THE The New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, MAY 16, 1882.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6394, 16 May 1882, Page 6

THE The New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, MAY 16, 1882.

An English, telegram which we publish to-day, received via the Bluff, and of date before the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish, throws an unpleasant light on the position of Ireland. It states that " the Irish Land League have redoubled their efforts to obtain Home Hule, and have issued addresses calling on the tenantry to pay no rent till Home Rule is granted, and the other concessions promised by the Government are fulfilled." This feature of the Irish agitation has been too much overlooked. Although openly and ostentatiously an agitation for a reform of tho land laws, one great objectis the repeal of the Union. Itisabsurd to suppose that the enormous sums which have found their way into the coffers of the Land League from America would have been contributed had the Irish in the United States believed that nothing more was intended than

the mildly philanthropical work of I improving the condition of the tenant' farmers of Ireland, by reducing their rents. The money which has come from America has been subscribed on ithe distinct understanding that it ; , would be applied to far*more " heroic " land 'different purposes. "When Mr. '■■ Parnell was in America he plainly held ,'oufc hopes of this kind. His speeches were of the customary revolutionary stamp, and he more than once declared * that he would never have engaged in land agitation if he had thought it would not lead to the realisation cif those dreams of Irish independence which so many Irishmen cherish. Its ulterior object, he stated, Avas the severance of the Union, and its complete emancipation from the hated interference of the " brutal Saxon." Far too little attention was paid in England at the time to Mr. Parnell's American speeches. He was careful not to repeat his inflammatory harangues at Home. Both in and out of Parliament, he was studiously moderate. He posed as the legitimate constitutional reformer, and for .& time played the part well. But Mr; Parnell's American speeches supply the- true bey to the present political condition of Ireland. Perhaps ne man more clearly foresaw their logical consequences than the late Lord Beaconsfield. In the letter which he addressed to the Viceroy of Ireland, the Duke of Marlborough, on the eve of the last general election, there occurred this significant sentence, "Nevertheless, a danger in its ultimate consequences, scarcely less disastrous than pestilence and famine, and which now engages your Excellency's anxious attention, distracts that country (Ireland). A portion of its population is attempting to : sever the constitutional tie which unites it to Great Britain in that bond which has favoured the power and prosperity of both." This grave warning was scouted by many, and denounced as an insult to the Irish people. But who will say now that it was either foolish or false 1 The events which are now transpiring in Ireland fully justify the warning of the great Conservative statesman, and every right-thinking person must deeply re- ' gret that it was unheeded. It is not only a social agitation which is raging in Ireland, but a revolutionary agitation of the most dangerous character. Its latest outcome is seen in the deplorable event which occurred in Phoenix Park; and, unless the Government have the courage to stamp it out with a firm and unflinching hand, it is certain to lead to even worse calamities and crimes.