CHAPTER IV

THE QUESTION OF THE IRISH LAND (_continued_)--THE IRISH LAND ACT OF 1870--THE LAND LEAGUE AND THE NATIONAL LEAGUE--THE LAND ACT OF 1881--SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATION AS REGARDS THE LAND SYSTEM OF IRELAND

State of landed relations in Ireland in 1869-70--Mr. Gladstone Prime Minister--The Land Act of 1870--Its merits and defects-- A short period of prosperity in Ireland--Ominous symptoms-- Michael Davitt--The teaching of John Finton Lalor in 1848--The 'New Departure' in Fenianism arranged in America--Foundation of the Land League--It was a foreign rebellious conspiracy, with an agrarian side, under a constitutional mask--Parnell the master spirit of the League--His visit to America and the results--A short period of distress in Ireland--Conduct of the Irish landlords--Progress of the Land League--Mr. Gladstone again Prime Minister in 1880--The Compensation for Disturbance Bill rejected by the House of Lords--Outburst of agrarian crime, as the Land League increases in power--Rents at Griffith's valuation--Boycotting--Frightful state of Ireland in 1881--After a short attempt to repress it, Mr. Gladstone surrenders to the Land League--The Land Act of 1881--Mr. Gladstone breaks the pledges he had made in 1870--His promise of compensating the Irish landlords--The Land Act of 1881 a bad and unjust measure directly inconsistent with that of 1870--The 'No Rent Manifesto'--The Kilmainham Treaty--The Phoenix Park tragedy--Coercion--Parnell founds the National League, the successor of the Land League--Renewal of agitation in 1886--Struggle with law and the Government--Subsequent agrarian legislation for Ireland--This is really a concession to agitation, for the benefit of Irish tenants, and to the injury of Irish landlords 130-187