THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

IRISH EMIGRATION

AND

THE TENURE OF LAND IN IRELAND.

BY

THE ET. HON. LOED DIIFFEEIN, K.P.

LONDON :

WILLIS, SOT HE 11 AN, & CO.,

42, CHARING CEOSS, (OPPOSITE CRAIG'S COURT.)

1867.

HJ)

^

PREFACE.

The greater portion of the contents of the fol-
lowing pages, appeared originally in the form of
letters to the Times.

Those letters were written in the hopes of
inducing my fellow-countrymen to pause, before
adopting without further investigation a theory
with regard to Irish emigration and what has been
called " the exterminating policy of Irish Land-
lords," which, after having been for years indus-
triously propagated in Ireland, had at last received
the imprimatur of one or two influential Members
of Parliament.

But though hastily committed to paper, the
views I thus submitted to the public were the
result of diligent enquiry, and long-continued
observation of the changing phases of our national
existence. Nothing but an uncontrollable con-
viction of the injustice of the accusations witli
which the landed proprietors of Ireland are as-
sailed, and of the gross incorrectness of tlie data
on which those accusations arc founded, would
have induced me to embark in so uncongenial a
controversy, — my natural repugnance to whicli

402:i(K)

IV

was OTihancod bv the frencrosity of sentiment exhi-
blti'd tow;u-(ls our unfortunate country, in those very
spccclu's to ])()rtions of which I felt comjDelled to
take exception. That persons of great intelligence
should fall into error on the subjects in question did
not sur})iise me. In any country it is difficult to
disentangle the threads of popular sentiment, or to
follow out the intricate operation of economical
laws, — but in Ireland, a hundred influences, —
many of them compatible with the purest patriot-
ism, and the most scrupulous integrity, had con-
trived to prejudice local opinion, and to mislead
the national conscience. Yet it would be from
such sources alone, that a popular champion would
naturally seek hispiration, and if his view of the
situation should betray considerable misapprehen-
sion of the real facts of the case— it would be
uidair to doubt the genuineness of his convictions,
or to receive w4th any other feelings than those
of respect and gi'atitude, any suggestions he might
have to offer.

Though deeply sensible of my unfitness to do
more than offer a slight contribution to the investi-
gatiijn which has been undertaken of late by many
eminent persons, into the relations of Irish tenants
with their landlords, there was a certain respect in
which I felt I occujiied an advantageous position.
( h\ the one hand, as a northern landlord, I had no
interest in refuting accusations, from wdiich, by
general consent, the landlords of Ulster have been

exempted ; while, on the other, the phenomena
which were supposed to justify them as against the
proprietors of the South and A\^est, and the diffi-
culties incident to estate management in Ireland,
were sufficiently common both to North and South,
to make me familiar with their true origin and
character. On this account I was able to enter
upon a review of the past, with as much impar-
tiality, and perhaps more acquaintance with the
subject than persons totally unconnected with the
landed interest of the country. I may indeed be
told, that because I am a landlord, I must there-
fore be prejudiced in favour of the class : I can
only reply that I am not conscious of any such
partiality, and that I do not even understand the
possibility of feeling greater sympathy with the
legitimate aspirations of one section of the com-
munity, than with those of any other. It has
always seemed to me that a true statesman should
guard the rights and promote the welfare of the
diverse but inextricably associated interests of the
Nation with an undistinguishing solicitude.

Even with respect to the future, if I am opposed
to many of the changes in the land laws of Ire-
land which have been suggested, it is not merely
because they are detrunental to the interests of tlie
landed proprietors, but because they are gross in-
fractions of tlie first principles of Liberty, Justice,
and Government, and frauglit wltli niiscliicf to tlie
r-ommunitv nt large.

VI

In tlirowiii.u" my letters into the form of a pam-
phlet, 1 have not had time to introduce into them
the improvements I could have wished. Though
here and there considerable additions have been
made to some of the paragraphs, most of the ori-
ginal sentences remain as they were written.
Even the new matter, only expands or explains
statements and opinions which were originally
conveyed in the concise form adapted to the
columns of a newspaper. But though very little
has been altered, there is scarcely a passage
which has not been carefully reconsidered by
the light of the various criticisms, with which my
letters to the Times were honoured.

Whenever I have been able to convince
myself that a correction was required, I have
hastened to introduce it. Even in those cases
where the ascertained facts perfectly justified a
bi-oad expression, I have frequently modified
that expression in order to bring it into more perfect
harmony with an opponent's view, and fi'om first
to last I have endeavoured to understate rather
than to exaggerate the data on which I based my
argument.

I have also carefully revised my figures, and
submitted them to the scrutiny of several eminent
statisticians both in this country and in Ireland.

But though I have scarcely done more than
review or verify my previous composition, it is not
a mere " rechaufl'e " I submit to tliose who may

Vll

have patience to glance over these pages. Feelmg
how little claim I had on public confidence, I have
endeavoured to illustrate and corroborate every
statement and opinion of my own by a reference to
such authorities as are held in universal esteem,
and the text of my pamphlet is accompanied
throughout by a running commentary of notes, and
quotations from various authors.

On no work have I drawn so largely as on the
Digest of the Evidence taken before the Devon
Commission. I have also frequently appealed to
the authority of Mr. Mill, Sir G. C. Lewis, Mr.
Cobden, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Fawcett, Dr. Han-
cock, and other equally honoured names in sup-
port of many of my views. With regard to the
agriculture of foreign countries, I have taken
M. de Laveleye as my guide for that of Belgium,
and M. de Lavergne for that of France.

In the General Appendix will be found the
answers I have received from a great number of
gentlemen living in different parts of Ireland, to
whom I ventured to address a series of questions
connected with the subjects under discussion, as well
as some extracts from Dr. Hancock's valuable
pamphlet on the alleged decline of prosperity in
Ireland, and an interesting paper on the present
condition of agriculture in the counties of Cork
and Kerry, drawn up by Mr. Robertson, a very
well infoiTned and intelligent agriculturist^ who
proceeded this spring at my request, to tlie South

Vlll

of Ireland, in order to obtain precise infomiation
on one or two disputed matters of fact.

Finally, I have excluded from the present volume
everything approaching- to a personal allusion.
Though differing so widely on many points with
the gentlemen whose misapprehensions I have en-
deavoured to correct, I sympathize most cordially
with their unmistakable anxiety to improve the
condition of our fellow-countrymen ; and I should
only be too happy to co-operate with them in
promoting such a change in the state of Ire-
land as would render the real origin of her mis-
fortunes a matter of indifference to eveiy one
but the antiquary.

INDEX.

Page.
Preface ..... i — viii

Analysis ..... xiii — xxii

CHAPTER I.

EMIGRATION. 1—34

Appendix to Chapter I.

Vital Statistics — France .... 34

Sir G. Lewis on Emigration .... 34

Effect of Emigration on Population in Ireland . 35"^

- Eetum shewing amount of money remitted by Settlers

in North America to their friends in the United
Kingdom, 1848—64 (inclusive) . . . 36<=-

Condition of Irish people in 1834 . . . 37 '^

Mr. Mill on the Profits derived from large and small

Farms ...... 38

Spade versus Plough ..... 38

Pay of the English Soldier .... 39

Emigration from the Scotch Highlands . . 39

Note as to the Reduction in the number of Persons
of different Religions and Races in Ireland, from
1834 tiU 1861 ..... 41

" Reclamation of waste Lands in Ireland, as affected by

Emigration ..... 43

The Emancipation of the Dorsetshire Labourer . 44-5

CHAPTER II.

LANDLORDS AND TENANTS. 46—84

Appendix to Chapteb II.
- Emigration of Protestants from Ireland . . 85

- Return of the Emigration from the L^nited Kingdom

to all parts of the World during the years 1854 to
1858, inclusive ; shewing the trade, occupation, or
profession of the Emigrants . . . 86-87

Table, shewing the Occupations, Sex and general des-

tribution of the Emigrants in 1861 . . 88-89

b

Page.

CHAPTER III.

A EETROSPECT OF THE ECONOMICAL

HISTORY OF IRELAND. 90—144

AxPENDix to Chapter III.

