Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-27
What the Government Has
Done to Restore Them.
LARGE NUMBER affected
Many Have Applied for Restoration
Through United Irish League.
ALL LANDLORDS CONSENTED
Two Stood Out, the Marquis Of Clan
ricardo and a Mrs. Lewis, Both
Having Large Estates.
BY WILLIAM E. CERTIS.

BY WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and tn
Chicago Record Herald.
DUBLIN, June 20. 1908.
The British parliament has done {
great deal more for Ireland than i
gets credit for at home or abroad
Indeed, the Americans who sympa
thize with the suffering of Ireland re
alize very little what has been done IL
the way of legislation and official admins
tration to relieve the situation here.
have already told you about the opera
tions OF the land act Of 1903. and previou:
laws of a similar purpose, which have
divided up the most of the large estate:
into small farms. paid for by the govern
ment. and placed them in the hands O.
farmers, who have been paying rent fo
centuries until now. Not only have these
farms been purchased with money ad
vanced from the public treasury, on mort
cages running for sixty-eight years at 81
per cent interest, but the government ha
provided many Of the farmers witt
houses. implements and live stock to give
them start.
The ''evicted tenants act,'' as 1t is called
passed in 1907, goes even farther. and j:
even more generous, for it restored thei
former holdings to all OF the farmers wht
have been eVicted during the last twenty
five years, as far as possible, and Il
equally good land where 1t is not posi-
BILE, and establishes them in business full!
equipped for the cultivation of the sol
at the expense Of the taxpayers; the ad
vances to be refunded by pOsterity with
in sixty-eight years.
Large Numbers Evicted.
During the last quarter Of a centur!
from 5000 to $500 farmers have beer
evicted from farms in Ireland becaus,
they refused or were unable or neglected
to pay their rent. Some of them have re
manned in the neighborhood and hav,
Squatted where they could and waited
their chance to recover their holdings
others have emigrated to America; toher
have gone into different parts of Ireland
others have engaged in business OF va
rious sorts. Between 5000 and 5000 hav'
already applied for restoration under thu
act of 1901. most of them through thu
agency of the United Irish League.
OF these 1855 families nave already beer
restored. up to March 81. most of then
to the actual farms from which they wer'
expelled, not as tenants, however, TO
they viii never be asked to pay any NOR,
rent, but as the owners of the propert!
and improvements, purchased for then
by the government. with money to b.
repaid, not by them unless they choos'
to do so, but by thehir posterlty, in tn,
year 1915 or Whereabouts. The only finan
clal obligation imposed upon them Is t.
pay an interest OF 81 per cent upon tn
purchase money, which has been Dor
rowed by the government upon bond
running for sixty-eight years at pc
cent interest. The additional " per cen
goes into sinking fund to pay the bonds
at maturity.
About IS per cent Of the claims tina
have been filed under the evicted tenants
act have been genuine, but remainder arr
apparently fraudulent. or in doubt ant
lowed are questionable. l heard of a cas'
yesterday In which q tenant VINO wa!
evicted In 1889 for refusal to pay his rem
was restored to his old home under rather
were voluntary, and due to political rea
sons rather than from the lack of means
and when he was thrown off his farm
he went into business as cattle broker
and became rich. But, in common will
his farmer neighbors, he filed his claim
under the act, was restored to his ole
home and the generous agents of thu
estates commission bought couple O.
COWS. a few sheep and hogs from his Owl
pastures, paid him for them, and theI
gave them to him. He is now occupying
the place and cultivating it by hired Ia
Dor, and will be asked to refund thu
money the government has advanced To-
him In the year 1873.
The Number Restored.
In the application Of the provisions o.
the act no distinction is made between
those who were evicted because of theil
poverty and those for political reasons
About one thousand evictions, Mr.. Denni:
Johnston of the United Irish League tell:
me, were the result Of what is known a.
the plan Of campaign adopted in 1888
when the National League determined t.
force the issue and organized genera
strike among the farmers against thu
payment OF rent upon certain estates Sc
lected because their landlords were ha
bitual absentees, who spent the revenues
they derived from their estates outside O.
Ireland. and were oppressive to their ten
ants and generally offensive. AS a rule
tenants paid half a years rent to thu
agents Of the league for war fund, 81
far as they were able. Most Of them wer,
able to pay: although there was a grea
deal of suffering and privation amont
about 1000 families who were thrown on
Of their homes during the land war which
lasted for two or three years. Practical.
all OF them have already been restored t.
their former farms except the tenants
rigarde and Mrs. Lewis in Galway county
Seven of the 1873 families evicted from tn,
Clanrigarde estate have been provided
with homes elsewhere, but none of thos,
Lewis have been taken care of.
The following Is list Of the estates
that were storm centers during the Ian,
war Of 1880. and the number of evicte,
tenants who have been restored upor
each Of them:
The Smith Barry estate. Tipperary, G,
tenants restored: the Vandeleur estate
County Clare, 30 restored the Massereen,
and Fethard estate. County Louth ant
Meathe. 66 restored: the estate Of the Mar
auis OF Lansdowne. recently minister o
foreign relations in the cabinet at Lon
don. Queens county. 81 restored: the Pom
sonby estate. County Cork. about 90 re
stored: the Cloncurry estate, County Linn
merck. 9 or restored: the Brooke estate
County Wexford. 40 restored: the Ryrn,
estate, County Wexford, 40 restored.
And there were many other smaller es
tates upon which all of the tenants tina
were evicted during the campaign of tn
United Irish League have been restored I,
their former farms, not as tenants, bu
as owners.
Another Land War.
In 1901 another land war was inaugu
rated under the direction of Dennis John
ston and John Fitzgibbons of the Unite,
Irish League in Rosscommon and neigh
boring counties. and a large number O
tenants who had voluntarily agreed not t,
pay their rents were thrown off thei
farms as voluntary martyrs in a cam
paign which finally resulted in the enact
ment of the act of 1907. which was pre
pared and introduced into parliament b,
George Wyndham. chief secretary for Ire
land under the late conservative govern
ment
This act authorizes the estates com
mission having in charge the administra
ton Of the land act Of 1903 to acquir,