THE IRISH LAND QUESTION.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1102, 22 October 1883, Page 2

THE IRISH LAND QUESTION.

Mr Redmond delivered, the second of his lectures in Wellington on Tuesday, Mf W. Hutchison, M.H.R., presiding. Wo take the following report from the New Zealand Times. Mr Redmond was much applauded oh rising to lecture on the “ The Irish land question.” This formed, he said, the second part of the National League’s programme, and had been pushed very far, towards an ultimate settlement during the Inst three or four years. He had to explain what it was exactly that the Leaguewere asking on thisquestion ; and to do that he must explain what the League had already effected. As one who had shared in the struggle he was qualified to speak authoritatively. He briefly referring to the early history of Irish conquests and land confiscations, the last being that by Cromwell, resulting in a land system so vicious in principle and so brutal in practice, that no parallel could be found in any civilised country. This system has produced its natural results—poverty, misery, famine, discontent, crime, and rebellion following each.other in dismal sequence,' generation after generation. To-day there was the astounding fact that 740 men owned one-half the soil of Ireland ; and a little over 10,000 men owned the whole of it. Every Act of the English Parliament had been conceived in the interest of landlords, and against the tenants; until in 1870 Mr Gladstone’s Land Act was passed, pro- 1

fessedly to,project ilic ti’iianff?’ interest, j ■lint it bft'fhe oM |k>\voi of eviction nnd | of arbitrary ' rackrcntljig in the hands of | l/imilo.r<ls p junl the Act proved a useless a hollow mockery. From then to the establishment of I lie L'm l League, loss ili.-.n 10 years, no less than 31 Land Bills were introduc-d into iho House of Commons to am ml the Land Act; and, although supported by a maj.irity of Irish representatives, even one of these Bills was defeated by a majority of English and Hootch members. The most extreme of these Bills was- less revolutionary than <hc Land Act which in 1881 we forced Mr Gladstone’s Government to drry, (Applause.) The patient people Hid -not ask for much. Th'ir snmutn borinm was fixity of tenure and sufficient of food. They had hern for generations begging for justice and holding out the hand of conciliation. But, no ; time after time, the hand of friendship was-rudely repulsed by the landlords. They repulsed it once,too, often. - Weary-with begging and petitioning} a new spirit sprang into life amongst the people, with the formation of the Land League. The people could be. uncompromising as well as the landlords ; and they took from the -.standard of their enemies the watchwords “No 'surrender,” ' (Applause.) Henceforth they would demand their full right was the land. was stained with the blood of the people; and 1 with one voice they demanded the land for the people. Mr Parnell and others who first raised that cry wore few in number, but they soon found th- y were 'hacked by the manhood of Ireland. 1n.,,-this way-the.Land. League was formed on the principle that .people- should become the owners of the soil, on a system of State compensation to the landlord, mid gradual ' repayment by the rent. The titles—many of them were for military .service and marauding—were not to ? be ..inquired into ; and the very people . who -Irad,, been, plundered, oppresssed,* degraded, and almost done to death by landlordism, only proposed to resume possession upon pay merit of the land’s full marled value. to.Hie ‘holders . They called on’Uio'State to advance the money to the tenants, enabling this transaction to be carried out for the establishment of. a peasant proprietary, as''had been done in Prussia and. other countries. Meanwhile the League called on the people, to resist the payment of rack-rent. This scheme of the League was denounced ns revolution ary nnd communistic; yet opinion Had been ripening so fast that a corarniitee of. the House of Lords had recently recommended it for adoption. In 1879, one of the now regularly recurring famines occurred in Ireland, nnd Mr Parnell went to America to beg bread for the starving Irish people. But before going, he advised them to keep a firm grip on their holdings; to feed and educate their children before paying their rents ; where their rents were excessive, to demand reductions; and be told them that all the power of England was not sufficient to carry out a policy of evictions if they remained united, and that,, the only thing necessary, to secure success was union.

[We are compelled to hold over the rest of the report.]