The Difficulties of the Irish Landlord's situation . 145-6

The Pastures of Ireland .... 147-8

Progress of Belfast ..... 149-50

CHAPTER lY.

IRELAND AND BELGIUM: OWNERS AND

OCCUPIERS. 151—205

Appendix to Chapter IV.

No. of Cultivators in Ireland .... 206

,, „ „ Great Britain . . . 208

„ Belgium . . .209

Length of Belgian Leases . . . . 209

CHAPTER V.

A REVIEW OF VARIOUS PROPOSALS FOR
THE ALTERATION OF THE TENURE OF
LAND IN IRELAND. 210—275

ANSWERS TO QUERIES AS TO RATE OF

WAGES, ETC. .... 276-301

Appendix to Chaptee V.

Rate of Subdivision of Land in France . . 302

Progress of French Agriculture . . . 303

GENERAL APPENDIX.

Dr. Longfield on Valuation .... 304-308

The Custom of Tenant-right in Ulster . . . 308-333

(Extracts from Lord Dufferin's Evidence before Mr.
Maguire's Committee.)

Page.

Large v. Small Farms .... 333-340

On the alleged Progressive Decline of tke Prosperity

of Ireland, by Dr. Hancock . . . 341-343

Comparison of the Eise in Wages, and in the Price of

Food . . ... 343-344

Cork and Kerry in 1867 .... 345-352

The profits of the small farmer, and the wages of the

labourer compared .... 353

Table, shewing the Population in 1841, 1851, 1861 :
the number of persons attending school and the
number and proportion per cent of those not at-
tending school ..... 355

Density of population in Ireland and other countries 356

Comparison of the mineral resources of Great Britain

and Ireland ..... 356

Deposits in Joint Stock Banks . . . 357

Table, shewing the Acreage iinder crops in 1866 . 358

Table, shewing the gross produce of the Acreage

under crops in 1866 .... 359

Table, shewing gross value of Acreage under crops in

1866 ...... 360

Table, shewingthe Tillage acres, the Tillage cultivation,
and the gross annual value of the produce in
proportion to acres and cultivators . . 361

No. of acres in each Province in 1851 and 1861 ; also

the same reduced to proportions per cent. . 362

Extent of Land in Statute Acres under crops in Ire-
land, each year, from 1847-66. . . . 363

Number of holdings (classified according to the total
extent of Land held by each person), and the
entire extent of Land under each class of Land-
holders with the increase or decrease in each class 334

Total number of Holdings, and their extent in Statute

Acres in 1864 ..... 3(55

Table of Holdings, 1841 to 1864, from the KegisU r

General's Return .... 3oci

Table, shewing the number of hands employed on

various farms in England .... 367

Cost of Hand-Power ..... 368

Emigration : a temporary remedy . . . 370

Number of Emigrants in eacli yoar . . • 371

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XII

Page.

Mr. Eobcrtson's Report ou the rate of Agricultural La-
bour iu Co. Cork 372

JN^OTE by Lord Duflcriu's agent on the present and former

rate of wages in the County of Down . . 376

POSTSCRIPT.

Some observations on Mr. Butt's new work, " The Irish

people, and the Irish Land" .... 377-394

Mr. Hill's Data aud Statistics in relation to Ireland

examined ...... 395-402

ANALYSIS.

CHAPTER I.

The counts in the indictment against the landlords of Ireland,
pp. 2, 3 — The prosperity of the emigrant, 4 — The former
condition of the Irish labourer, 5 — The present supply of
labour, 6 — The casual labourer, 7 — Conversion of cottiers
into labourers, 8 — Excess of labour supply in 1846, 9 —
Proportion of cultivators to area cultivated, 10, 11 — More
cultivators are still employed than is compatible with their
proper remuneration, 12, 13 — The consequences considered,
if no outlet had existed for the surplus population, 14, 15 —
Emigration no longer so imperative a necessity, 16— No ex-
traneous influence should be used to divert the present occu-
pying class from their avocations, 17 — The eftect of the potato
on population, 18 — The failure of the potato restricted popu-
lation, 19 — Present rate of increase of the nation, 20 — The
prospects of the rising generation, 21 — Emigration from
Germany, 22 — Emigration suggested by Sir G-. Lewis, 23 —
The effects of emigration on rent and on rate of wages,
24, 25 — The momentum emigration may acquire, 26 — The
present supply of labour and waste lands, 27 — Improvement
has been compatible with emigration, 28 — The eftect of
emigration on British manufacture, 29 — The eftect of emi-
gration on the British army, 30 — Emigration and the love
of home, 31 — The whole earth placed at man's disposal, 32 —
Checks on population, 33 — Colonization, 34 — Sir G. Lewis
on emigration, 35 — Tables on emigration, ih. — Money remit-
ted by emigrants, 36— The labourer and the cottier in 1834,
37 — Small farms v. large, 38— Plough v. spade, ib. — Pay of
the labourer and soldier, 39 — Emigration from the High-
lands of Scotland, 40 — Protestant and Catholic emigration,
41, 42 — Eeclamation of waste lands, 43 — Emancipation of
the Dorsetshire labourer, 44 — Mr. Girdlestone and the
Dorset labourer, 45.

XIV

CllAPTEK II.

The classes tliat have emigrated, 47 — The counection of the
hmdlord with the emigrant, 48 — The limits of tlie compe-
tence of Parliament, 49 — Tiie results of the investigation by
the Devon Commission of most of the charges against the
landlord, 50, 51 — The trying nature of the crisis in 1846,
52 — Judge Lougtield on evictions in 1846, 53 — Emigration
the only possible alternative, 54 — One-tliird of the landlords
mined in 1846, 55 — The sacrifices made by the landlords to
assist emigration, 56, 57 — The greater proportion of the
emigrants not occupiers of land, 58, 59 -The extent to
which consolidation has been carried, 60 — The reduction of
holdings between 1841 and 1861, 61 — Holdings above 15
acres have largely increased since 1841, 62, G3 — Emigration
of the tenant class, principally confined to occupiers of from
half an acre to six acres, 64, 65 — Many of the cottier
tenants remained at home as labourers, 66 — The tenant class
may have contributed one-fourth to the total emigration
between 1846 and 1851, 66, 67 — Since then very few
occupiers of land have emigrated, 68 — Judge Longfield
probably correct in stating that about 4 per cent, of the
emigrants are farmers, 69 — Comparison of the extinction of
small holdings in the four Provinces, 69* — Comparison of the
extinction of holdings of all sizes in the four Provinces, 70, 71
— Comparison of the emigration from the four Provinces, 72
— Annual number of evictions in Ireland, 73 — Number of
notices of evictions served on Poor-law guardians, 74 —
Table of notices and actual evictions, 75 — Proportion of
persons affected by evictions to number of emigrants amounts
to about 2 per cent., 76, 77 — Rate of evictions amounts to
1 per annum on every 10,000 acres of occupied land, 78 —
Two-thirds of the actual evictions are for non-payment of
rent, 79 — Comparison of the proportion of farmers who
have emigrated to the total number of emigrants, 80, 81 —
The analysis of the Emigration Commissioners makes the
emigration of Irish farmers amount to 2^ per cent, of the
total emigration from Ireland, 82, 83 — Comparison of the
emigration of the professional and farming classes, 84 —

Protestant emigratiou from Ireland, So — Euiigratiou returns,
86 — Occupations of emigrants, 88, 89.

CHAPTER III.

