Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-05
OTHER LANDS THAN ouRs.

The fate deCreed by the caucus Of the
peers has been melted out to the liquor
license bill by the British House OF Lords.
Scant courtesy was shown the most i'm
portant Of liberal party measures sent up
from the House OF Commons by a two
thirds vote. The antagonism aroused by
the proposed reforms sprung from two in
tercsted sources-the holders Of licenses
and the makers and wholesalers OF liquor.
whose business would be seriously affected
II the measure became a law. II proposed to
curtail not only the number OF licenses
Issued, but also annulled the property right
in licenses which a former ministry sane.
toned. Both law and custom now makes
a license property. which cannot be taken
without compensation. Under the new bill
this property right in license would cease
at the end Of fourteen years, and "a license
annulled before the end of the term. COM
pensation prorated by years, was to be
allowed. The vital principle Of the bill
was to restore to the government the right
10 restrict and regulate the liquor traffic
at Will. The House of Lords could not see,
even with IA magnifying glass, the outlines
OF a moral or temperance reform in a
liberal party measure. To the exalted
peers the bill was an attack on property
and an indefensible assault on the liberty
and rights of the people. They might
stand for an attack on property il it came
from conservative sources. but they would
not stand for a measure which restricted
the privileges of the people. So the
members of the upper chamber were gath
cred from far and near. from the high.
ways and byways, for the purpose Of Civ
ing the bill an imposing funeral, and they
did the job by a vote of 272 to 50. A great
moral victory for the peers, but not suf-
ticiently complete to sustain the boom In
brewery stock and license values. The
government is facing a revenue deficit OF
500, 100000, and $40, 10000 of this sum is to
be raised from Increased taxation on the
liquor traffic. The lords cannot change
a revenue bill. a fact which puts a silver
lining on the ministerial cloud.
ss
THE fall of feudalism In Ireland" was
Michael Davitt's terse designation of the
first land reform measure extorted from
the British Parliament. The results flow
ing from that hating measure have been
Of incalculable benefit to all the people.
1t was an experimental attempt to solve
the problem of Irish grievances, to Jar
loose the leechlike grip of alien landlord
ism. which has impoverished the people
for ages, Up to May last, under the
present law, agreements for the purchasing
of land representing G56, OO0, 900 in value
have been made between tenants and own
ers. The government advances the pur-
chase money wherever the landlord de-
mands cash down, the new owner paying
back the loan in a specified number of
years with 3 per cent interest. The sum
total set apart by the government under
the act was Gl0O,O0 600, hut more than half
OF 1t has been tied up with red tape and
veXatious delays. The supplemental meas
ure introduced last week by Mr.. BirreIl,
chief secretary for Ireland, sweeps away
the distractions raised by landlords under
the Wyndham act, and by providing foI
compulsory sale strikes at the root of the
evil. Regarding the financial features OF
the bill, Mr.. Birrell stated that the original
estimate of elOO, OOO,O 600 to satisfy the hunger
of Ireland was entirely inadequate and must
be almost doubled. Pending transactions
representing an aggregate of $50, 900, 900, and
to complete those with the least possible
delay, leaving about G10O, 900 900 to be dealt
with later, was the object of the Birrell
bill. To raise the necessary money for cur
rent emergencies the chief secretary pro-
posed an issue of 3 per cent bonds, and in
justification of imposing a loss of about
G666, 666 a year upon the British treasury
which sum would be lifted off the should
ers of the Irish rate-payer-he contended
that the land purchase act had done mar
wells in Ireland. In this connection he said
that about half the agricultural land in
Ireland already had passed or was in the
course of passing from landlord to tenant,
and that to arrest progress in this direc-
ton would be an economic and political
blunder of the first magnitude. The bill
marks a decided advance toward the goal
of Irish land for the Irish people, and IS
gratifying evidence of ministerial good
faith. While applauding the intent, it is
well to remember that the measures must
run the gauntlet of inveterate foes in the
House of Lords.
Unrest in India has evidently reached a
menacing stage to justify the energetic
repressive measures adopted by the author
tiles in the disturbed sections. Assaults on
Englishmen are becoming frequent, and
the revolutionary bomb, exploded here and
there, proclaims the desperate spirit
aroused against British rule. A writer in
the Atlantic Monthly, discussing the causes
of the unrest, points out that foreign rule
is worse for the people than that of the
natives. "The government of India" says
the writer, lis as complete a bureaucracy
as is that of Russia. Indeed 1t is no exag-
Grafton to say that, as a bureaucracy, ii
is as autocratic, as arbitrary in its methods.
as reactionary in its spirit, as far removed
from sympathy with the people, as de-
termined to keep all power in its own
hands, as unwilling to consult the popular
wishes, or to listen to the voice of the mos
enlightened portion of the nation. even