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discretion and prudence, and one which more than another requires a man who weighs his words, it is that of Law Adviser to the Castle. Well, the gentleman who had filled that honourable post was, I will not say the Government candidate, because hon. gentlemen opposite might blame me for using so unconstitutional a phrase, but the only candidate who came forward to vindicate the policy of the Government, and to support them. I know nothing of the green scarf which he is said to have worn, but I think it highly probable that he did attire himself in that way, for his mind seems thoroughly permeated with that hue, as appears from all his observations. He came forward as the advocate of the immediate release of the Fenian prisoners, and gave three cheers for the people in prison-a most remarkable exhibition of discretion on the part of the late Law Adviser of the Castle. He declared himself a firm supporter of fixity of tenure in land. Now, sir, notwithstanding the reckless manner in which the late Law Adviser of the Castlewho it was generally supposed was going to be something greater than Law Adviser to the Castle if he succeeded in securing his election-notwithstanding the reckless manner in which he pledged himself to his intended constituents, he was defeated. He was defeated under circumstances which we shall have to consider in the next eight and forty hours. The people of Ireland had to choose between a sham Fenian and a real Fenian, and it is astonishing what a preference is always given to the genuine article. But now I must call the attention of the House to what occurred when the Government candidate was defeated, though he had pledged himself to all those revolutionary doctrines. All this time, especially from the period when Lord Stanley delivered those observations which I have quoted, horrible scenes of violence had been occurring in Ireland, but the Government would never move. Landlords were shot down like game; respectable farmers were beaten to death with sticks by masked men; bailiffs were shot in the back; policemen were stabbed; the High Sheriff of a county going to swear in the grand jury was fired at in his carriage, and dangerously wounded; households were blown up, and firearms surreptitiously obtained. All this time the Government would not move; but the moment the Government candidate was defeated on the hustings-a Government candidate pledged to confiscation-pledged to a course of action which would destroy all civil government-the moment that occurred there was panic at the Castle, there was confusion in the Council; the wires of Aldershot were agitated; troops were put in motion, sent across from Liverpool to Dublin, and concentrated in Waterford, Tipperary, and Cork. And all this because the candidate who was prepared to support the Government had lost his election." Anticipating however that the Land Bill would be a just and prudent measure, Mr. Disraeli promised it impartial consideration and cordial support, if it dealt with all necessary points and contained nothing "visionary or fantastic." But in that case what would the late Law Adviser of the Castle-what would Lord Granard

and Sir John Gray-above all, what would the great body of the Roman Catholic population of Ireland-say to it? Repeating that he considered the mention of Ireland in the Queen's Speech "inadequate and inaccurate," Mr. Disraeli thus concluded: "If we are to have a Bill on the tenure of land brought in, we ought, if possible, to consider it free from party feelings, and with the anxious desire, not to satisfy the wild vagaries of the Irish people, but to lay the foundation of the future welfare and prosperity of Ireland. I wish to impress upon the House the great responsibility which they incur on this subject. This is still a new House of Commons. Men have entered it who are proud, and justly proud, to be Members of such an Assembly; but they may depend on it that if they do not resolve to consider the question of Irish government not only in a large but a firm spirit-if they think it possible that the spirit and sense of the people of England will long endure the chronic state of disturbance that now prevails in Ireland-they are much mistaken. And they may be equally certain that when this Parliament comes to a conclusion, which they have entered with so much pride and so much justifiable self-complacency, if they err in the course they take on this question-if they sanction a policy which, if unchecked, must lead to the dismemberment of the Empire and even to the partial dissolution of society-they will look back on the day they entered Parliament with very different feelings from those which now influence them, and they will remember this House of Commons with dismay and remorse.' Thanking Mr. Disraeli for his promise to throw no needless difficulties in the way of the proposed Irish Land Bill, Mr. Gladstone in his reply confined himself to that engrossing topic. He strongly disclaimed any intentional ambiguity in the terms of the Queen's Speech, and said, "I confess I do not understand out of what terms of the Speech it is the doubts and difficulties of the right hon. gentleman have arisen; but I think I can remove them by an express declaration. In the intention announced by the Government, and embodied in the gracious Speech of her Majesty, so far as that intention imposes a careful daily regard to the condition of Ireland and their duty to propose every thing which that condition requires, there is nothing ambiguous or contingent. That duty is absolutely paramount and primary; and anxious as the Government are that they should give the first place in the order of the Session, as it is also in the mind of Parliament and of the country, to those remedial measures of permanent operation on which their permanent hopes are fixed, yet they feel there are duties which, under certain circumstances, might impose the necessity of immediate action, and occasions which might compel them-although God forbid they should be compelled-to suspend the great purposes of the future, in order that they might meet the crying and irrepressible wants of the present. I hope that in that declaration there is nothing that can be called contingent, with reference to Ireland, between remedial measures and special