The responsibilities of a former generation of landlords, 91 —
The position of an Irish landlord 80 years ago, 92 — The
nature and origin of rack-rents, 93 — In former days most of
the land let on lease as pasture, 94 — The substitution of
" la petite culture " for pasture, 95 — The inability of the
landlord to prevent subdivision of farms, 96 — His relations
with his fellow countrymen, 97 — The middleman often,
though not always, sublet against the will of the landlord,
98, 99 — The landlord could not have foreseen the curse
to the country the middleman would become, 100, 101 —
The introduction of a middleman occasioned sometimes by
benevolent motives, 102, 103 — He was intended to act as a
link between the peasantry and their landlords, 104, 105 —
It was not his economical position but his individual defects
which produced the evils complained of, 106, 107 — The
middleman not much worse than his neighbours, 108, 109 —
It is as fair to take the highest rent as to employ labour at
the lowest rate of wages, 110, 111 — The one course as
fraught with evil consequences as the other, 112 — The rise
of the middleman, 113— The middleman in Ulster, 114 —
Competition and rack-rents in Ulster, 115 — The Ulster
tenant-right is the creature of competition, 116, 117 — Prices
given for the "good-will" in Down and Donegal, 118 —
These prices often represent no real value, 119 — The disad-
vantage of the system to the incoming tenant, 120 — Tlio
inconsistency of restricting the rent by Act of Parliament,
and allowing the " good-will " to be put up to auction, 121 —
The devolution of tenaiicies of constant occurrence, 122 —
The fraud on the landlord and on the incoming tenant, 123 —
The landlords seldom take advantage of competition but Ihe
tenants always do, 124, 125 — Competition is an irrepressible
force, 126 — Is equally prevalent in every part of Ireland,
127 — Home agency must have checked the prosperity of
Ireland, 128— The commercial jealousies of Great Britain,
129 — Duties on Irish produce : cattle, wool, provisions,

XVI

leather, 130 — Duties on Irisli manufactures: woollen and
cotton goods, leather, silk, soap, candles, 131 — Prohibitions
on Irish trade, 132 — The land the only resource left to the
Irish people, 133 — The rapid expansion of the agricultural
population and the rise of prices of agricultural produce
during the French war, 13^! — The consequent pressure of the
people on the land, 135 — The linen trade alone exempted
from the effect of the jealousy of Britain, 136 — Expansion
of the linen trade in Ulster and the prosperity of that
Province, 137 — An outlet thus afforded to the agricultural
population of the Xorth, 138 — Review of the foregoing
argiunents, 139 — The responsibilities of Irish landlords and
British manufacturers compared, 140 — Mr. Cobden's view of
the subject, 141 — Mr. Charles Greville's view of' the same
subject, 142, 143 — Sir G-. Lewis's view of the same subject,
144 — The difficulties of an Irish landlord, 145 — The course
of his proceedings, 146 — The pastures of Ireland, 147, 148 —
The trade of the North, 149— The trade of Belfast, 150.

CHAPTEE IV.

The disproportion of cultivators to the area cultivated in Ire-
land reconsidered, 152, 153 — Table of proportion of culti-
vators per acre in Ireland, England, Belgium, and Flanders,
154 — Comparison of results in produce, 155 — Proportion of
cultivators per acre larger in Connaught and Munster than
in Ulster, 156 — The amount of produce nearly in inverse
ratio to the proportion of cultivators in different parts of
Ireland, 157 — The proportionate number of cultivators in
Ireland about the same as in Belgium, though Ireland is less
adapted to spade-husbandry than Belgium, 158, 159 — The
opinion of various persons on the minimum size of farms on
which a tenant can live with comfort, 160, 161 — The agri-
culture of Belgium, 162 — The rack-rents and short leases of
Belgium, 163 — The profits of the Belgian farmer, 164 — The
agricultural population of Belgium most wretched where the
farms are smallest, 165 — Condition of the Belgian farm-
servant, 166 — The advantages afforded in Belgium to ' la
petite culturjB,' 167 — The market gardening of Belgium, 168

XVll

— The facilities of obtaining maniu-e in Belgium — The amount
of manure per acre applied in Belgium, 170 — Stolen and
textile crops, 171 — The manufactures of Belgium auxiliary
to her agriculture, ]72 — A groat number of the minute
holdings of Belgium held by artizans, 1<53— The climate of
Belgium compared with that of Ireland, 174, 175 — The rain-
fall of Ireland at harvest- time, 176— The lessons to be learnt
from the example of Belgium, 177— A proportion of the farms
in Ireland might be enlarged with advantage, 178, 179 —
Judge Longfield's opinion on the subject, 180 — The definition
of the relations of landlord and tenant to one another and
to the land, ISl—The confiscations of Elizabeth and Crom-
well, 182 — The ownership of an Irish proprietor identical
with that of his English fellow-countrymen, 183 — A tenant's
position defined, 184- —The hiring of land and the chartering
of a ship compared, 185 — The conditions of each arrangement
determined by contract, 186 — The rights of the Common-
wealth over landed property, 187 — The equitable duration of
a tenancy defined, 188— The dissoluble nature of the connec-
tion between landlord and tenant, 189 — Susceptibility of
land to deterioration by neglect, 190 — Agriculture has become
a science, 191 — Large farms are not suitable to Ireland, 192
— The landlord must be left the liberty to give the indus-
trious tenant sufficient scope, 193 — Emigration the resource
of an embarrassed tenant, 194 — Cases of emigrants who have
returned to the author's estate, 195 — The extreme rights of
the landlord should be exercised with great consideration, 196
— The relations of an employer of labour to his men, and of a
landlord to his tenants compared, 197 — The sources of tho
present discontent in Ireland, 198 — The opinion of the
Catholic Prelates on the subject, 199 — The actual occupiers of
land not tainted with Eenianism, 200 — No difference of te-
nure would have alfected emigration, evictions, or Eenianism,
201 — The probable result of an agrarian revolution in Ire-
land, 202 — The absence of tenant-right agitation in Ulster,
203 — The three sources of uneasiness in the mind of the Irish
tenant farmer, 204 — Number of Irish cultivators, 205 — Note
by the Ilegistrar General of Ireland, 200— Table of English
Cultivators, 207— Tal)lc of Belgian cultivators, 208, 209.

XVlll

CHAPTEE V.

Mr. Bright's proposition considered, 211 — Difficulties in the
way of establishing a yeoman class in Ireland, 212 — Ten-
dency to sublet or subdivide, 213 — Impossible to prevent
the tendency by mere legal restraints, 214 — ' La petite cul-
ture ' and subdivision in France, 215 — Number of small
freeholders in France, 216 — Their indigence, 217 — The large
extent of fallow in France, 218 — The inferior rate of pro-
duction in France, 219 — The mortgages on these small pro-
perties, 220 — Mr. Michelet's method of solving the difficulty,
221 — The embarrassment of the French peasant proprietor
occasioned by competition, 222, 223 — The desire to subdivide
as prominent as ever in Ireland {iiote), 224 — The Farmer's
Club of Cork (note), 225 — The tendency to subdivision which
seems excessive in France would be more intense in Ireland,
226 — The proposals to deprive Irish landlords of their pro-
prietary rights considered, 227 — The conditions under which
the state can expropriate, 228 — Mr. Butt's plan, 229 — The
effect on the interests of the landlord, 230 — The expropria-
tion of the landlord's improvements in his property, 231 —
The extent of those improvements both in the North and
South, 233 — Amount of compensation which has been paid
to tenants, 234 — The duration of leases in England, Scotland,
and Belgium, 287— Mr. Butt's 63 years' lease, 237— Pro-
bable consequences of Mr. Butt's plan with reference to the
interests of the tenant, 238 — Three standards of valuation of
land in Ireland, 239 — And three rents, 240 — Judge Long-
field's opinion of fixity of tenure, 241 — Difficulties of valua-
tion, 242 — The moral aspect of the schemes to deal with the
property of the country, 243 — It is an easy task to persuade
uneducated people that what is apparently for their interest
is right, 244, 245 — The objections to such an arrangement,
248 — The right of contract should be left as free as possible,
249 — Alterations are not always improvements, 250 — An
operation which is slightly beneficial to a farm may be detri-
mental to an estate, 251' — An instance of the foregoing
assertion, 252 — The Government bill of 1866, legitimate and
politic in principle, faulty in detail, 254 — Some amend-

XIX

meuts suggested, 255 — The reversal of tlie presumption tliat
what is affixed to the soil is the property of tlie landlord,
256 — An improvement executed by a tenant outside of an
agreement to be presumed to be his property, 257 — Kegis-
tratiou of improvements necessary, 258 — An illustration of
this necessity, 259 — The difficulty of identifying an improve-
ment after a lapse of time, 200 — The necessity of the land-
lord having an opportunity of acquainting himself with
liabilities incurred on his account, 261 — The consequences
to a tenant of surreptitious operations, 262 — Economy in
improvements in the interest of the tenant, 203 — Leases
most desirable but should not be issued indiscriminately,
26i — Leases not always desired by the tenant, 265 —
The reasons Avhy some landlords hesitate to grant
leases, 200 — The consequences to the tenant of landlords
being forced to grant leases, 207 — An illustration of the
result, 208 — The result of such an obligation on the falling
in of an old 01 years' lease, 269 — Great caution is necessary
in legislating on this subject, 270— A suggestion that the
State should lend landlords money to compensate their
tenants for existing improvements, 271 — The result if such
assistance were afforded, 272— The benefits to be derived
from the distribution of capital over Ireland, 273 — The pro-
bable effects of an alteration in the law of tenure on emigra-
tion and disaffection, 274 — Conclusion, 275.

