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Show Cbe' Eafesf irisl) Hews . With Compliments, Directory United Irish League. 69 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin. John E. Redmond, M, P., President. June 21. 1902. The United Irish. League. The seventh meeting of the national directory was held at the league offices. of-fices. O'Connell street. Dublin, on June 27. J. E. -Redmond, M. P., presided. There was a full attendance of the directory. di-rectory. The chairman made a lengthened statement, in. which he dealt with the character of the land bill of. the government, gov-ernment, pointing out its objectionable features and proposals. He. also made reference to the De Freyne prosecutions.' prosecu-tions.' On the motion of Mr. John E. Redmond, Red-mond, M. P. (chairman), isecondded by the Rev. J. C. Cannon, Adm (East Donegal), Don-egal), the following address was unanimously unan-imously agreed to and ordered to be published and sent to the branches of the United Irish League: 1. A sham land bill, which was never intended to be passed, has been now openly abandoned by Mr, Wyndham, and the era of false pretense has been brought to an end. The present chief secretary, placed in his position by the landlords with the hope of staying the onward and irresistible march of the people in all parts of Ireland to com-pulsary com-pulsary purchase, has more than justified justi-fied the hopes that were placed in him. The measure which he introduced contained con-tained in every clause provisions for bringing back to the landlords the power they have forfeited, and for helping the landlords to more money; nearly every line was calculated to deprive the tenant of some one of his hard-won rights, whether obtained by agitation or legislation. The bill would have torn up some of the best provisions pro-visions of the land act of 1881; would have stayed, instead of stimulating, land purchase; would have inflicted a heavy and intolerable fine upon every tenant who wanted to purchase. Attempting At-tempting but to touch the very fringe of a great question, which affects the very existence of our people, and affects af-fects them equally in -every province in Ireland, the bill yet managed to approach ap-proach this petty peddling with the question in the old spirit of making the nation pay for even a small escape from the thraldom of landlordism. mis impudent ana contemptible response by Mr. : Wyndham to a demand de-mand for a great measure, in which all Ireland is united, is a final proof, if that were needed, that neither from Mr. Wyndham nor from any other chief secretary in a landlord government, govern-ment, can the Irish people expect, to get voluntarily a great measure of compulsory purchase. Now, as so often before, the Irish people are thrown back upon their own resources on their own unity and organization, on their own courage and determination. Now, as in the day when' Parnell uttered ut-tered the words, it remains true that the measure of the land bill of any government is the measure of the magnitude mag-nitude and determination of the agitation agi-tation among the people themselves. A small and fraudulent land bill will be the fruits of an agitation that is wanting want-ing in either strength or determination; to get a great land bill there must be a great agitation. 3 If, then, .it is the. settled determination determi-nation of the Irish people to extort from. this or some other British min-: istry a great measure !of compulsory land purchase, and to get rid for once and forever of the incubus of landlordism, landlord-ism, the Irish people must show a stronger spirit of determination, a closer union, a perfected organization. In every part of the country a movement move-ment against landlordism ought to' be made strong, effectTye und' "fearless. The landlords must be", ma-de; 'to1 feel they have to deal with a people, whose toleration and patience are exhausted, and who are ready to face danger and suffering, if need be, .to attain their liberation. The evil forces of grazing and grabbing which are allies and weapons of landlordism must be. fought until it is clear that in no pant of Ireland Ire-land will the moral sentiment or the public opinion, of the Irish people tolerate tol-erate the men who, from greed, selfishness sel-fishness and the coveting of . their neighbor's goods, assist in maintaining the plunder, and enslavement . of their land. 4 We necessarily include in this appeal ap-peal for a national uprising against a universally- admitted social economic evil, the laboring and artisan classes of our country, as well as its farming population.. No final solution of the j and question can be just or possible which could ignore the claims of our j agricultural laborers to a stake in the soil, to better and healthier homes, and to more encouraging opportunities . of employment in their native land; and these. rights and advantages will, in our conviction, necessarily follow from the expropriation of those who now I so largely monopolize the soil and restrict re-strict