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[1870. provisions, if such should be unhappily required." Passing to Mr. Disraeli's speech, the Premier suggested that it was more a demonstration than a serious attack, and congratulated him on the success he had achieved out of the scanty materials at his command. He joined with him in acquitting the administration of justice and the influence of the priesthood of the recent aggravation of agrarian crime which he admitted and deplored, but for which he entirely denied that the Government were responsible. That their policy had been or could be misunderstood in Ireland he denied, and pointed out that the release of the Fenian prisoners was decided on and announced three weeks before the deputation from Dublin came to the bar of the House. Of the partial amnesty he said that it was "a discriminating amnesty founded upon a comparison of severity of punishment with degrees of guilt, and which, in this case, is synonymous with a just and wise amnesty." He denied that the Government had given colour to the inferences which Mr. Disraeli had asserted that the Irish had drawn from their conduct; and maintaining that no responsible Member of the Government had made any declaration or sanctioned any misunderstanding of the kind, argued that for none of the cases that had been cited against him were they responsible at all. With Sir John Gray he (Mr. Gladstone) had no compact or covenant, though he acknowledged, and thanked him for, the good service he had done and there was "abundant and ample room in space" for each to "continue to march in his own orbit, very good friends with each other, but each claiming liberty of thought and liberty of action." As for Mr. Heron, he had not been Law Adviser to a Liberal Government or the Castle for three or four years; and "had returned to his native and primitive independence." He had never been or called himself a Ministerial candidate. It was a serious doctrine to lay down, that leaders of a party were to be responsible for all the sentiments uttered by all their independent supporters; and Mr. Gladstone proceeded to show how dangerous such a doctrine might prove if applied to Mr. Disraeli himself in reference to this very measure, and cited some instances in confirmation. In conclusion he said, "To the Fenians it is of vital importance that, by some means or other, this House should be impeded in the work of giving effect to its determination to establish just laws in Ireland; they have shown that disposition by the most undeniable public manifestations, and by violent interference with the right of public meeting and of freedom of speech. I cannot wonder at it; for I believe that if we should happily succeed in proposing to the House, and the House should co-operate in passing, good and just laws for removing the evils now accompanying the tenure and cultivation of land in Ireland, it will be from such laws, and from such laws alone, that Fenianism will at length receive its death blow. The very best exertions of the best Executive Governments can do no more than put down its outward manifestations; let us go down to the rootlet us go inward to the source; and that is what we hope and mean