ANSWEES TO QUERIES.

Eate of agricultural wages, 270,277 — Rate of wages for unskilled
labour, 278 — Eate of wages at harvest-time,279, 280 — Supply
of labour, 281, 282 — Allowances to agricultural labourers,
283, 284 — The classes which have contributed to cmigratio]),
285 —The classes to which the Irish emigrants belong, 285,
280 — Emigration the only alternative for the sons of small
farmers, 287, 288 — Emigration not the result of evictions or
landlord influence, 289 — Emigration voluntary ; sacrifices
made by landlords, 290 — Emigration not the result of
pressure put on the tenant by the landlord, 291 — Tillage v.
pasture, 292 — Ireland is not being converted into a cattlo

XX

furrn, 293 — Dui'iiig the last decade the extent of area under
crops has increased, 291, 295 — The cause of the late tendency
to convert tillage iuto pastui'e, 296, 297 — •Evidence on the
subject from diftcrent parts of Ireland, 298, 299— The influ-
ence of the rise in the price of stock in promoting the change
from tillage into pasture, 300, 301.

PROGEESS OF ERENCH AGEICULTUEE.

Eatc of sub-division of land in France, 302.

M. de Lavergne on the progress of French agriculture, 303.

GENEEAL APPENDIX.

Judge Lougfield on the difficulties of valuation, 304 — Judge
Longfield on fixity of tenure, 305 — Its ultimate effect on
future tenants, 306 — The competition rent converted into a
fine paid to the outgoing tenants, 307 — The injustice done
to the landlords, 308.

THE ULSTEE TENANT-EIGHT.

The Ulster tenant-right, 308 — The definition of the custom, 310
— Its effects, 311 — The proper method of compensation, 312
— The position of a small tenant under the custom of tenant-
right, 313 — Goodwill, 314 — Two views of the custom of
tenant-right, 315 — Arbitration, 316 — The Ulster tenant's
notion of tenant-right, 317 — Compensation for buildings,
318 — For drainage, 319 — The sale and purchase of tenant-
right, 320 — An agricultural lease not sufficiently long to
compensate the tenant for the expenditure in buildings, 321
— A tenant makes an improvement more cheaply than a
landlord, 322 — The feeling of the tenantry of Ulster with
respect to legislation, 323 — Subdivision, 324 — North and
South are under the same law, 325 — No great desire for
leases in the North, 326 — Different modes of assessing the
rent, 327 — An instance of subdivision, 328 — Sublet lands
are generally highly rented, 329 — The anxiety to subdivide
has been a little checked in the North, 330 — Conditions
introduced into grants of lands in Ireland by James I., 331
— Counter claims of the landlord for dilapidations and bad

XXI

cultivation likely to prove a formidable offset to a tenant's
claim for compensatiou, 332, 333.

SMALL V. LAEGE FAEMS.

The question of small versus large farms considered, 334 —
" La petite " versus " la grande " culture, 335 — Small versus
large farms, 33G — Evidence on the condition of the small
farmer, 337 — The consolidation of farms in Ireland has not
brought their average size up to the average size of the
farms in countries where "la petite" culture is practised to
most advantage, 338, 339 — Evidence on the subject, 3-40.

THE PEOGEESS OF lEELAND.

The prosperity of Ireland has not been on the decline, 341 —
The effect of three wet seasons on Irish prosperity, 342 —
The necessity of manufactures to sustain agi'iculture, 343.

EISE OF WAGES v. EISE OF PEICES.
Comparison of the rise in wages and in the price of food, 344.

COEK AND KEEET IN 1867.

Cork and Kerry in 1867, 345— Mr. Eobertson's report, 346—
Agriculture : leases ; fixity of tenure, 346, 347 — Want of
skill and capital, 348 — Subdivision, 349 — The cottier and the
farmer: supply of labour, 350 — The labourer cannot obtain
constant employment, 351 — Large fences and small fields,
352.

TABLES AND STATISTICS.

A small farmer's profits v. a labourer's wages, 353 — School
population, 355 — Density of pojjulation, 356 — Minerals of
Ireland, 356 — Deposits, 357— Acreage under crops in ISGO,
358 — Acreable produce in 1866, 359 — Acrcable value of crops
in 1866, 360 — Comparative tables of tillage acres, acreable
value, and cultivators, 361. — Number of acres in each Pro-
vince in 1851 and 1861, 362 — Extent of land under crops
from 1847 to 1866, 363— The holdings in 1841, 1851, 1861
classified, 364 — Extent of land held by each person in Ire-
laud, 365— Table of holdings from iSll to 1S61, 366.

XXll

NUMBER OF CULTIVATORS TO ACRES IN
ENGLAND.

Instances taken from Mr. Morton's Hand Book of farming,
367.

THE COST OP HAND POWER.

The product of manual labour contrasted with that acquired
by the application of steam, 368.

EMIGRATION.

The future expansion of the Irisb population : The prospects
of an embarrassed tenant and a prosperous emigrant com-
pared, 370. — Number of emigrants from 1851 to 1865, 371.

AGRICULTURAL LABOUR IN IRELAND.

Rate of -wages, 372 — Condition of casual labourer, 374 —
— Labourers often unemployed, 374 — The small tenant a
bad labourer, 374 — Not low wages but uncertainty of em-
ployment occasions the misery of the labourer's condition,
375.

PRESENT AND FORMER RATE OF "WAGES IN
DOWN.

Note by Lord Dufferin's agent on the above subject, 376.

POSTSCRIPT.

Me. Butt's New Work on Ieeland.

Some observations in reply to the exceptions taken by Mr. Butt
to Lord Dufferin's statements of fact, 377-379— Mr. Butt's
statistics of emigration, 380-383 — Lord Dufferin's state-
ment as to the rise of wages, 384-390 — Objections to Mr.
Butt's version of his opponent's opinions, 390-392 — Conclu-
sion, 393.

Me. Hill's Article on Ireland.

Mr. Hill's data and statistics examined, 395-402.

lEISH EMIGRATION

THE TENURE OF LMD IN IRELAND.

N.B. The figures in the Table, p. 35, are estimates published
bv the Registrar- General.

CHAPTEE I.

" If Ireland were a thousand miles away from
us, all would be changed, — or the landlords would
be exterminated by the vengeance of the people."

These are pregnant and comprehensive words :
they envelope in the same stern condemnation,
both the cultivators and the owners of the soil of
Ireland. Their meaning cannot be mistaken : the
term vengeance pre-supposes injmy, — injury of as
deep a dye, as the revenge it has evoked. Yet
they express the genuine conviction of one of
England's leading politicians, and consequently
the opinion of many who confide in his judgment.
By some they will be regarded as a rhetorical
exaggeration of a partial trutli. By others they
have been resented as an ignoble calumny.

I do not myself venture to pronounce dogmati-
cally between these conflicting conclusions ; no
man can hope in a hasty dissertation to determine
the opinions of his fellow-countrymen on so vital
a question; but, as a member of the obnoxious
class referred to, I may be permitted to suggest the
propriety of patiently examining the grounds which
are supposed to justify these grave denunciations.

