The Irish standard., 1910-11-05

isbury, leader of the Conservative
party. succeeded him, and it was dur
ing Salisbury's term of Office that the
Irish County Council bill became law.
This bill was passed in August, 1898,
and was known as the Irish Land
Government bill. Salisbury was later
succeeded by Mr.. Balfour. The pres
ent leader of the Irish party, John Il.
Redmond, was made leader by the
united party in 1896. He was born in
1855 and was educated at Trinity col
lege, Dublin, and became Irish bar
rister in 1887. He has continuously
represented some Irish constituency
in the British parliament for the past
twenty-nine years, and is acknow-
lodged even by English statesmen as
one of the greatest men in the house
of commons.
The history Of the Irish struggle
under Mr.; Redmond is too recent and
too we'll known to need a detailed
review here. While it has been the
ultimate hope of the Irish Party to
gain Home Rule, no opportunity has
been lost to secure legislation that
would give immediate relief, from the
oppressive laws which were render
ing the condition of the people mis-
cradle. Since the Land Act of 1881
many amendments. have been added
which were designed to alleviate the
condition of the agricultural class
and deliver ireland from the plague
of Landlordism. For many years the
Irish laborer was poorly housed,
poorly fed and poorly clothed. No
laborer on earth was worse off than
he. AS result thousands of acres
of valuable land were laid waste
Fertile areas, capable of feeding and
clothing people who were in dire
need were idle and all because land.
lordism had reached such an extreme
of severity that tenants were driven
like slaves and mercilessly evicted
and the land allowed to lay waste
There has been a reaction for the
better of late. Under the Ashbourne
Act approximately $4,000 farmers be-
came the owners of their farms. The
Wyndham Act of 1908 operated to
the good Of the farmers, raising the
number Of those owning land to $780,
900. That was a revolution which
brought with it untold blessings to
Ireland. The people have become
filled with spirit of ambition, in
dustry, desire to do something for
the common good. Since the passage
of laws that have enabled them to
become land owners a wholesome re.
action has taken place. Prosperity
has begun to displace the poverty
and misery of the old regime. Homes
are being built for the laboring men
neat, clean and healthful cottages
wherein the laboring people can live
decently and bring up their families
in wholesome surroundings. Up to
1908 .$22,000,0O0 had been spent for
this purpose.
Many other accomplishments of
lesser importance must be credited
to the Irish Party. The Old Age
Pensions Act, the Town Tenants Act
and the Workingmens Dwellings
Act have all done their share toward
making conditions better. The Irish
University Bill passed in 1908 was
an effective blow struck at ignorance
in ireland. It provided for all the
endowments necessary for carrying
on a. great educational work which
will be powerful weapon in driv-
ing ignorance from Ireland. The pos
sibilities of a university education
now lie within the grasp of the ris-
ing generation.
The Irish Party has worked hand
in hand with the Gaelic League to
revive and build up Irish industries
and to restore the Irish language to
its rightful place. Only few months
ago the League won it's fight to have
Irish made an essential subject in
the University.
Not long ago tenant who had
rented land from a landlord could
be evicted when his lease expired
without any remuneration for the
improvements he had made. But not
so today. The landlord cannot re-
move him without paying not only
the full value of all the improve