its cultivation and development. To free the land of the country from landlordism means to liberate it for ! great or industrial purposes and for the fuller development of wealth-producing capacities. To multiply the necessities ne-cessities of life and stimulate all other branches of wage-earning occupation, releasing the land from the grip of landlordism, will be to free it for the greater and more economic advantage of all branches of -labor, because a healthy and prosperous agricultural industry reacts beneficially upon all other productive employments. Today, under the paralyzing influence of pas-toralism. pas-toralism. an acre of rich land, devoted to grazing, yields a yearly, value of some 2 in produce, and gives little or no labor, while an acre of land devoted de-voted to tillage yields an average of S, and does so through the agency of labor alone. To liberate the land from landlordism is, therefore, a task for the mechanic, artisan and commercial classes, as well as for the farmer and laborer, and without in any way desiring desir-ing to interfere with or control the independent in-dependent organizations of labor and artisan bodies existing for separate aims and objects, the directory, of the United Irish' League earnestly appeals to the members of all such organizations organiza-tions to join with us in achieving this great and truly national reform of obtaining ob-taining the land of Ireland for its people. peo-ple. Every weapon which the great law of combination places in the hands of the Irish tenant, as well as of the English mechanic, must be employed without fear. Every attempt to break down these combinations, whether by the coercion courts or at public meetings, meet-ings, must be met with open defiance and resistance. 5. No man brought before these infamous in-famous coercion courts, which are employed em-ployed and paid not to try but to convict, con-vict, should acknowledge their authority. author-ity. These courts should be flouted and defied; the impudent pretence that they are courts of law. and not star chamber agencies of a despotic executive, should not be helped, except in cases of an exceptional ex-ceptional character, by any attempt at defense before them: they should be allowed al-lowed to do their infamous work Jn all its nakedness and without any assistance assist-ance on the part of the. people brought before them on the pretence that they are judicial proceedings. 6. The attempt to turn public officials into castle informers, and to use them as allies in the work of landlordism and coercion should be sternly resisted. The people have not chosen their public officials with a view to their being employed em-ployed to do the dirty work of anti-national anti-national government, or to help In the plunder-or coercion of the people:, AH public boards should resist in every possible form any attempt on the part of the government to degrade their of- i t ficials in this way. and those boards should resist the payment for extra police, po-lice, whose presence in the district has been necessitated simply by the determination deter-mination of the government to assist landlordism by suppressing public meetings by force, every honor and recognition which it is in the power of the people to bestow should be conferred con-ferred on the men marked out for punishment pun-ishment and attack by the government in this movement for the rights of the people. No man should be allowed to suffer in pocket, as he certainly does not suffer in repute, because he has had the honor of being chosen for assault as a formidable enemy of landlordism and coercion. ' 7. To sum up, compulsory land purchase pur-chase must be brought about by such vigorous and combined action against landlordism as will leave no alternative to the British government and tottering totter-ing landlordism but to pass such a measure as the people of Ireland unanimously demand. Compulsory purchase will never be granted as a concession to the mere justice and reasonableness rea-sonableness of a measure called for even by the voice of all Ireland. It will come when the government and the landlords are forced to concede it to an imperative and irresistible national agitation. In other words, it is the determination de-termination of an organized people, and not the good will of either landlords or ministers, that will settle this great question. Confiding in the well-proven courage of our race, In their resolve to settle this question once and for ever, and to win back the soil for the people, confiding in the firm hope and determination deter-mination of the people to leave to their children of the next generation the full ownership of the land, untrammelled by even one remnant of the burden of landlordism; confiding, finally, In the readiness of the people to make all and every ' sacrifice for such a noble, glorious glo-rious and final victory over the felonious felon-ious system that has robbed, ruined and expatriated the Irish race for centuries, cen-turies, the directory makes this call upon the people for such a combined