Mr. J. Ferguson, leader of the Irish Home-rulers of Glasgow,
took the chair at the weekly meeting of the Land League in Dublin, and made a noteworthy statement. An anonymous writer had called the leaders of the Land League "paid agi- tators," and Mr. Ferguson admitted that it was true. "The leaders of the Land League," he said (vide Times' report, Wed- nesday), "did not pretend that they were such wealthy men that they could afford to give their whole time to the National Land League for nothing. They felt the labourer was worthy of his hire." He defended them by the example of the Ministers of State, who were also paid. Mr. Ferguson misses the true point. There is no possible objection to the payment of the leaders of the Land League, if the subscribers to the League wish it, any more than to the payment of any other lecturers; but then the fact of payment should be regularly acknowledged, and the salaries stated. The speech of a paid leader and of an unpaid leader are two very different things. The one represents his subscribers, the other represents the public, or it may be, himself. In this case, as the money is raised in America and spent in Ireland, the fact of payment is of great public interest. As the Americans do all the subscribing, and Ireland is to reap all the benefit, we should have thought the number of unpaid volunteers would have rendered any salaries unnecessary.
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