16 APRIL 1881, Page 1

Yesterday week, the Duke of Argyll said a few words

in the House of Lords in explanation of his retirement from the Ministry. His differences with his colleagues, he said, con- cerned, and concerned only, the Irish Land Bill, and concerned only one part of that. " While I approve and heartily support every measure which can reasonably be taken to increase the number of owners of land in Ireland, I am opposed to mea- sures which tend to destroy ownership altogether, by depriving it of the conditions which are necessary to the exercise of its functions. My Lords, it has been one of the professed objects of the Liberal party to get rid, as much as possible, of those restrictions which constitute what is called limited ownership' in laud. My opinion is that the scheme of the Government will tend to paralyse the ownership of land in Ireland, by placing it, for all time to come, under now fetters and limitations, under which it is not placed in any other civilised country in the world. Under this scheme, neither landlord nor tenant will be owner ; in Ireland, ownership will be in commission or in abep ance." And the Duke regarded this as an injury to any country, but especially to a country under the industrial con- ditions of Ireland. Of his loyalty to Mr. Gladstone, the Duke spoke strongly. " I have had the honour of a close political con- nection with my right honourable friend now for the long period of twenty-nine years,—a connection on my part of ever-increasing affection and respect. Nothing but an absolute sense of public duty, iu relation to a question of immense and far-reaching consequence, could have compelled me to take the step which I have now reluctantly communicated to the House." The Duke is a great loss to the Government. The first orator in the House of Lords, possessing a knowledge hardly second to Lord GTanville's on Foreign affairs, and hardly second to Lord. Northbrook's on Indian affairs, he carried into every debate in which he mingled, the influence of a very powerful, though some- what over-rigid and too sharply-formulated, intellect.