MR. J. E. REDMOND'S LETTER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVIII, Issue 29, 12 November 1886, Page 5

MR. J. E. REDMOND'S LETTER.

September 17, 1886. Thb sensation of the moment in the political world here is the proposed Land Bill of Mr. Parusll. It is instructive to obterve how the Irish leador remains still the toaster of the situation in the Parliamentary sense, notwithstanding the result of fcbe recent elections. No sooner was the defeat of Mr. Gladstone's Government assuied, than the anti-Iri <h. Press in England raised a chorus of triamph and d«light at what tl ey called the emancipation of f arliament from the tyranny of Mr. farneli. For seven yearn, they said, (he House of Commons had been more or less dominated by a handfall of Irish members, who threw its machinery into confusion, trampled its most cherished traditions under foot, and brought all work practically to a fall stop. Three successive Governments, Liberal and Conservative, in turn, had been driven from office by the votes of the Parnellitea, and last November, not only was the number of these lawless banditti increased by more than double, but they seemed to have secured a permanent position as the holders of the balance of power between the two great English Parties. Then came the elections of last July, which transferred that balance of power from the hands of the Parnellites to the Unionist Liberals, and from the entire Tory Party a cry of relief burst forth at what they regarded as their deliverance from bondage. Mr. Parnell's power was broken, and henceforth he and his party might be safely despised. The new Government of Lord Salisbury and Lord Randolph Church" hill, based all their plans upon this supposition, and already before a single month of Parliamentary work has passed away, they have found their plans all scattered to the wind aud the terrible Irishman once more the master of the House of Commons. Parliament assembled on the 19th August merely to vote such sums of money as might be necessary to carry on the Government of the country until February of next year, to which date ' they relegated the consideration and diicussion of all inconvenient questions of policy. The interval between now and then was to be devoted to " examination and inquiry," and in order the better to carry out this policy of masterly inactivity, they made the Queen's speech so brief and colourless* that it seemed well nigh impossible to raise lengthy discussions upon it. In the innocence of their hopes they fixed the probable duration of the session at two weeks. Alas ! for the hopes and plans of Ministers. The House of Commons has been sitting a month, and has barely commenced the consideration of votes of supply. The whole Irish question was raised on the voting of the Address to the Throne, was debated in its different phases for a fortnight, and now Mr. Parnell has obtained leave to introduce a bill on the land ques. xion of such a nature as to set the whole political world into a fever of excitement, and to place the new Government in a position of such embarrassment, and indeed danger, that no one can foretell what the effect may not be on its very existence. Next week the discussion on this Bill will commence. Thia will continue for a week, and as I write these lines I am in complete ignorance of what the fate of the Bill will probably be, of the justice and true moderation of its proposals there can be no second opinion. It proposes not a settle, ment of the land question, but a temporary arrangement whereby landlord and tenant alike may be able to live through the coming winter. The present state of things is deplorable in tbe extreme, and if no remedy be forthcoming will certainly end in wholesale misery and disaster. The rents fixed by the Courts two or three yearß ago as fair, are now exorbitant, and indeed impossible. The tenants cannot pay them. The prices of all kinds oE produce have fallen 30 or 40 per cent. The landlords for the most part cannot afford to make liberal reductions, as the same class in England willingly do in bad times, and those who can afford to do so have not the inclination. The November rents will soon be demanded. Already in some parts of the country the work of eviction has commenced: If nothing be done to arrest it before two months are over, thousands of families will be homeless by the roadside or driven to the workhouse, the passions of the people will be lashed into madness, and no power on earth will be sufficient to save Ireland from months of disturbance and misery. It is no one's interest that this should occur, least of all the interest of the landlords. For the most part they are needy men. The real owners, of the land are the London Jews and insurance companies, who hold the mortgages. If the landlords would accept whatever rent the people can pay, these English harpies would eventually be forced to make abatements of their interest and to accept part of the loss, just as men who invest in other speculations are obliged to do. But if in the vain attempt to exact to the full from tbe tenants an exorbitant rent which the ]und did not produce and wircn th'iy do not possess, the landlords insist upon pushicg their legal rights to extremes aud evict the people, they will assuredly be the cliio? liters. Instead of obtaining half or three fourths of the rent they will get none at all, they will speedily find they have killed the goose with the golden eggs, for the land will be idla and profitless, aud in the end the mortgages will obtain absolute owaerahip of the estate. Mr. Parnell's Bill proposes a way out of the difficulty for everyone concerned, He

1 proposes to allow tenants whose rentn have been fixed more thin one year ago, to apply to tbe Lami Court for a re-valuation oa the basis of the current prices, and meantime he proposes to protect from eviction every tenant who Khali satisfy the Oonrt that lie has paid as lar<je a portion of the rent us was possible. It may be safely assumed that in order to save himielf from eviction and to secure an immediate re-valuation of his rent, the tenants- would at once pay as much as possible of the rent doe to the landlords, who could not possibly expect to get more, and would almost certainly get much less by eviction. The tenant, on the other hand would ob^aiD irr. mediate protection and relief, and the coming winter would be paswd in naaca and tranqtiility. No one seems to know how the Government will act with regard to this Bill. It is said that Lord Randolph Churchill is in favour of accepting it, but that the Cabinet has decided against him. Certain it is that the Irish landlords, with characteristic stupidity, ■eem inclined to refuse this last chance, and in tbe face of their opposition it would be very difficult indeed for Lord Salisbury to do anything but reject the Bill. On the other hand, by rejecting the temporary suspension of evictions and the re-valuation of judicial rents, the Government may well be endangering and perhaps destroying the unnatural alliance between themselves and the 75 Liberal Unionists, upon whosa votes their existence depends from day to day. Mr. Chamberlain publicly and repeatedly advocated the suspension of evictions, and on a recent memorable occasion proposed tbe re- valuation of the judicial rents, and it is difficult to believe that in the face of these declarations he could vote against the Bill. It is possible that he may find a characteristic escape from the difficulty by remaining away from the House altogether. If the Bill be defeated it will afford a justification for aDy action to which our people may be driven during the coming winter in defence of their lives and their homes. The immediate consequence of such a defeat would be a fierce revival of the land war ; a close combination amongst the tenants on almost every estate in the country to resist rack rents, to boycott evicted farms, and to support evicted tenants. In such a struggle our people will, t believe, have on their side the active support of thuir fellow countrymen in America, Australia, and New Z. aland, and the sympathy of a large portion of the English people ;— But only on one condition, namely that they keep within the lines of loyalty and constitutional action, and do not permit their cause to be stained by any deed of violence or outrage to man or beast. I have no fear whatever upon this score. Nothing can reproduce the scenes of crime which stained the winter of 1881-82, except the re-enactment of the causes which led to the deplorable crisis of that year. In times of great political excitement, and acute agrarian distress the great bulwark of the peace of the country is the discipline of a great National organisation and the influence of political leaders. Remove these to-morrow, as they were removed by the suppression of the Land League, and the imprisonment of the leaders in 1881, and crime will be the certain and natural consequence. So long as they remain to restrain and guide the people, there need bt no fear of our struggle being stained with the disgrace of outrage. At the same time, it would be well if the public in New Zealand would receive with caution cabled news about Ireland during the coming months, for even already the outrage factory in London is at work endeavouring to poison the mind of the world against our people. J. E. Redmond.