B

Perhaps the simplest metliocl of conducting such
an inquiry will he— first, to specify the charges
against the landlords of Ireland, as set forth
in the public manifestoes of such persons as may
be supposed to speak with the gi-eatest authority
on the subject, and then to examine, one by one,
the trutli or falsehood of each. The vehement
eloquence with which the w^rongs of that country
are invariably discussed, affords ample materials
for framing the indictment, — a circumstance which
relieves me from the invidious expedient of sin-
gling out any particular individual as our public
prosecutor.

Stripped of all exaggerated phraseology the accu-
sations "with which the landlords are assailed may
be condensed into the following series of propo-
sitions.

1. That the emigration from Ireland has been a
curse to that country.

2. That this emigration has been occasioned by
the eviction of the rural population by their land-
lords.

3. That acts of eviction in Ireland are to be at-
tributed rather to the cruelty and injustice of the
landlords than to any failure on the part of those
evicted to fulfil their legitimate obligations.

4. That the present discontent in Ireland has
been chiefly occasioned by the iniquity of the laws
affectino' the tenure of land.

5. That a change in those laws m a specified
direction would pacify discontent and create agii-
cultural prosperity.

A glance at any national newspaper or at the
reports of an Irish debate, will show that I have not
misrepresented the gist of the remarks to which I
refer : " Millions of human beings have been driven
across the Atlantic by the landlords of Ireland ;'*
" Landlordism is the curse of the country ;"
" EmigTation and the misery of the people is occa-
sioned by the injustice of Parliament, and the
iniquity of the laws which regulate the tenure of
land ;" '' Ireland presents us with the spectacle of
a whole nation fleeing from their oppressors ;" — are
the ordinary phrases in use.

Now, Sir, are these things true ? That is the
inquiry I propose to prosecute.

Fii'st, Has the Irish exodus, as it has been
teraied, been a calamity or the reverse ?

We have to consider this question from two
points of view, inasmuch as it has affected the con-
dition of two classes of persons, namely, those who
went away, and those who stayed at home.

There is one single fact which will probably be
accepted as a safe indication of the effects of emi-
gration on the destinies of those who took part in
it. To their immortal honour, witliin 17 years
after their departure they had sent back to Ireland
upwards of 13,000,000/. of money,* chiefly for the

* »3ee Ajijjcndix, p. 3G,

B 2

purpose of enablino- their tVIeiids to follow their
example. Now, unless they had prospered, these
savings could not have been aceuraulated ; unless
their new existence had been full of promise they
would not have tempted their brethren to join them.
But what if, instead of setting forth to reap the
golden harvests of the West, these forlorn multi-
tudes had remained pent up within their rainy-
valleys, would the existing population, those that
have clung to the old country in spite of every-
thing,— would they be now the better or the worse ?
Two obvious consequences must have followed, —
wao^es would have been lower, rents higher than
they are now, while a very large proportion of the
peasantry would be occupying farms half the size
of those they are at present cultivating. Now,
low wages and high rents may be advantageous in
a certain sense to the manufacturer, to the land-
lord, and to the recruiting sergeant j but how do
they affect the masses — the tenant, the labourer,
and the mechanic ?

When I was in the west of Ireland some 18 years
ago, the rate of agricultural wages varied from
half-a-crown to five shillings a week.* Ever since,

* The following extract sufficiently describes the former
condition of the Irish Labourer :

" The earning:* of the Labourers come on an average of the
whole class from 2* to 2« 6d per week or thereabouts upon the
year round.

" Their food couunouly consists of dry potatoes, and with
these they are at times so scantily supplied as to be obliged to

it has gi'adually advanced — in some places it has
doubled — in others it has more than doubled. In
the north, the fann servant has become almost
master of the market, and is certainly better off
than many of the small tenants *, — in the south,
though still not paid as he should be, his position
is much improved, while, all over the country, the
navvy, the quarryman, and the drainer are receiv-
ing from 10s to 12s a week.*

Occasionally complaints are being made of a
dearth of hands : it is tnie this outcry generally
means that at particular seasons of pressure,
farmers can no longer turn into their fields at a
moment's notice the crowd of ill-paid cottiers
that used to wait their pleasure in enforced
idleness during the slack seasons of the year.l
But any temporary inconvenience of this kind
will be more than counterbalanced by the ne-
cessity which will be imposed on the landed in-
terest, whether proprietors or tenants, to guarantee
to those they wish to retain in their service, com-

titint themselves to one spare meal in the day. They sometimes
get a herring or a little milk, but never get meat except at
Christmas, Easter and Shrovetide." — Report of Commission of
1834 on Condition of the People of Ireland. See Appendix, p. 37.

* There seems to be a difference of opinion as to what is to
be taken as the present rate of wages in Ireland. This is
probably occasioned by wages varying in dillerent localities,
but to the best of my belief the above is a correct view of the
general state of the case. For further information on the
subject see Appendix, p. 37. See also Answers to Queries,
pp. 278, 280.

t See Appendix, p. 37, and Answers to Queries, p. 283,
and Mr. Kobcrtson's Kcport, p. 350.

fortable lodging, fair remuneration, and above all,
permanent employment. It is this growing difficulty
of obtaining an unlimited amount of casual labour
at low rates during summer, that is weaning the
embarrassed tenant from his yearaing after land.
Eventually those only will be able to engage in
farming with advantage who can either reduce
their need of the labourer to a minimum, or can
afford to pay him good wages all the year round.
Hitherto the agi'icultural class has been composed
' too exclusively of occupiers, who though able to
perform the ordinary operations required on their
farms during two -thirds of the year, were depen-
dent at seed time and harvest on a half-employed
labom'ing population, who were relegated to idle-
ness and penury, the moment the grain was
sown, or stored.* A worse distribution of industry
could not be imagined. What we -Nvant are fewer

* " Of the four seasons, two — the spring and autumn — are
passed by our farmers in industry, however injudiciously applied.
The summer and winter are too frequently passed by them in
idleness." — Dig- JDev. Com. Summary, p. 366.

" No fact seems established more clearly by the Land Com-
mission evidence, than that employment for the agricultural la-
bourers is almost universally deficient." — Ibid. p. 473.

" The wretched condition of the labourers in Ireland is a
necessary consequence of this deficiency of employment. The
supply of labourers being so much greater than the demand for
them, the employers are able to rate their wages at the lowest
amount which will support life." — Ibid. p. 474.

" Every searching inquiry shows how extensively the want of
employment and the want of enlightenment in their art influ-
ence the numberless indications of social derangement in Ire-
land, whether resulting in the miseries or crimes by which her

indigent occupiers and more constant employment
for the labourer ; for it is quite evident that an area
cultivated by 10 faiTaers and 15 fami servants in
constant work, would be better managed than if it
were subdivided amongst 15 farmers who gave only
occasional employment to 15 labourers.*

To those who closely watch the ti*ansitional
phases of our national life, it is very evident that

people are characterized. No tariff upon laud or rent can possi-
bly dry up these two copious springs of national evil ; and until
they are dried up our crimes and our miseries will probably
continue." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 76.

" In a country in which farms are in general too small to
afford employment for hired labour, a peasant has scarcely a
chance of being able to gain a livelihood, unless he obtain pos-
session of laud ; and in Ireland the competitors for land are so
numerous that the price paid for the use of it has reached a
degree of exorbitancy unheard of elsewhere : such keen compe-
tition clearly shows that population is excessive, that is to say
that the labouring class is too numerous in proportion to the
amount of employment for it ; but it would be a mistake to
regard this redundancy of population as a consequence of the
prevalence of small farms." — Thornton's Peasant Prop. p. 188.

" From these premises it may be inferred that the present
misery of the Irish peasantry is of no recent origin, but has
been from time immemorial an heirloom in the race. The
number of labourers has always been greatly in excess of the
demand for labour, and tlie remuneration of labour has conse-
quently never^ been much more than sufficient to procure the
merest sustenance." — JDiff. Dev. Coin. Swnmary^p. 195.

Tliough these observations arc less rpplicable now than
when originally made, there is still too much trutli in them.

