Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-30
Making History at Meeting.

ran Str11e ana emDltter relations between
the two countries.
Making History at Meeting.
Mr.. O'Brien said they were making his
tory at that meeting. He claimed that 1t
spoke with an authority unparalleled In
Irish history for all classes and sections
of the south, for the unionist minority,
as well as for the nationalist majority,
and for old foes as we'll as for old friends.
Replying to taunts with reference to the
policy Of Cancellation, he gloried in the
junction of landlord and tenant repre-
sentatives on the platform. BY the terms
of the reunion Of the Irish party last
January every member of that party
now stood slomenly pledged to welcome
cordially Irishmen of all classes and
creeds who were willing to cooperate in
ameliorative legislation.
If the party were not pledged to that
attitude, he knew one man who would
never have re-entered their ranks They
were only fulfilling that pledge Of the
party by cordially welcoming their coun-
trymen on that platform and telling them
they had nothing to fear at their hands
for their civil or regilious liberties.
The deputation to the prime minister
and the chancellor Of the exchequer
would be able to speak for universal Ire
land when they told them that the COM
pletion of the abolition Of landlordism was
the first Indispensable step toward peace
and progress in Ireland. Any attempt to
stop 1t, or. worse still, to break 1t up
into driblets of s20,oOO.OOO, or s25 600. 600
a year, would be crime against the
peace Of Ireland and an indelible stain
on the honor of the empire.
He pointed out that Ireland had been
true to her side of the bargain in 1908.
Half the land of the country had been
amicably sold; the tenant purchasers had
paid up their installments with most mar
velous punctuality: wherever land pur-
chase spread peace and good will fol-
lowed In it's train: more than half the
soil of the county Of Cork had been sold
and not single extra policeman had been
seen for the past four years in Cork,
where in the old days extra police were
no an altogether unfamiliar phenomenon
He believed they had only to concentrate
on Mr.. Morley's position In 1903 and
nothing could withstand their claim that
the financing of land purchase must be
made an imperial business. Mr. Morley
calculated that an imperial bonus of
S110,OCOO0O would be required and that no
money was ever more economically spent
in the interest of England
Financial Burden on Ireland.
Let the government now only take the
far-seeing advice of their own distin-
guished colleague to a very moderate
degree and the whole difficulty Of land
purchase finance was at an end. He
pointed out that the whole strain of
financing the act up to the present had
fallen on Ireland. Ireland had borne
without murmur a loss Of $4,000 600 on
flotation. which was properly imperial
business. The assistance now required
from the imperial exchequer to complete
| land purchase would not be a sixth part
of the imperial equivalent of Ireland's
contribution.
no D~{< 81. -.
year to put down cattle driving, which
existed only In two or three counties and
were profoundly condemned by the gen.
eral public opinion of the country. The
extra $500. 600 on extra police would have
enabled another land loan of SIS 900 600
to be floated: how many $500, 900 a year
would 1t cost the British taxpayer to deal
with the situation If all classes and parties
in Ireland were to be incensed and mad
dened by England's own deed in repudiat-
ing the treaty of 1903 and bidding land
lords and tenants to fight 1t out between
| them in a fresh agrarian war to the knife
1t was a mere question whether the
money of the British taxpayers would be
spent in a very moderate contribution to
complete the very noblest and most sue
cessful reform ever attempted in ireland
or in thrusting the country back into a
general hell from which. whoever suffer-
ed. the imperial taxpayer would not
escape unscorched.
e,
Dunraven and Bandon addressed the
meeting In support Of its object. and in
conclusion a deputatiPn consisting of ten
landlords. ten tenants and ten members
of parliament who act with William
O'Brien. was appointed to act in terms Of
the resolution.
Important references were made to the
land act deadlock at a meeting of the
Fermanagh branch Of the landlords con-
vention held in Enniskillen. r. de F..
Montgomery, d.. who presided, said the
landlords were not responsible for the
terms of the act. but they were parties to
the general scheme of the act. The
finance of the act was novel. and some
persons thought risky, but 1t was q
| scheme that was in accordance with the
suggestion of the landlords, and in a
quite unexpected way II had become i'm
practicable.
Heavy Tax on Rate Payer.
Supposing that the landlords were In a
position to insist upon the act being