Mr. Forster has named his Commission to inquire into the
operation of the Irish Land Act of 1870. It is to consist of five Members, Lord Bessborough, who is to be its chairman ; Mr. Shaw, the Member for Cork County ; Mr. Baron Dowse, Mr. Kavanagh, and the O'Conor Don. It is very wise to make the Commission so small, and its constitution will certainly not alarm the most alarmist of Conservatives. The only danger is that the Home-rule party will not be satisfied to have Mr. Shaw alone,—for the O'Conor Don can hardly be termed a Home-ruler,—to represent their views upon the Commission. The terms of the Commission direct it to inquire into and re- port on the working of the Irish Land Act of 1870, " and whether any and what amendments are necessary or expedient, with a view (1), to improve the relation between landlord and tenant in that part of the United Kingdom ; and (2), to facili- tate the purchase by tenants of their holdings." The Com- mission may be regarded as an impartial one, in which the mild bias of the different members is fairly balanced.