advance as will vanquish the already trembling and divided garrison of landlordism, land-lordism, and lead to its final disappearance disappear-ance from the soil of Ireland. The additional purchases recently made by the Congested districts board, while giving satisfactory evidence of the healthy influence of stern popular , criticism,' are rather calculated to in- , crease than to allay discontent, by re- minding the people how narrow is the i board's sphere of operations in com- parlson with the necessities of the case, t and how intolerably slow is their pres- , ent system of purchase, and how un- 1 representative and questionable is their mode of administration. It will be the , fault of the tens of thousands of tenants ten-ants of adjoining estates, for whom nothing has been done, if another win- ter is allowed to pass without pressing . their claims upon the Congested districts dis-tricts board, upon the landlords and the holders of eleven-months' lettings, in a manner that will compel attention. With a view to concentrating public attention upon the demands of Ireland, and. upon the methods by which a cas-tie. cas-tie. and landlord conspiracy is endeavoring endeav-oring to stifle them, we believe there will be a general agreement In the country that there is no work in which the exertions of a large portion, at all events, of Ireland's parliamentary representatives rep-resentatives can be at the present moment mo-ment so usefully employed as In directing direct-ing the struggles against landlordism and coercion in Ireland, upon whose results any ultimate legislation in -Westminster must inevitably be founded. found-ed. With this object we respectfully suggest to the United Irish party that records of the work of the party be, for the future, framed in such a manner man-ner as to give full credit for work done in connection with the fight in Ireland. Proposed by Mr. William O'Brien, M. P., seconded by Mr. John Dillon, M. P., and passed unanimously: "That the directory have learned with the deepest sorrow of the grave illness of the Most Rev. Dr. Croke, archbishop of Cashel, and associate themselves with their fellow countrymen in their prayers for their eternal gratitude to the most illustrious churchman and nationalist na-tionalist of our race." The following was read: "Redmond, Chairman Irish Tarty, Dublin : "First convention, United Irish league, America, will be held in Fannel Hall, Boston, first week in October, two j days. Finnerty, Chicago, president of league; Redding, Baltimore, vice president: pres-ident: Fitzpatrick, Boston, treasurer; O'Callaghan, Boston, Martin, Balti- ; mOre, honorary secretaries." Proposed by Mr. William O'Brien, M. j P., seconded by Father Clancy, West I Clare: i "Resolved, That in response to the message which has been received by I the chairman of the National directory t from the executive of the United Irish f League of America, intimating that a convention of the league branches in the United States is to be held in the s city of Bostor. in the month of October t next, we hereby nominate Mr. John E. t Redmond, M. P.; Mr. John Dillon, M. f P., and Mr. Michael Davitt as delegates to represent the home organization at J. such convention." y Passed unaimously. . . C A report from Messrs. Redmond and E Devlin, M. P.'s, relating to their mis- j sion in America, which had already ap- peared in the public press, was read and ordered to be inserted in the min- utes. ' 6 Whereupon, the Rev. J. C. Cannon, Adm., East Donegal, proposed, and Mr. t Alfred Webb seconded, the following resolution: - $ "That we, the members of the direc- r tory of the United Irish League, acting as the representatives of the Irish peo- t pie, hereby tender the public thanks of f the Irish nation to Messrs. William Redmond and' Joseph Devlin, M. P.'s. for the splendid, self-sacrificing and thoroughly successful work they have done for the National organization and fj the national cause in the United States, and congratulate them on having brought to a successful issue the work so well begun by Messrs. J. E. Red- mond, P. A. McHugh and Thomas h O'Donnell.". Passed unanimously. ' The following' was proposed by Rev. S J. Clancy, C. C, West Clare, seconded K by Mr. Thomas Barry, Northeast Cork: "That this directory confirm, the fol- U lowing resolution adopted by the West f; Clare executive of the United Irish V. league: '' " & "That being altogether dissatisfied & with Major Jameson's discharge of his l5 .duties as our parliamentary representa- ; tive, and having already called on him - to teslgn without result, we direct our representative on the Directory to ob- tain the confirmation of the Directory of 'our vote of want of confidence." Adopted, Mr. P. White, M. P., dis- senting. ( The following resolution was pro- posed by Mr. P. McGuirk, South Mona- ghan, seconded by Mr. John Teggart, and supported by Mr. Tom Barry: 'That we confirm the action of the ( North Monaghan executive in calling upon their representative to resign his position of member of parliament for S that constituency.". |