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The most consequential Irish measure passed in 1883 was the Labourers (Ireland) Act, which received royal assent on 25 August. Its title—“An Act to better the condition of Labourers in Ireland”—was unusually direct. Earlier land legislation had chiefly concerned the relationship between landlord and tenant farmer. Agricultural labourers, dependent on wages and commonly housed in cottages tied to employment, had much less leverage. They were not automatically beneficiaries of the fair-rent machinery established by the Land Act of 1881.
The immediate question in the spring was whether coercion or concession would govern British policy. William Edward Forster, chief secretary for Ireland, believed that further exceptional powers were necessary. Parnell, held in Kilmainham Gaol since October 1881, and his allies sought release and practical relief for indebted tenants. Through Captain William O’Shea, an intermediary with access to both sides, messages passed between Parnell and ministers. Parnell’s letter of 28 April set out his willingness to use his influence against violence and to support the working of the land legislation if the government addressed the arrears problem.
