THE NO-RENT CONSPIRACY IN IRELAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7828, 23 December 1886, Page 6

THE NO-RENT CONSPIRACY IN IRELAND.

» THE NEW PLAN OF CAMPAIGN, k Cablegrams are being received daily of the ' new plan of campaign adopted by some of i the Irish leaders, and the action of the Government with respect to it. We publish from a late number of United Ireland an 8 article descriptive of the details of the plan, j It is headed, "A Plan of Campaign; a t Memorandum for the Country," which, it 1 states, " comes from one whose name, many B sufferings, and experience command in a high ' degree the confidence of the Irish race." The 4 prinoipal portion of the memorandum, which i covers four columns, and is printed in large I type, with bold black cross lines, is as fol--9 lows:— ' "One who has borne his part in the 1 struggle of the past half-dozen years, who has seen almost every phase of the agitation, '. thinks it his duty at the present critical , moment to offer to the Irish tenantry and their friends the following suggestions, as the result of his experience : — 8 " Present Rents, Speaking Roundly, ? are Impossible— That the landlords will , press for them, let the rejection of Mr. Parnell's Bill testify. A fight during the coming 9 winter is therefore inevitable, and it behove* [ the Irish tenantry to fight with a skill " begotten of experience. The first question ' they have to consider is how to meet the November demand. In a few weeks at most * the agents will issue invitations from the rent 7 office. There should not be an estate in • Ireland where the tenants would not by that * time have their minds made up an to the " course they intend to pursue. To delay aotion 1 until the gale day means to go into the 1 straggle handio»ppnd. j Should Combinations be Formed on the 1 LINKS Ob- BRANCHES OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE b OR M BRELY BY Estates ?—I aay by estates, 5 decidedly. Let branches of the National ' League, if they will, take the initiative in ' getting the tenantry on each estate to meet ' one another. But it should be distinctly understood that the action or resolution of one estate was not to bind any other, and ' the tenantry on every estate should be free ' to decide their own course. When they are assembled together, if the priest be not with them, let them appoint an intelligent and sturdy member of their body as chairman, . and, after consulting, decide by resolution on the amount of abatement they will 1 demand. A committee, consisting, say, of ' six and the chairman, should then be elected, ' to be called a managing committee, and to ! take charge of the half-year's rent of each tenant should the landlord refuse it. ' " Everyone present should pledge himself (1) to abide by the decision of the majority ; (2) to hold no communication with the landlord or any of his agents except in the presence of the body of the tenantry ; (3) to accept no settlement for himself which is not given to every tenant on the estate. "Should any Tenants be Excepted?— , The question is likely to be raised as to large holders. It should be remembered, however, that the large tenant plays for high stakes, and there is no reason why he should not throw in his lot with the rest, Holders of town parks who are shopkeepers have a stronger claim to exemption, for a judgment against them may mean ruin. But no case for exemption arises at this stage until it be known how the landlords will prooeed. In any published report of the meeting the names of the committee should not be given. "On the gale day the tenantry sbould proceed to the rent office in a body. If the agent refuses to Bee them in a body they should on no account confer with him individually, but depute the chairman to act as their spokesman,and acquaint him of the reduction which they require. No offer to accept the rent "on account " should be agreed to. "Should the Agent Kee seth m, every tenant must hand to the Managing Committee the half year's rent which he tendered to the agent. To prevent any attempt at a garnishee, this money should be deposited by the Managing Committee with some one reliable person, whose name should not be known to any but the members of the committee. This may be called the estate fund, and It should be absolutely at the disposal of the Managing Committee for the purposes of the fight. Broken tenants, the are unable the fight. Broken tenants, who are unable to contribute the reduced half-year's rent, should at least contribute the percentage demanded from the landlord—that is, the difference between the rent demanded and that whioh the tenantry offer to pay. A broken tenant is not likely to be among the first proceeded against, and no risk is incurred by the general body taking him on on these terms, and thus practically a halfyear's rent of the estate is put together to tight the landlord with. This is a fund wbioh, if properly utilised, will reduce to reason any landlord in Ireland. "flow Should th- Fund be Employed? —The answer to this question must to some extent depend upon the course the landlord will pursue, but in general I should. say it must be devoted to the support of the tenants who are dispossessed either by sale or eject ment. It should be distributed by the committee to each evicted tenant in the proportion of his contribution to the fund. A halfyear's rent is supposed to maintain a tenant (or a half-year, and based upon this calculation, the tenant who funded, say, £50. would be entitled when evicted to £2 per week. But not one penny should go in Law Courts. This should be made an absolute rule, for there is no principle in the whole agitation more grossly misunderstood I have known combinations where the tenants agreed to pay the law costs for any man proceeded against, and all the while they never seemed to realise that it was the land- , lords' law costs they were paying, aud that they were helping to defeat their cause rather than serving it. Incidents undoubtedly may arise in the course of the struggle, where the expenditure of some small sum in legal defence would be judicious, such as defending a tenant who takes possession of , his home. But these are exceptional oases, , and can be easily provided for. The " law ( cost" which must be guarded against are the , costs of attorneys' letters, writs, and judgments incurred by the landlord. To pay ' these means to arm your enemy for the , quarrel, and furnish him with provisions to . boot. In a determined fight there are no ' 'law costs' on the side of the tenantry, and ( they should remain out for ever rather than s pay these, whioh the landlord incurs iu , fleecing them. Grants and expenses should ' all come out of a common fund. Everyone t settling before the majority have agreed to . accept settlement should forfeit his oontri- ' bution. When the tenants decide upon settling, the balance in hand should be t divided among them in proportion to the i amount they funded. t "To inspire confidence among the tenants, v the National League should guarantee : — 8 " lit. That, in the event of the trustee with 0 whom the estate fund was lodged proving - dishonest, the money would be made good [ to the tenants, and grants in proportion to >j their contributions given to them, just as if j their own fund had not disappeared. . " 2nd. That when the estate fund of the £ tenants has been expended, or so diminished £ as not to be able to.meet the grants required, a then the grants would be continued on the { same scale by the National League. v " 3rd. That this grant would oe continued a as long as the struggle lasted and the 0 majority of the tenants held out." .