Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-22
IRISH LAND BILL
CAUSES DIVISION
MAJORITY OF GOVERNMENT
REDUCED TO EIGHT
QUESTION OF FINANCES PROVES
PUZZLlNG
Members of House of Commons Show
Remarkable Indifference and
Ignorance Relative to
Needs of Island

remarkable IndlHeTenCe anu
Ignorance Relative to
Needs of Island
DUBLIN, Aug. 21.-The vicissitudes
of the government are not confined TO
the budget. During the committee
stage of the Irish land bill in the house
of commons its majority was reduced 1
to eight. The method by which it pro
poses to raise the money required for
land purchase is not approved by any
section in parliament. The Unionist
member for the city of London, Sir
Frederick Banbury, moved an amend
ment which struck at the very root of
the scheme and found a seconder in
John Dillon, In the division which en-
sued the majority of $50 was composed
of MinisterialstS alone, While the mi
nority of f22 was made up of Unionists,
Nationalists and the bulk of the Labor
party. A week before the government
experienced a similar though not quite
so decided a shock.
Mr. Lonsdale &C., Mid-Armagh), dis
cussing the condition of Ireland, said
the decrease in crime was due. not 10
the absence of the spirit of lawless-
ness, but to the policy of what was
known as giving the chief secretary
chance.
Captain Craig &C., E. DOWN conf
planned that the chief secretary had
been coerced into handing over his ex-
ecutlve powers to the United Irish
league.
Says ireland Is Quiet
Mr.. Birrell said the debate was a
somewhat remarkable sequel to the de-
bate which took place on the address
when he was arraigned as a criminal
before the house and the country. Al
though he was the last man in the
world to take credit TO himself for the
peaceful state of Ireland now. he could
not help asking the honorable gentle
men opposite what. in their opinion,
would have been its state if he had
accepted the advice they gave him?
ireland was quiet now.
John Roche-To their regret.
Mr.. Birrell-No; they don't regret it,
but they say it is an illusive calm, and
that there is no reason to suppose II
will continue.
The peace, Mr.. Birrell proceeded,
would continue as long as Ireland was
wisely and sympathetically governed.
He did not believe the breaking up of
the grass lands would injuriously af-
feet the Irish CATTLE trade, but what
ever the result might be- it would be
preposterous to blame the government
for pursuing a policy which was in
evitable if a large number of economic
small holdings were to be provided.
The time was rapidly approaching
when the extra police might be re-
duced. 1t was regrettable fact that
ever since the land act of 1903 it had
been necessary to increase the police
force He should do his best, consis-
tently with the duty of protecting peo-
pie in the different localities, to affect
reductions in the extra police force. AS
to the employment of police at the
eviction in Kerry they were bound to
be there to assist the bailiffs. A pub
lie inquiry into the matter would do no
good.
Hopes for Improvement
He hoped that the present happy
state of the country would not only
continue. but improve. There We're
things going on in Ireland as there
were in all countries, which he should
very much like to see stopped. He
hoped that by the wisdom of their ad-
ministration and the justice of their
legislation they would secure for Ire
land a peaceful and happy condition.
The financial clauses Of the bill
passed the committee stage without the
slightest change. A critic of the gov
ernment sums up the results as fol
lows: The government takes power to
issue per cent or pa per cent stock as
suits their convenience. The 2& stock
guaranteed at 90, is to finance the bar
gains already made, amounting to
total Of more than 52,000,000, and un-
less the landlords who have sold
choose this they take their chances
of getting paid in cash any time for
the next twelve years. In short, their
option" is to remain practically as
they are, with their land sold and no
payment, or to accept the new 284
stock, but on this, if they accept it.
they stand to lose sc to ct from every
E1O0 worth of their land on the terms
of the bargains made.
Excess stock" will be issued to them
for GS in every G1OO to meet the slump.
but with the price of the present stock
under Sc a further So remains to be
lost. VIII the landlords go through
with the bargains at such loss on the
terms agreed? If not, let them wait,
and Mr.. Birrell seems to smile with
pleasure at his Cleverness. The cruel
part of it is that so many Of the land
lords can afford neither to wait for
cash nor to lose per cent on the agree
ments they have made 1t looks as if
the government had deliberately taken
advantage of their hardships to give
the bill an appearance of being work
able,
Ignorance Shown
To one knowing Ireland the most
striking feature of the debate was its
ignorance and Indifference, particularly
i'm the irish contributions to it, With
land stock on a basis of "a down to
6 5-6, and with the bill primarily de-
signed to meet the slump by means Of
the 5s clause, Mr.. Redmond and Mr..
Dillon wanted to have a new stock is
sued on a stnI lower basis at 21a.
Stranger still, they found English
members to support their notion, and
even Unionists With bonus added to
discount, the real fan in land stock to-
day is Is per cent. On a reduction of
interest by another quarter it must fan
lower; and then comes the further GER |
tainty of depression in proportion to
the extent of land sales and the in
crease of paper put on the market.
When Walter Long supported Mr.. !
Dillon's plea for a new variety Of con-
soils to accommodate Irish agrariauism |
he did not know that Nationalists
hoped to hurt the empire by damaging
her credit through this land legislation
The Irishmen have long been anxious to
get their agrarian paper confused with
cOnsols, and between themselves they
coufess motives which they do not con-
fde to Mr. Long and the house of COM
mons. So long as the agrarian paper
is kent carefully marked off by itself