The motion which appears on the Paper in the name of the Minister for Agriculture should have been tabled in my name. The Minister has drawn my attention to it. The motion is as follows:—
Resolved that this House hereby declares that the Bill passed by this House and entitled "An Act to amend the law relating to the occupation and ownership of land and for other purposes relating thereto" and whereof the short title is "The Land Bill, 1923," is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace.
I would like to say, Sir, that during the last two or three years a good deal of dislocation of the ordinary administration has been attributable to the land agitation. Questions involving land matters that have been troublesome for the last 12 or 18 months have been intensified to an extraordinary extent by the fact that very great unrest has been evidenced in a great many parts of the country by reason of so many grievances existing, which it is hoped and believed this Land Bill will rectify. Although it can scarcely be said to be an agreed measure, this is a Bill on which the maximum amount of agreement has been brought to bear by all the parties to it. It may be that some people may have thought they could have got better terms and that other people thought they could have got a better price. But I think the general consensus of opinion in the Oireachtas and in the country is that the measure is one that will go far towards making for much more peaceful conditions and much more ordered conditions and for greater security and greater stability than perhaps any other measure we have had under consideration here. We consider that the public peace is ensured by the passing of this Bill. There is a danger, through the operation of Article 47 of the Constitution, that it might be claimed that the Bill could not pass for seven days. I am myself strongly of opinion, and that opinion is reinforced by every member of the Ministry, that the immediate passing into law of this measure is a matter of urgent necessity for the maintenance of peace. The Dáil is, I think, aware that we have had to employ very large numbers of troops in the execution of decrees. Certain writs have been issued for the recovery of rents, which in themselves constitute an invasion of the terms of this instrument that has been considered so exhaustively by the Dáil, and which has also been passed by the Seanad. Under the law as it stands we are bound to execute decrees which have been issued for rent, and I understand that writs are being issued at present. The Minister for Agriculture has just handed me a telegram which he has had from one part of the country dealing with this very matter. He only received it a moment ago. These things do not make for public peace, and the Government is always in the position of being attacked by both sides—on one side for its weakness and on the other side for its strength. We believe that the maintenance of public peace in this country at the moment will make more for stability than any amount of strength or weakness that can be shown. We believe it ought not to be necessary to employ in the ordinary administration of the business of the country unusual numbers of troops. We should get away from that and get back to normal conditions. There should be respect for decisions in the Courts of Justice properly constituted and administering the law according to justice. We do not anticipate any grave troubles arising out of the land question once this aspect of it has been settled. There will be naturally questions of detail, which will give rise to strong feelings and strong expressions of opinion, and perhaps a certain dislocation of public services now and then. But at least one very marked advance has been made by this measure. I and every member of the Ministry attribute its greatest success to the measure of accommodation which was afforded by all sections of the community in coming to agreement upon a measure of this sort. For that purpose we consider that it is necessary, in the interests of the immediate preservation of the public peace, that this resolution should be passed, which will enable us to record this Act on our Statute Book and make it the law of the land. Accordingly I move the resolution which I have just read.