The Irish standard., 1910-11-05


league. The government was deter.
mined to suppress the organization,
and the people and their leaders were
just as determined that the league
should live and flourish. 1t soon be-
came apparent to the people that
nothing of an. effective nature could
be accomplished without organization,
and the result was that wholesale ar.
rests were made. Landlords, who
were the chief detestation Of the
league, backed the government in it's
efforts to suppress all meetings of an
agrarian nature, refused to lower their
rents and SO wholesale evictions were
the result. To meet the exigencies of
the times, the league held it's first
convention in the Rotunda hall, in
Dublin, in 1881, where all the leading
members of parliament were present.
Parnell, the great center of attraction,
opened the proceedings. Speeches
were made by John Dillon, William
o'Brien, T. 2. O'Connor, William Sex
ten, Father Sheehy and many others.
Resolutions were passed strongly en-;
dorsing the mission of the league,
those present pledging themselves to
stand by it's principles at all hazards.
No more prominent figure in that
great gathering could be seen than
that of Father Sheehy. Those familiar
with the struggle of the land league
cannot forget the many sacrifices he
made. He suffered Imprisonment like
many others, and died with a prayer
on his lips for the redemption of Ire
land from the scourge of landlordism.
When tenants were unable, owing to
bad crops, to pay the rents in full
they were evicted. They later saw
what was worse-their more fortunate
neighbors taking possession of the
home and lands from which they were
evicted. To stop this practice, and
thereby make the lands so depopu-
lords, Parnell called a mass meeting
at Ennis, where he struck the key
note of the agitation. He laid down
the lines on which the league should
work. Barry O'Brien, in his life of
Parnell, referring to his proposed
method Of dealing with the crime of
land grabbing, writes of him: Slowly,
calmly, deliberately, without culver
of passion, a note of rhetoric, or an
exclamation of anger, but in a tone
that penetrated his audience like the
touch of coldss5ssteel, he proclaimed
war against all who should resist the
mandates of the league. .#
Just three5days after this monster
meeting the peasants of Connaught
had an opportunity of putting into
practice the gospel of the land league
as laid down by Mr.. Parnell. Captain
Boycott, the agent Of Lord Erne, had
been offered by the tenants on the es-
tate what they regarded as just rent,
and they refused to give more The
agent refused the offer, and immediate.
ly began ejectment proceedings against
the tenants When the process server
went out to serve the papers entrusted
to him he was; met by the, peasants
who forced HIM to- abandonsh Ills work.
The tenants then visited Captain Boy
colts farm and ordered an the work
men to cease their labors. The order
was obeyed and the. noble captain was
left to himself to run his own house
and gather his own harvest. The ten.
ants did not stop here. They visited
the local business houses and warned
the owners of each af&linst selling any
wares to Captain Boycott. There in
the midst of plenty he was in want.
He was, by the advice and counsel of
Mr.. Parnell term boycott" originate,
and Charles Stewart Parnell was the
father of the system. Soon after the
great convention of the Irish National
Land League, which had for it's object
the reduction of rack rents and re.
quiring ownership of the soil by the
tenants, Parnell visited America IN
the interests of poor farmers whose
crops for three successive seasons had
proved a failure. While here he had
the honor Of addressing the house of
representatives in Washington. Need
less to say Mr. Parnell made the most
of this splendid opportunity. His
speech, which was plain statement
of facts of the misgovernment of Ire
land, was largely interspersed with
quotations from the writings and pub
locations of Scotch and English sources.
He took occasion to show that his ap-
peal for help was sincere; that the
condition of the Irish people was not
due to the people themselves, but to
the system Of government under which
they were compelled to live. Among
I. /,