THE GLOBE. MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1880.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2015, 9 August 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1880.

Irish Legislation in the British Parliament is surrounded with tho greatest difficulties. New points are turning up during every session, and while, on the one hand, successive Governments advance in the liberality of their measures, on tho other hand the Home Rulers also enlarge their programme, so that it would indeed appear as if there wore no finality in the matter whatsoever. For instance, while the Irish Tenants’ Compensation Bill was being piloted through the Lower House, Sir. Parnell and his following had advanced their linos vex-y considerably, and wore asking for the suspension of the power of eviction for non-payment of rent for two years while a measure for establishing a peasant proprietory was beingworked out. Such a proposal, of course, simply meant confiscation, pure and simple, and had no chance whatever of being in any way entertained, hut the extreme lengths tho Homo Rulers are prepared to go adds immensely to the difficulty of the whole situation. And now a new stumbling block has been found lying across tho path of Irish Legislation. The Upper House have rejected the Irish Tenants’ Compensation Bill and tho Government is reduced to sending troops to Ireland as disturbances are feared. This, as the Chief Secretary for Ireland stated the other day in the House, is much to be deplored, and is, without any doubt, very hard on the present administration. For the Government had from its commencement taken the task of allaying the discontent in Ireland seriously in hand. It had started with deciding to ask for no renewal of the Irish Peace Preservation ; Act, being determined to roly on the 1 ordinary safeguards supplied by the law for maintaining order. The above named Act was past in 1870, and, up to 1875, tho provisions were in full force, and by reason of the growth of agragriau outrages were extremely stringent. By them the Executive had extraordinary powers for the summary [arrest of suspected persons, the issue of search warrants, Ac., Ac., as also it had tho power to proclaim particular districts by special proclamation. In such districts powers were given for the arrest of persons found out at night under suspicious circumstances, and of strangers unable to give a satisfactory account of themselves, for the closing of public-houses, and the subjecting of Irish newspapers to forfeiture and seizure. There was also a provision for compensation to be levied upon the ratepayers of the district in certain cases of murder and maiming, when convictions could not he obtained. In 1875 Lord Beaconsfield’s Government obtained a renewal of the Act in a very modified form. The sections relating to ‘‘proclaimed” districts were cut out, also those connected with the press and the compensation clauses were only to be applied when it appeared to the Grand Jury that material evidence with respect to the crime had been withhold by some of tho residents in tho district. Tho Act, so modified, was used up to the present year, when, its term running out, the present Government had the option to ask for its renewal or not They took into consideration not only the absolute power conveyed by the Act but tho sentiment of the Irish people on the measure. The modified Act was not extremely arbitrary, but it was still a law not obtaining in England or Scotland, and, as such,, was unpopular among tho Irish people. Mr Gladstone, therefore, determined to defer to the sympathies of khe people, and rely on the ordinary laws for maintaining order. It can hardly be doubted but that the resolve was a wise one. The Irish are, and always have been, a susceptible nation, and gracefully to concede a point to their wishes was a statesmanlike act, more partiexdarly in the case of a Premier who has made the allaying of discontent in Ireland one of his specialities. It is all the more to be regretted that the present Government have not been allowed to carry out their programme in its entirety. Tho Irish peasantry are not close reasoners, and are not likely to give the Government duo credit for their endeavors to ameliorate their condition when the outcome is not so satisfactory as they had been led to believe was possible.