At a large and enthusiastic meeting, held at Liskeard on
Wednesday, Mr. Courtney explained his action on the Evicted Tenants Bill. It was as a Unionist that he most strongly defended the Evicted Tenants Bill, and it was as a Unionist that he wished it success. The notion which had been spread abroad—partly by timid friends, and more thoroughly, he thought, by " GIadstonian flycatchers "—that he was going to desert Unionism, was an absolute mistake, and had no founda- tion in motive or conduct. After praising Mr. Morley for maintaining the law, Mr. Courtney dwelt upon the necessity for restoring the evicted tenants to the vacant farms. That may be true enough, but Mr. Courtney does not touch the real ground for Unionist dissatisfaction with his support of the Bill. The Bill was an iniquitous one, because it, in effect though not in name, put the men who are now occupying evicted farms at the mercy of their enemies. But though we think Mr. Courtney supported a bad Bill, we agree with him that it would be a great advantage to Ireland if the evicted tenants:question could be got rid of. Mr. Courtney's Unionism required no defence,—no E ane person ever doubted his perfect loyalty to the cause.
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