* We should probably exceed the truth if we said that a tliird
part of the Irish labouring population were employed all the
year round. The remaining-two thirds obtain work at the
aeasons of extraordinary demand, viz., at the potato-digging,

8

the foregoing and other cognate agencies are gi*a-
dually emancipating tlie farming classes from the
tyranny of competition. During the last few
years many a struggling tenant has been tempted
by the rise of wages to hand his farm over to
his more competent neighbour, and himself to
pass from a life of precarious husbandry into
the disciplined ranks of labour, where his industry
is both better remunerated, and employed to a
better purpose than ever it was before: and
in proportion as the peasant becomes aware of
the existence of a more hopeful theatre for his
industry, whether at home or abroad, than that
presented to him and his children by the miserable
patch he miserably cultivates, that morbid hunger
for a bit of land which has been the bane of Ire-
land will gradually subside ; competition will relax
something of its suicidal energy ; and in the same
way as the Irish labourer has already risen from the
condition of a serf to an equality of comfort with
his employer, will the tenant farmer, relieved from
the lateral pressure of his supei-fluous associates,

and during the harvest. — Sir G. Lewis on Irish Disturbances,
p. 312.

The remedy wanted for this state of things is to alter the
mode of subsistence of the Irish pensant : to chani;e him from
a cottier living upon land to a labourer living upon wages : to
support him by employment for hire instead of by a potatoe-
ground. This change can only he effected hy consolidating the
present minute holdings^ and creating a class of capitalist culti-
vators, who are able to pay wages to labourers, instead of tilling
their own land with the assistance of the grown-up members of
their family. — If/id. p. SIO.

be able to treat with his landlord on more inde-
pendent terms.

But it may be objected by those who deplore
emigration, that had these vanished thousands re-
mained among us production would have been
stimulated, and the well-being of the wdiole com-
munity proportionately increased. Let us see how
far this would be a reasonable expectation.

Had no emigration taken place fi'om Ireland,
and had the population continued to multiply at
its normal rate, the additional increase to our pre-
sent numbers Avould by this time have amounted
to three millions of souls, and as there is no reason
to suppose that such a circumstance would have
materially expanded the restricted manufacturing
operations of the country, the larger proportion of
these three millions would have had to depend
upon the land for their support. Now, it appears
from an official Report, drawn up on the conjoint
authority of Archbisliop Whately, Archbishop
IVIui-ray, and Mr. Moore O'FaiTcll, tliat in 184G
five persons were employed in the cultivation of
the soil of Ireland for every two that cultivated
the same quantity of land in Great Britain, while
the agricultural produce of Great Britain was four
times the agricultural produce of Irehuid.* As a
matter of fact, therefore, so far as tlie past is con-
cerned, the addition to the agricultural produce of
Ireland has not been proportionate to the excess
.of the agricultural population.

* Sec Appendix, p. 37.

10

It may, however, be pretended that so unsatisfac-
tory a result is to be accounted for by the un-
intelligent method in which this redundancy of
labour has been applied to the soil. But in the
Lothians of Scotland, and in certain parts of Eng-
land, the art of agriculture is neither unintelli-
gently nor unsuccessfully practised, and probably
a given space is there made to produce as re-
munerative a crop as the united efforts of man and
natm'e are destined to accomplish ;* yet in those

* Probably the gross produce per acre obtained by spade
cultivation in parts of Flanders is greater — though not very
much greater than what is raised from a corresponding area in-
well cultivated districts in England and Scotland, but the
amount of profit enjoyed by the British agricultvirist on the
transaction is much higher than that obtained by the Belgian
cultivator. In comparing Belgium witb England, however, it
must always be remembered that a great part of Belgium was
originally a sand-bank, and that even if the acreable amount
of produce in the two countries were the same, Belgian agri-
culture would have evinced a greater " energy of production^
The comparative yield per acre of England, Belgium, and
Lombardy, is thus given by M. de Laveleye.

" Sous le rapport du produit brut, la Belgique se trouverait
ainsi en premiere ligne parmi les Etats e\u'opeens et les chiffres
de la statistique viendraient confirmer ce que nous avait fait
entrevoir I'observation directe. Elle ne le cederait qua
V Angleterre proprementdite, prise iudependamment del'Ecosse
et de rirlande, et a la Lombardie ; car la premiere produit,
d'apres M. de Lavergne, 200 francs par hectare, et la seconde,
d'apes M. Jacini, 400 millions sur un pen plus de 2 millions
d'hectare, c'est a dire autant que I'Angleterre."

Eco. Burale, p. 229

It is all a question of working at high or low pressure. By
putting ou more steam, I can add almost indefinitely to the

11

localities it has been found that about 18 men,
with a small proportion of women, are sufficient to
cultivate in the most efficient manner 500 acres of
arable land.

Were we to apply this proportion to the 15,832,892
acres of land, under cattle and crops in Ireland,
we shall see that some half million of persons
would be able to cultivate the entire area.* But by
the census returns of 18G1 the number of adult
males engaged in agricultural pursuits in that
country are considerably over a million. Conse-
quently, notwithstanding the emigration which has

speed of my ship, but at so rapidly increasing a cost of fuel, that
the amount of coal expended in obtaining the last half knot ex-
ceeds the entire quantity necessary to produce the total velocity
previously acquired. Now, though reasonable expedition may
increase the profits on my cargo, it would not pay me to buy
that expedition at a cost which would reduce those profits to
a minimum. In the same way, there must be a point beyond
which the increase of produce obtained by the application of
additional labour to the soil will be less than sufiicient to cover
the cost of that labour. To adopt the rate of the gross pro-
duce as an unfailing test of the prosperity of the cultivators
is therefore fallacious ; a high rate of production is quite com-
patible with small profits and low wages. Whether it is better
to subsoil with a plough at £1. 10s per acre, or to trench with
spade labour at from £S. to ^612. an acre, must be left to the
discretion of the individual agriculturist. See Appendix, p. 38.
* " The extent of land in Ireland, either already cultivated,
or capable of cultivation, may be stated at eighteen millions of
acres, which, at the rate of one person for every twenty-eight
acres, the proportion usual in England, would furnish work for
642,000 male adults." — Thornton's Peasant Proprietors, p. 211.

See Appendix, p. 38.

12

taken place, the disproportion between tlie respec-
tive amounts of agricultural labour, and the area
cultivated in the two countries, which was noted
in 1846 by Archbishop Murray and his colleagues
as being in the ratio of 5 to 2, may still be taken
as about 2 to 1. Of course, as I have already ob-
served in a previous publication,* such a compari-
son can only be regarded as a rough approximation.
On the one hand the canon which regulates the pro-
portion of men to acres in a countiy of large farms,
cannot be applied without modification to an area
subdivided into such small holdings as prevail in
Ireland, while on the other a correction must be
made for the predominance of pasture lands in
the one kingdom, and of tillage in the other.
Making however every allowance for these counter
considerations, it is probable that at the date of our
last census, some three hundred thousand persons
were engaged in the cultivation of the soil in excess
of those whose exertions, if directed with greater
skill and energy, and accompanied by an adequate
expenditure of capital, would be sufficient to ensure
us as high a rate of production as is obtained in the
sister country.

Consequently, even making allowance for the
decrease of the agricultural population which has
since been going on, it is probable that there is still in
Ireland a considerable section of the inhabitants with
their wives and children dependent for their support

* Coutributioua to an Enquiry iuto tlie State of Ireland.
Murray, 18G6.

13

upon the land, whose misapplied industry is as un-
productive as if it were devoted to the grinding of
a treadmill or the lifting of shot ; but though con- -
tributing nothing to the producing power of the
class with which they are incorporated, they have
to be supported out of its profits, of which they
diminish by so much the share to the remainder.
To deny this is to assert — that you can make
a vessel sail faster by doubling the complement of
her crew, and that the supernumerary hands will
have made no impression on the ship's rations by
the end of the vovage.*

* " In all countries which have passed beyond a rather early
stage in the progress of agriculture, every increase in the demand
for food occasioned by increased population will always, unless
there is a simultaneous improvement in production, diminish
the share which on a fair division would fall to each individual."
MilVs Principles of Political Economy, Vol. I. p. 237.

