§ MR. LABOUCHEREasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether he is aware that ejectment decrees have been granted against the tenants of Mrs. Blake on the Renvyle Estate, in Ireland, although these tenants have all either made themselves the improvements on their farms, or have paid for these improvements to their outgoing predecessors, and although their rents are on an average one and a half times Griffith's valuation; whether his attention has been called to the following statement by Mr. Becker, in his letters to the Daily News from Ireland respecting this land:—
Below, near the sea, stands Renvyle Castle, whence the name Coshleen, the village by the Castle, the ruined stronghold of the O'Flahertys, who ruled this county long ago, either better or worse than the Blakes, who have held it for some generations, and under whose care it has become a reproach to the Empire,and to the following description by Mr. Becker of the tenants—How any compensation money is to be got for the hundreds of miserable people who inhabit Coshleen and Derryinver I cannot conceive; they have, it is true, potatoes to eat now, and may have enough till February (1881), but their pale cheeks, high cheek bones, and hollow eyes tell a sorry tale, not of sudden want, but of a long course of insufficient food varied by occasional fever;and, whether he will inquire into the truth of the above statements, and, if he finds them to be correct, he will refuse the aid of the military and of the police in evicting the tenants on that estate?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERSir, I am afraid I must detain the House longer than usual with regard to this Question. I fully admit the general fairness of Mr. Becker's description; but I think in this case he must either have been describing some other persons or must have seen these people in very exceptional distress. I have by me special Reports, made during the recent distress in 1879 and 1880, by Inspectors of the Local Government Board sent expressly to this district, which give a much more cheerful account of the appearance of these poor people. On December 21, 1879, Mr. Robinson, one of the Inspectors, reports as follows:—
§ " They are a remarkably sturdy, active, and healthy lot of men. Some of them were en- 850 gaged building and repairing their boats, others fishing, and others digging and collecting turf, all with cheerful, pleasant expressions of countenance. Food they have plenty of at present; most of them have potatoes; but any that have not, being unable to obtain credit for meal, are obliged to resort to the simple expedient of purchasing it, and this they do with the money they receive for the sale of their pigs, fish, or cattle.
§ He goes on to describe their clothing as warm and comfortable. Dr. Roughan, another of the Inspectors of the Local Government Board sent specialty to this district, reported as follows on the 16th of January, 1880. After describing the wretchedness of their cabins, of which there can be no doubt, he says—
§ " It is wonderful how buoyant, cheerful, and healthy they appeared. I do not think in any part of Ireland a more apparently healthy race of people could be found. The men advanced in years do not look prematurely old, and the middle-aged and young seemed to enjoy robust health."
§ I may, on my personal experience, confirm the statements of the Inspector. I was at the village of Renvyle in 1845 and the winter of 1846–7, during the Famine, and again about three years ago. I was struck with the improvement in the health and appearance of the people, though the cabins seemed much the same. With regard to the other statements in the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to a letter from Mrs. Blake which appeared in The Irish Times of the 18th of December, 1880, and also, I believe, in The Standard, about the same date. This letter replies to those of the special correspondents of The Standard and The Daily News. I have myself just received a Report from the local constabulary and a letter from Mrs. Blake herself. The sub-Inspector states that the people living at Coshleen and Derryinver can compare favourably with those on any other estate in Con-nemara. The houses of those living by the coast are no index to their means. Two-thirds of these people up to last month had potatoes for sale, while the other third have them at present, at the rate of 4d. a stone. I do not doubt that the rents on the estate are above Griffith's valuation; but Mrs. Blake informs me that they have not been raised for 21 years, and then on careful valuation by two independent Roman Catholic farmers, who had no connection with the landlord. Mrs. Blake has 13 processes of ejectment to be executed 851 against tenants who, I am informed by the constabulary, are, in their opinion, all well able to pay, and would do so but for the terrorism of the Land League. The following notice, for instance, was posted in the locality:—Herds and graziers quit, or else you will get the fate of Lyden. Pay no rent at any cost. Lyden, I may mention, was cruelly murdered, being dragged from his bed at night, and repeated shots were fired at him in the sight of his wife and children. His eldest son, at the same time, was fatally wounded. The terrorism has had its effect; Mrs. Blake now has on hand a farm of about 400 acres of grass land, which no person dare take. One man sent a bullock to graze there. It was taken out to sea at night and drowned. With regard to this farm Mrs. Blake writes—
§ I have now about 400 acres of grass land Boycotted. The tenant who gave up the larger part was taking more land, and offering for some an increased rent. Up to the agitation he had been a good tenant for many years. We bought the interest from the outgoing tenant on one farm, and lost heavily on the other which had been held by an Englishman. The agitators said—' Hunt the graziers.' Afterwards sheep were destroyed, over 120, and the land trespassed night and day; so the tenants noticed me in May, and gave up in November.
§ As this question has excited much interest, I have thought it right to detain the House longer than usual with my answer. Without doubt, the general condition of this estate, as of many others in Connemara, is a strong argument for the Land Bill before the House; but I am convinced that the charges against Mrs. Blake are unfounded, that she has herself received bad treatment, and that the Government would do wrong to refuse to her the protection of the law.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORasked the right hon. Gentleman whether he was aware, when making the statement that the rents had not been raised for 21 years, that the valuation then made was, according to the confession of one of the valuators, made for the purpose of a mortgage, and not for the purpose of fixing rent; and that the result of this collusion between the valuators and the late Mr. Blake was that he obtained a large figure upon the estate?
MR. MACARTNEYasked whether it was a fact that a quantity of corn belonging to Mrs. Blake was burned down recently, and that she was afraid to 852 apply for compensation for this malicious injury owing to threats made by local agitators?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER,in reply, said, that he was unable to answer the Question of the hon. Member for Galway (Mr. T. P. O'Connor). With regard to the latter Question, his information coincided with that of the hon. Member for Tyrone (Mr. Macartney).
§ MR. HEALYwished to know how it happened that the right hon. Gentleman was always acquainted with everything against a tenant, but never with anything against a landlord? [Oh, oh !]