to do. That is what they are determined that we shall not do. And I cannot hesitate to say that they would, indeed, be blind to the whole nature of the question in which they are engaged, unless they took every legitimate means-and sometimes, I am afraid, very illegitimate means-of producing disturbance and want of confidence in Ireland; every thing, in fact, that may provoke Parliament to turn aside from the path of beneficial legislation to discuss angry and coercive measures in reference to the present state of Ireland. It is fair to admit that, while the direct action of Fenianism has had its stimulating effect upon the general lawlessness, and has contributed to the increase of outrages and of public mischiefs, a share of responsibility is also due to us, which I do not seek to evade. I admit that whenever great questions of this kind are raised, and especially whenever they are raised by an Executive Government, a certain excitement is necessarily communicated to the public mind in any and in every country, most of all in a country where the public mind-under long suffering, consequent on innumerable errors of government, has fallen into a morbid state. This certainly is a remarkable circumstance, that, as far as our evidence goes-and we have heard the statement from many quarters-last year has been distinguished by somewhat more than the ordinary regularity and punctuality of payment of rents in Ireland. That is a satisfactory thing in itself; but the feeling to which this circumstance is attributable may lead in different directions to very important results. It betrays an expectation in the minds of the people of Ireland that hereafter they are to pursue their avocations as cultivators of land with greater advantage than they have done hitherto; and if they think that some reparation is to be made to them in respect of the unrequited labours which they have heretofore bestowed upon the soil, their tenacity of attachment to the particular spot which they have held is quite sufficient, on the one hand, to account for an increased desire to discharge their share of the covenant implied in the payment of rent to the landlord; while, on the other hand, it leads them to regard with greater jealousy and apprehension the process of eviction, and to entertain the determination, even with the strong hand, to resist its application. These are matters which, as it will be necessary for us to discuss hereafter, I need not trouble the House, I think, at the present moment with details with regard to the condition of Ireland but having defended-and I think it due not only to my Colleagues but the right hon. Gentleman himself that I should endeavour to defend the Executive Government against the charges in which he has most immeasurably indulged, I will conclude by thanking him for the evidence he has given that he feels the gravity of the situation of England in the face of Ireland, as an Imperial question, and from the promise which I have on the part of others, as well as himself, I hope that the propositions we are about to make will receive a fair and candid consideration.

The address was agreed to without opposition.

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CHAPTER II.

Motion in the matter of O'Donovan Rossa-Introduction of the Irish Land BillSpeech of Mr. Gladstone-Speeches of Dr. Ball, Mr. Chichester Fortescue, Mr. Ward Hunt, Sir Roundell Palmer, Mr. Disraeli, and others-Vote on the second reading The Peace Preservation Bill-The Irish Land Bill in Committee-Debate on the Ulster custom-Division on Mr. Disraeli's amendment-Majority for Government-Division on Mr. Fortescue's clause-Free contract-Vote on Mr. Fowler's amendment-Rapid progress of the Bill-The Bill passes the Commons -Mr. Gladstone's speech on the third reading-Debate on the second reading in the House of Lords-The Bill in Committee-Amendments of the Duke of Richmond, the Marquis of Salisbury, and of Lord Clanricarde-Proceedings of the Lords on the report being brought up-Subsequent proceedings in both houses-The Bill receives the Royal Assent-Quiet in Ireland-The Fenian Amnesty.

The introduction of the Irish Land Bill was appropriately preceded by a motion brought forward by Mr. Gladstone, that O'Donovan Rossa, the convict whom Tipperary had returned as her member, "had become and continued incapable of being elected or returned as a member of the House," and the motion was carried, in a house of only 309 members, by a majority of 293. On the 15th February, before the largest audience of the session, the Premier introduced the Irish Land Bill in a speech worthy of the occasion.1 Rising to move for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Law relating to the Occupation and Ownership of Land in Ireland, he entered at some length into the history of the previous dealings of various administrations with this perplexing subject, from 1833 to the present time. "I do not now speak," he said, " of the amount of blame to be divided as between one party and another, or as between one person and another; probably none of us who have sat in Parliament since that epoch are altogether exempt from responsibility. But what I hope is, that, having witnessed the disaster and difficulty which have arisen from this long procrastination, we shall resolve in mind and heart by a manful effort to close and seal up for ever, if it may be, this great question, which so intimately concerns the welfare and happiness of the people of Ireland." He acknowledged the assistance-"assistance valuable in a greater degree than I can remember in any other instance of the kind, which has been given to us by what I may call the recent literature of this great question.

The Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 (33 and 34 Vict. c. 46) is divided into five parts. The first part (section 1 to 31 inclusive) regulates the "Law of Compensation to Tenants" as to which the principal changes effected are as follows: -1. The Ulster tenant-right custom and similar customs in other parts of Ireland, receive a legal status. 2. New rights are conferred on tenants with reference to compensation for disturbance by the act of the landlord. 3. Compensation is given for improvements, and the rights and liabilities of landlord and tenant defined. The second part (sect. 32 to 41) regulates "Sale of Lands to Tenants." The third part (sect. 42 to 56) regulates the "Advances by, and Powers of, the Board of Works." The fourth part (sect. 57 to 64) regulates "Legal Proceedings and Court." The fifth part (sect. 65 to 69) contains miscellaneous clauses referring to tenancies created after the passing of the Act.

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