" If the growth of human power over nature is suspended or
slackened, and ])opulation does not slacken its increase ; if with
only the existing command over natural agencies those agencies
are called upon for an increased produce, this greater increase
will not be afforded to the increased population, without either
demanding on the average a greater efibrt from eacli, or on the
average reducing each to smaller ration out of the aggregate
produce."— 7i/</. Vol. I. p. 240.

" Trom this results the important corollary, that the necessity
of restraining population is not peculiar to a condition of great
inequality of property. A greater number of people cannot, in
any given state of civilization, be collectively so well provided
for as a smaller. The niggardliness of nature, not the injustice
of society, is the cause of the penalty attached to over-popula-
tion. It is in vain to say, that all mouths which the increase of
mankind calls into existence, briiig with them hands. The new

14

But if, instead of the reduced numbers at present
left in this false position, the hundreds of thousands
who have emigrated had remained at home to breed
and stagnate on the overburdened soil, is it not evi-
dent that a state of things would now exist in Ireland
such as no man can think of without a shudder ?
1 do not wish, however^ to imply that the existing
surplus of agricultural labour, need necessarily
follow their example. When once the rate of
wages in a country has reached a point, which
ensures to the labourer the necessaiies and de-
cencies of life, emigration ceases to be of such

mouths require as mucli food as the old ones, and the hands do
not produce as much. If all instruments of production were held
in joint property by the whole people, and the produce divided
with perfect equality among them, and if in a society thus
constituted, industry were as energetic and the produce as
ample as at present, there would be enough to make all the
existing population extremely comfortable ; but when that
population had doubled itself, as, with the existing habits of
the people, under such an encouragement, it undoubtedly would
in little more than twenty years, what would then be their
condition ? Unless the arts of production were in the same
time improved in an almost unexampled degree, the inferior
soils which must be resorted to, and the more laborious and
scantily remunerative cultivation which must be employed on
the superior soils, to procure food for so much larger a
population, would, by an insuperable necessity, render every
individual in the community poorer than before. If the popu-
lation continued to increase at the same rate, a time would soon
arrive when no one would have more than mere necessaries,
and, soon after, a time when no one would have a sufficiency of
those, and the further increase of population would be arrested
by death:'— Ibid. Vol. I.^j. 238.

15

paramount importance, and no man could con-
template the expatriation of so many brave hearts,
and strong right arms with equanimity. The
true remedy for the anomaly I have indicated,
is to be found in the development of our com-
mercial enterprize, of our mineral resources, of
our manufacturing industry :* it is not blood-
letting to relieve a plethora, but stimulants to
restore the balance of a congested circulation that
are needed.

Still less would I advocate an attempt to divert,
wdiether by moral pressure or otherwise, any
portion of the land-occupying class from their
present avocations. Persons of practical expe-
rience are aware that even in the most prosperous
parts of Ireland, the extension of holdings unde-
sirably diminutive, is continually taking place by
a natural process, which need never involve the
violent displacement of a single individual, and at
a rate which rather exceeds than otherwise, the
accumulation of the necessary capital in the hands
of those, to whose farms the surrendered scraps of
land are annexed. Death, bankruptcy, failing
health, and the hundred casualties which diversify
the current of human affairs, annually place at the
disposal of the landlord a number of vacated
tenancies, more than sufficient to carry out any
amount of judicious consolidation. To hasten,

* I have never seen this view more admirably set forth than
in the last pastoral of the Catholic Archbishop of Cashel.

IG

therefore, tlie transition which the ugricultural
system of Irchmd is gradually undergoing, is neither
his mterest nor his practice. It is true the slower
the absorption of the surplus agricultural labour
of the country into other pursuits, the worse for
the general body of cultivators, but each year is
improving their situation, and it is better the con-
viction of what is for their true advantage should
peneti-ate their intelligence of its own accord, than
that their prejudices should be shocked by any
exti'aneous influences, however well intentioned.

But to imagine that even the most scrupulous ob-
servance of this rule, by every landlord in Ireland,
could ever have prevented, or can now check the
departure of a large proportion of the people is a
delusion. The increase of every nation must be
limited by the extent and capabilities of the area it
occupies, and the amount of capital it possesses.*

This law is of universal application, though one
race from its more sordid habits, or lower civiliza-
tion, may be more compressible than another.f

* " It is also evident that the quantity of produce capable of
being raised on any given piece of land is not indefinite. This
limited quantity of land, and limited productiveness of it, are
the real limits to the increase of production."

" From the preceding exposition it appears that the limit
to the increase of production is tvrofold ; from deficiency of
capital, or of land." — MilVs Political Economy, Vol. I. p. 220.

t " The desire to become possessed of one of these gardens
operates very strongly in strengthening prudential habits and
in restraining improvident marriages. Some of the manufac-
turers in the canton of Argovie told me that a townsman was

17

But, the appointed limits once reached, either the
procreative energies of the people will be artifi-
cially restricted, as has been the case in France,* or

seldom contented until he had bought a garden, or a garden
and house, and that the town labourers generally deferred their
marriages for some years, in order to save enough to purchase
either one or botli of these luxuries." — Mill's Political ^conowy.
Vol. I. p. 357.

" In some parts of Switzerland," says Mr. Kay, " as in the
canton of Argovie for instance, a peasant never marries before
he attains the age of 25 years, and generally much later in
life ; and in that canton the women very seldom marry before
they have attained the age of thirty.''^ — Ibid. Vol. I. p. 357.

* " Un jeune menage .... echappant par une sterilite sys-
tematique aux charges du mariage pousse rapidement sa fortune,

Ceux an contraire qui conservent la tradition

des mariages feconds ne sortent pas de la condition de salaries."
— La Meforme Sociale en France par M. F. le Play. Paris, ISGG,
p. 388.

Whether a system which discourages marriage or delays it
to a later age than that intended by nature, or checks fecundity
by mechanical expedients, can be justly considered beneficial, is
another question : in my ow^n opinion, a race that marries, pro-
duces children, and populates the world, enjoys a happier destiny.

The town population of France, excluding Savoy, Savoy
Haute, and Alpes Maritimes, as they were not included in
1856, was 9,844,828 in 185G, and 10,644,401 in 1861, the
increase per cent in the five years wns 8'12 or 1'57 per cent
per annum. The rural population, excluding the above new
departments, was 26,194,536 in 1856, and 26,072,853 in 1861:
there loas therefore a decrease in the rural j^opuhition ; the
decrease per cent of the population in the five years being 47
or "09 per cent per annum.

The French returns make the town and rural i)()piilntion to
have increased as follows : —

Sec A|)pendix, |). 34.

18

till' surplus ])opulation will eiuiorjite, as they have

done from CJerniaiiy, from Ireland, and to a lesser

degree from Eno-land.

T"p to the year 184G the soil of Ireland retained

the eapaeity of producing, to an almost unlimited

extent, a certain root, containing- all the elements

necessary for the support of human life.* The ex-

lucrease per cent in the five years . . 9'60 Town.
,, „ . . lo3 Eural.

Thus making the rural population increase instead of decrease,
but this is not correct, as they have excluded Savoy, Savoy
Ilautes, and the Alpes INIaritiines, in 1856, but included them
ia 1861. See App. p. 34.

* " A close analysis of this subject would probably lead to the
conclusion, that the potato is the m;iin cause of that inertia in
the population, and tliat want of improvement in the lauds and
tillage, which is ao striking throughout Ireland.

" This root, as compared with other food stuffs grown in this
climate, supplied the largest amount of human food on tlie
smallest surface. Its peculiar cultivation enabled the occu-
pier of land to plant it in the wettest soils ; because the ridt'-e
or lazy bed, universally adopted in such cases, supplied the
moat minute system of drainage that can be imaf'incd for
that one crop, although it did not permanently drain the land,
or extend any substantial benefit in that respect even to the
following crop.

"The indolent occupier, therefore, passed his winter inac-
tively, consuming this food which he preferred to all others
and neglecting to prepare his land perminently for more pro-
fitable crops, of which he had heard little, and for which he
cared less. Enjoying all the while the pleasing delusion, that
as sure as the spring came round, any portion he might select
of his farm would be ready to receive his favourite root, and to
furnish a certain supply of food for his numerous and increasing-
family.

