The Irish standard., 1908-10-10

university III 4IelduQ has DeeH Ke)t l u
the benefit of small, alien, privileged
class. Its honors have been barred to
the great class of Catholics.
1.-The university is the first com.
plete installment of home rule. 1t is
to be university absolutely free from
English domination. The governin +.
board will be elected by Irishmen, and
neither the English parliament nor
Dublin castle will have word to Say
about its management. 1t will be al.
Irish institution through and through.
powerful influence working for home
rule.
Condition Of People Better.
Il have shown you how we are .nov-
ing toward home rule. want to cow
you the wonderful strides we have
made in bettering the condition Of the
Irish in ireland while advancing to-
ward our goal. l want to give you 4
business-like statement of the results
achieved by the Irish. parliamentary
party.
I'VE have supported the Gaelic
league in parliament and out of par
Lament in it's efforts to revive and IT,
build Up Irish industries, language,
literature, traditions, poetry, music.
and everything that is Irish. w: are
preparing ireland for the great fu-
ture of freedom that is before hs".
I'VE have fought and won a great
battle for the agricultural labo 'e-s of
Ireland. These men, the bravest. poor
treated class of men of their kind in
the world. are the backbone of tha ma
tfon. They have fought it's battles
from time immemorial and each time
have been ground deeper in the dust.
They have lived in novels unfit for llu-
man habitation. Their mud walled
cabins, windowiess. with hole in the
wretched roof for a chimney, with a
dirt floor, and often domestic animals
sharing the single room with the FAM
| lily, have become a byword throughout
the world at which the Irishman must
blush with shame.
| "These things were. But thoy are
not. We have in the last four. years
practically destroyed these novels all
over Ireland. And the English ez-
chequer has paid the bill.
Fifty Thousand Cottages Built:
'The work was begun by Parnell,
when he drafted the Irish lahore 81 bill
as he lay in Kilmainham Jail, but no
results were gained until recently,
Since last spoke to you we have OBJ
tained over $22,oo0,0oo to build de
cent habitations for these men. With
that money over $4,000 laborers' cot
tages have been or are being b4ilt all
over the land-well built two -stor::,.
four and five room, slate rooted cot
tages, with an acre attached for veg
etable garden-cottages in which hap
piness, decency, health and temp france
may find a home.
"If the Irish party had done nothing
else since I last stood here it would
have justified itself. But it has done
more.
| ut has brought about another re.
form of inestimable value. a reform
unknown in this country or in Eng
land, Scotland or Wales.
1.-The tenants i'm the towns of Irc-
land have been forced by the landlords
to rent the land on which they erected
their stores, factories and resi- lences.
The leases are for short terms. and OH
the expiration Of lease the law has
been that all the Improvements and
even the good will of businesses should
revert to the landlord. We have had
an act passed by which no Landlord
can turn out tenant without payi:'E
not only the full value Of all improve
ments made by the tenant, bu. also
full compensation for the business and
good will created by the energy and
enterprise of the tenant.
Twenty Thousand Returned to Homes.
I'VE also have returned more than
10000 evicted tenants to their homes.
Do you realize what that mean:, you
Irishmen? These are the woIndei !
soldiers of the land war. the victims
of the landlords. These are the men
whose heroism has forced every con-
cession We have won. These men,
some of them evicted as long as twem-
ty years ago, have been returned Ia
their homes. and by strange irony OF
fate they have been returned by ti.e
British government with the moneys
from the British exchequer, the same
government which expended vas: sums
! from the same exchequer to evict theE:
and support soldiers to keep them
evicted.