AFFAIRS IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Thursday, February 12, 1880

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 55, No. 7

AFFAIRS IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

On the 5th of February, Parliament was opened by Queen Victoria in person. In the Queen’s speech, which was read by the Lord High Chancellor, she spoke of Afghan affairs, the situation in South Africa, and the necessity of action by the government to avert famine in Ireland, but carefully avoided the questions of political reform and land tenure. Of the pressing need of attention to these matters, the reader may judge by the following from the Christian Weekly of Feb. 7:—

There are rumors of an impending storm that threatens to break over Great Britain, that before it has passed may unsettle the foundations that have stood undisturbed for centuries. The present distress in Ireland has brought the question of land tenure prominently forward, and is exciting an agitation the issue of which no one is wise enough to forecast. John Bright, in a public speech last week, suggested the appointment of a commission with power to sell the farms in Ireland of landlords willing to sell to tenants willing to buy, and to advance three-fourths of the purchase money, the principal and interest to be repaid in 35 years. It is stated that one of the main questions before the coming Parliament will be a bill for the abolition of the law of primogeniture, and for the simplification of the transfer of land. A simple statement, but how radical may be the result! Of the 27,243,857 acres of England and Wales, 66 persons own 1,917,076; 100 persons own 3,917,611; and less than 280 own 5,425,764 acres. In Ireland 744 persons own 9,612,728 acres, or nearly one-half of the island, while in Scotland 24 persons own more than one-fourth the whole area, and 70 own 9,400,000 acres, or about one-half of the whole.