Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1880-10-02 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

GREAT LAND MEETINGS.  A great land meeting, under the auspices of the Irish Land League, took place on Sunday at New Ross, twenty thousand persons being present. The Rev. T. Doyle, Ramsgrave; presided. Mr Parnell, M.P., replying to the resolution thanking him, and that section of the Irish party who supported him, for his efforts to bring about a general settlement of the land question, after some introductory observations on the injustice of the organisation against the tenant farmers of Ireland, said that the land question had for the last fourteen months agitated the country. Had it not been for that k,itation the people of Ireland would have been exterminated, as they were in 1818 and subsequent years. The Irish people, however, were still in the land, and the task before them was to secure themselves in their possession of it.—Speaking on the suggestion of some members of Parliament, that to adopt the flitter system all over the country would lead to a general settlement, the Chairman strongly differed from that view, believing it useless for the present emergency. The Ulster system did not deal with a reduction of rents, and perpetuated a system of landlordism in Ireland which destroyed the country. The system that could alone meet the demands of the Irish people was the system that would for ever put an end to the whole of that class. He alluded to the system of land-holding in France, Germany, Holland, and Belgium, and asked them to compare the iniquitous land system in Ireland with those countries. He agreed with John Bright, M.P., that the right of ownership should rest with the tiller of the soil. He would agree with a system of fixity of tenure at fair rent, at the termination of the period the tenant to be the owner of his farm. He denounced such crimes as the New Ross murder. He also denounced the Liberal Government for following in the footsteps of their predecessors, and said nothing but the abolition of landlordism would lead ton satisfactory settlement of the land question. A lend meeting was held on Sunday at Kitrush, County Clare, about ten thousand persons being present. There were two excursion steamers from Limerick, laden with passengers, and accompanied by bands. Resolutions were passed urging the necessity of a peasant proprietary, pledging themselves to take no land from which any tenant had been evicted for non-payment of exorbitant rent, and advising that branches of the Land League be established in every parish of Clare. Father Calera, who presided, Mr Finnigan, M.P., and other speake,s denounced the present system of landlordism, in illustration of which it was pointed out that the landlord in the district who some eight years ago purchased a farm now exacted a rent of £3OO, as against £l2O at the time he bought it. The assembly was then asked by aMr Cleary to take off their hats and vow before high heaven to keep the terms of the resolution respecting the non-taking of a farm from which a tenant had been evicted. This was accordingly done, those present repeating the words after Mr Cleary. The meeting passed off without any disturbance. Government reporters were present. On Saturday afternoon an open-air demonstration was held at Bodell's Hill, near Partadown, to support the Rev, Rutledge Sane, rector of Tullylish, in the views which he expressed on the occasion of laying the foundation-stone of Donacloney Orange Hall, and also to denounce Mr Parnell and the leading men of the Land League. A large number of Oran gemen,dressed in their regalia, and accompanied by drums and a brass band, were present. A resolution was passed to , the following effect :--That on behalf of , thousands and tens of thousands of the , stalwart sons of Ulster, we hereby , call upon the Government of this country to make no terms with , rebellion, whether veiled or open, local or , general, but to put it down." Another , resolution averred that the impunity with , which murder is being committed in many districts of Ireland, and the all but universal sympathy with the murderers existing in those districts, render trial by Jury a , mockery, and imperatively call for some  more effectual method of trial for murder. The Rev. Rutledge Kane said he would not retract a single word of what he had said at Donacloney. He had said that the game of lead was a game at which two could play, and they, the loyal men of Ulster, could pay back with idterest whatever mode of attack their opponents adopted. The speaker wag greeted with rounds of applause.