The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-07-06

the cattle drivers serve no end further
than causing days amusement to the
country people of the districts.
I may give an example of what a
prosecution means. The other day I
visited Ballintubber, in County Ros-
common, where twelve men were ar
raigned for having taken part with 400
others in driving cattle from a farm
and leaving them at their owners
house about five miles away.
Ballintubber is little hamlet of
about two dozen houses. The court
is a single roomed cabin that accom-
modates about dozen people comfort
ably.
Into this cabin were crowded the
bench of four magistrates, the, twelve
prisoners. the members Of the press,
the police, and as many Of the public
as could be cramned into the room.
Outside was a force of 300 policemen
drawn. drawn from "aoyspantsz-sndsr- 3 der eight
The taking of evfdence lasted from
noon until o'clock in the evening,
and an extremely clear case was
proved against all the defendants. The
magistrates retired to consider their
verdict. and when they returned to
court in a few minutes they discharged
the men.
The decision did not disappoint the
mob Of people outside, who cheered the
prisoners when they emerged from the
whitewashed cabin that served as
British court The fact is. the late
Unionist government when endeavor-
ing to make terms with the Irish be-
gan by appointing large numbers of
Nationalist local leaders magistrates,
to show that they could trust the peo-
pie.
These new magistrates form plu-
rality in the disaffected districts and
control the agitation so far as the law
is concerned. They refuse to send the
prisoners forward for trial. In the
Ballintubber case the bench consisted
the resident magistrate, who, knowing
that his three brethren were for an
acquittal. did not waste time by con-
sidering the verdict with them.
The Attorney-General could inter-
vene and have the cases reconsidered
by resident magistrate, in which case
| the majority of the prisoners would be
sent for trial, but this step would kill
what friendly feeling between the Brit
ish government and the Irish people
has remained since the abortive bill
was brought in by Mr.. Birrell.
It is impossible not to have SYM
pathy with the people in their strug-
gle. In the old land war days the
peasants were driven from their homes
and their lands were given over to
grazing. have passed through at
least sixty miles of ranches. e..
Where twenty-five years ago there
were groups Of cabins at the present
moment not stone is to be seen. For
miles and miles nothing is seen but
grass lands upon which the cattle of
men belonging to other districts Craze.
When cabin is met it is usually sit
uated in the bogs into which the peas
ants were forced and the people make
scant living by cultivating patches
of the worst kind OF land reclaimed by
themselves.
Their grievance is that the finest
country is given over to the cattle and
sheep, and the object Of the agitation
is to make the grass lands derelict so
that the owners will be glad to sell it
to them.
A new feature In the agitation, for
| which those who have been against
the system Of government tenants have
been looking, now threatens. The men
Iwho became tenants under the state
are writing daily to the estate COM
] jmissioners in Dublin complaining that