8o THE IRISH AGRARIAN PROBLEM. 



for combating the boycott at the disposal of 

 the State were then exceedingly feeble, for Irish 

 juries in the ordinar}^ process of law were accus- 

 tomed to acquit all popular agitators. The 

 proclamation of a kind of " state of siege" by 

 bringing in a " Peace Preservation Act " is always 

 difficult in England, more especially when a 

 Liberal Government is in power. The Liberal 

 Chief Secretary then in office, W. E. Forster, 

 saw himself however compelled to resort to this 

 step and thus immediately came into conflict 

 with the Irish, with the Tories (who suddenly 

 became possessed with a passion for freedom), 

 and with the Radical wing of his own party. He 

 held on his course in the policy he had begun 

 and finally arrested the leaders of the League, 

 a proceeding which was answered by the League 

 with the proclamation of a general strike against 

 rent (October i8th, r88i). The outbreak of 

 this strike and the arrest of the leaders who had 

 hitherto attempted to keep the movement within 

 bounds led to an increase in agrarian crime, a 

 fact which was hardly an unacceptable one to 

 the imprisoned leaders, since it displayed admi- 

 rably the futility of a policy of repression. 

 English public opinion was systematically 

 worked up by Joseph Chamberlain — then head 

 of the Radical party — against a policy of coer- 

 cion, and since the crisis in Ireland did not pass 

 awa}^ in a few months Forster's coercion policy 

 was regarded as having failed. In May, 1882, 

 Chamberlain was in a position to bring about 



