SALE OF FARMS AT THURLES.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 433, 29 July 1881, Page 18

SALE OF FARMS AT THURLES.

Lately one of the most notable episodes in the history of the Land League agitation was enacted in Thurles. A sale of the interest of the tenants in a number of farms was announced to take place in the court-house, by public auction, These farms are for the most part the property of the following landlords : — Mr. Hnnt, Cooleeny ; Mr. Lloyd, Lloydsborough ; Captain Percival, Isle of Wight ; and the Key. Mr. Randal, also residing in England. It appears that for all the holdings the tenants had offered what they considered a reasonable settlement, and that this would not be accepted by the landlords. They accordingly declined to pay, and in this way issue was. joined "between them and their landlords, and in due course the holdings were advertised for sale. The local branches of the Land League determined to make the sale the occasion of a demonstration of Land League ingenuity and power, and a placard was issued by them headed " Important Sale of Land," and announcing that thirteen large farms would be sold by public auction in the courthouse, Thurles, on Tuesday, the 17th May. The placard further called on the men of Tipperary to assemble in their thousands, so as to insure that there should be a fair sale. The result was that a very large concourse, constituting in fact, an imposing land demonstration, assembled in Thurles. The authorities had evidently been influenced by very serious apprehensions that the blood of Tipperary was just in the heat for a dangerous disturbance ; and they accordingly, with very questionable wisdom, adopted a course which many would consider to be well calculated to provoke such a disturbance. The display of armed power in Thurles was the greatest yet made by the present Government. A body of three hundred Royal Irish Constabulary arrived in the town, and their force was augmented by another hundred men, who marched in from the adjoining rural barracks. In addition to this a military force was drafted into the town, consisting of 100 men of the 48th Regiment from Tipperary, and 100 of the 64th Regiment from Templemore. As if all this were not sufficient, 50 men of the 29th Hussars from Cahir were also brought into requisition. The chief officer in command of the military was Major Watts, of the 64th. There were also four subinspectors of police ; the entire force was in charge of Mr. French, R.M., and Mr. M'Carthy, R.M. From an early hour in the morning the police were posted in " squads " of about a dozen at almost every street corner in the town ; and when the military arrived they marched and counter marched, and deployed and manoeuvred and jangled their Sabres and clanked their Martini Henrys in such a fashion as might well have struck terror into the hearts of any ordinary crowd, but which could scarcely fail to arouse the exasperation, or at least to evoke the ridicule, of a crowd of Tipperarymen. As it was, the people were so good-humoured, the sale in the Court-house kept them so pleasantly occupied, and the meeting afterwards in front of the market-house, at which their priests addressed them, had such a wholesome effect on them that all through, in spite of the military display and the " dangerous mood " in which the people were supposed to be, their demeanour was unusually peaceful. Once or twice there was certainly great danger of a collision, which, if it had occurred, would have ended in terrible bloodshed. For instance, shortly before the sale began, an ugly business was nearly brought about in this f asbion : — A large contingent from TJpperchurch, headed by their band, who were seated in a brake, in which was borne a banner, were marching up the street in which the court-house is situated. The hussars were drawn up at the side of this street, and just as the contingent arrived opposite the court-house the hon. Mr. Ffrench, R.M., ordered the hussars to form right across the street, and then forbade the band to advance further. Father Humphreys, of Clonoulty, asked why the people would not be allowed to proceed. Mr. Ffrench replied that their meeting was illegal, and that their banner should be lowered, as it also was illegal. The people became greatly excited, and shouted to each other to come on, Father Humphreys did his best to induce them to retire, and ultimately after much trouble succeeded. But for his exertions, however, there is no question that a bloody encounter would have ensued. As to tbe sale itself it was, from a Land League point of view, one of the most successful in which the organisation ever were interested. Mr. Goddard and two other representatives of the Property Defence Association arrived by the train reaching Thurles at half-past one o'clock, and the delay in commencing the sale, which was announced for one o'clock, was probably due to this circumstance. The tactics pursued at the sale were similar to those adopted at recent sales of the kind, namely, to allow Mr. Goddard to buy in the farms, thus practically, as the people believe, causing the sale to be abortive. This plan was adopted to-day in the case of all the farms except two, and in these two tbe tenants paid the full amount of the rent and costs— in one cate £53 and in the other £153. The greatest good humour prevailed, . and the proceedings helped to bring out the expression of a good deal of Tipperary wit and sarcasm.