
tion of the plan Of campaign and the
Unsuitable character of Irish land leg
islation, but it was not his words
which riveted attention so much as the
gray shadow from which they pro-
ceeded. When he sat down, the whole
House looked at the figure as though
they expected it to fade away in the
mist, and he fixed his eyes on the
leader of the House as much as to say:
"They that feel timid at the spectral
form are not men to spread the light"
Not sound had interrupted his
speech. The House was dumbfounded,
and it was very significant, too, that
not a single Peer ventured to say
word or utter a. sound in support of
Lord Clanricarde. Even Lord Lans-
downe. leader of the opposition. did not
dare oppose the second reading of the
bill. While admitting that it's reiec-
ton might increase the difficulties of
the executive" he will adopt subtler.
suaver method of death by the mutila-
tion called amendment.
The present marquis is nearly IS
years old. He is the master of $1,000
acres in County Galway, Ireland, and
draws therefrom an income of $104,1so
a year. The estates in Galway are
more favored than the neighboring
districts in the west of Ireland. They
lie in the extreme southeastern corner
Of the county, in limestone country.
The stony soil offers living niggardly
enough to the people. who scrape it
up for an annual crop Of potatoes. Yet
the bogs are neither numerous nor
extensive. This is saying much when
1t is understood that of the 1,566.354
acres in County Galway 90,23o are
under water. Neither is the region
so mountainous and wildly picturesque
as at the mouth of the Shannon to the
west. near Athlone to the north, or on
the beautiful Island of Connemara to
the northwest-the Ultima. Thule-of
ireland
The seat of the clanricarde estate
Is Portumna Castle, modern man
sion near the village of Portumna. 1t
has been deserted for so long time
that even the people Of the neighbor-
ing counties have only vague idea OF
its appearance in history. The viii
lagos Of Portumna and Loughrea are
part Of the estate.
The second and last visit of the pres
ent Marquis to Ireland within forty
years is SO full Of meaning and throws
such a lurid light on his system of
governing the estate, that we will
briefly describe the circumstances. The
years 1874 to 1883 covered period Of
great agricultural depression. The ten