" This delusion is now broken, but its evil consequences con-
tinue."— Digest. Devon Commission, Sianmary, p. 16.

19

pansion of the population was proportionate to the
facilities it enjoyed for obtaining sustenance. Sud-
denly, by the visitation of God, those facilities were
withdrawn ; the potato failed , no other product
of the soil existed to take its place ; corn crops
neither supplied the same amount of nutriment,
nor could they be grown in successive years on the
same spot. The life-sustaining power of the soil,
had become restricted; as an inevitable conse-
quence the population of the island has become
proportionately restricted ; and, exactly in the same
way as the working classes of Manchester would
have been oljliged to remove to other centres of
industry had the cotton famine continued, has the
surplus population of Ireland been compelled to
emigrate to a more fertile soil.

Though acting with diminished energy, the same
causes may be expected for some time to come to
produce similar results. The natural expansion of
a prolific nation, still numbering upwards of five
millions and a half, must be considerable. Did this
increase maintair^ its normal rate, we might calcu-
late on a net annual addition of 60,000 souls to our
population ; but a-s a large proportion of those who
emigrate are men and women in their first youth,
we must presume it has been considerably checked :
putting however the excess of births over deaths
at a minimum of 40,000 per annum, we shall con-
front a very formidable figure.* I low arc tliese
* See Appendix, jx Or).

c 2

20

snccoRsivt' waves of livsli arrivals to be accommo-
.latr.lV

lOven tliose wlio most deplore emigration would
not rceonnuend a resubdivision for their benefit
of lioldino-s whose size at this moment is perhaps
below the desirable average :* the labom- market is
only too amply supplied : agitation has succeeded
in burking everywhere, except in Ulster, our
nascent manufacturing enterprise;! what other

* Number of holdings not exceeding 1 acre, 48,653

5 „ 82,037
15 „ 176,308

306,998

This is more than one-half of the entire nximber of farms in
Ireland. Of the remainder, 136,578 are less than 30 acres in
extent. Census, 1861.

t " Political excitement and agrarian outrage tend to dis-
courage the introduction of English capital, limit the compe-
titors in the market for those mortgaged estates that are sold,
prevent the relief of the mortgager by a diminished rate of
interest, and therefore cripple his means of assisting his te-
nantry, while they at the same time estrange the feelings of the
tenant from the landlord, their interest being inseparable, and
the progress of improvement being entirely dependent on their
mutual co-operation.

" Thus we find, that the original causes, ignorance and want
of employment, with their numerous evil efiects, act and re-act
upon each other in every possible variety of v^ays that can be
imagined, to increase the miseries and disorders of society ;
and these destru-.-tive consequences must continue and extend
until the original causes be removed by the sound instruction
and profitable employment of the people.

" The present failure of tlie crop, as it renders utterly hope-
less the position of tliosc classes who have hitherto depended

21

alternative have you to offer, if you shut up their
path across the sea ? During the last five or six
years, the emigration from Ireland has been a little
over 90,000 a year ; nearly one half of that emigra-
tion, therefore, has merely harmonized with the
mechanical law, which only permits the introduc-
tion of water at one end of a pipe by the expulsion
of a corresponding volume at the other.

In all parts of the world similar processes are
occuri-ing, and it is absurd to talk of Ireland, as
the only country from which an extensive emigra-
tion has proceeded. From Germany alone, and prin-
cipally from the North and West of Germany, as
many as 250,000 persons have emigrated in a single
year,* while between 1851 and 1861, even from

upon an acre of potatoes for their annual subsistence, will
facilitate any Imniane measure whicli may be applied with a view
to placing thetn where their labour may aflbrcl a more certain
means of livelihood." — Dig. Devon Commission, Swnmari/, p. 321.

* To those who will only regard emigration as the exponent
of landlord cruelty, I would suggest that inasmuch as a very
considerable emigration has been taking place from countries
where these evil influences do not prevail, it may not be
unreasonable to suppose that some one or other of those na-
tural causes, which are noted by M. Jules Duval in his History
of Emigration, as having occasioned emigi-ation from Germany,
viz. : a difiiculty of procuring subsistence at home, low wages,
bad harvests, an excessive subdivision of the land, and the
attraction of. the gold fields, have also promoted emigration
from Ireland.

It has been objected that the population of German}- is
40,000,000, and the population of Ireland only 5,500,000 ; but
in Germany 30,000,000 of ])Cople did not subsist on the ])otiito,
and the failure of the potato in Germany was not the same

oo

(hvat lirltuln, the emigration has averaged as high

as 7-1,000 a year.*

calamity that it was iu Ireland. On the other hand, it would
probably be as fallacious to distribute the Germau Emigra-
tion over the entire German nation, as to credit England
with a proportional share in the emigration from the United
Kingdom. M. Duval especially notes that hardly any emigra-
tion takes place from Austria.

I give M. Duval's statistics of the German Emigration up to
the end of tlie last dec-ado.

Number of Emigrants from Germany from the year 1847
to 1S56 :—

1847

1848

1849

1850

1851

1852

1853

1854

1855

1856

1857)

1858 >

1859)

109,531

81,895

89,102

82,404

112,547

162,301

162,568

251,931

81,968

98,573

108,000

(total of the
3 years.)

I also append the Official Statistics of the Immigration into
the United States for 1860.

Immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, 107,308 ;
Germany, 86,675 ; British North American Provinces, 29,189 ;
Norway, 8,075; France, 4,950; Switzerland, 2,704; Sweden,
4,523 ; Denmark, 1,769 ; Italy, 1,028 ; Holland, 1,314 ;
Belgium, 1,185.

Of late the Immigration from Germany seems to have been on
the increase. The following returns have been made by the New
Tork Commissioners of Emigration for the past year (1866).

Immigrants from Germany, 106,716; Ireland, 68,047; Eng-
land, 36,186; other countries, 22,469.

* See Appendix, p. 39, Some Observations of the Duke of
Argyll and Sir John M'Neill on Emigration from the High-
lands of Scotland.

•^^

r

^^

23

Still more unreasonable is it to describe the " rul-
ing classes" as standing alone in their opinion, an
opinion. most mijustly ascribed to "their stupidity
and selfishness," that emigration has been no
calamity to Ireland.

In the first place, to call emigration a calamity,
implies a confusion of ideas.

Emigi'ation may be occasioned by a calamity :
it may be followed by disastrous consequences : but
it is in itself a curative process : and to confound
it with the evils to which it affords relief, would
be as gi-eat a blunder as to mistake the distressing
accidents of suppuration for symptoms of mortifica-
tion. Plans for the express purpose of stimulating
emigration have been devised and advocated from
time to time by such men as Mr. Smith 0'J3ricn,
Sir Thomas Wyse, Mr. Sharman Crawford, Sir
George C. Lewis,* and Mr. Cobden ;| while, did

* See Appendix, p. 34.

f " But, unhappily, the maladicK of Ireland have taken such
deep root, that legislation cannot hope, for ages to come, eft'ec-
tually to eradicate them, whilst here is a mode by which hundreds
of thousands of our fellow-creatures are eager to be enabled to
escape a lingering death. Surely under such circumstances,
this plan, which would leave us room to administer more eiFec-
tually to the cure of her social disorder deserves the anxious
consideration of our legislature.

" Here let us demand why some forty or lifty of our frigates
and sloops of war, whicli are now, at a time of peace, sunning
themselves in the Archipelago, or anchoring in friendly i)orts,
or rotting in ordinary in our own harbours, sliould not be em-
ployed by the G-overnment in conveying these emigrants to
Canada, or some other hospitable accommodation."

Extract from Cobdciis FoUtical Writinys. Vol. 1. p. S'J.

24

spiicc pennlt, 1 might furnish dozens of quotations
to show how conunon this conviction has been to
every school of ])olitIcs and chiss of society.*

'I'o attribute such a view to hmdlord stupidity and
selfishness is even more gratuitous. AVhen did a
tradesman ever complain of the multitude of his
customers, or a manufacturer of the easiness of the
labour-market ? And what is the owner of an
estate other than a ti-ader in land ? His tenants
arc his customers j the more strenuous their com-
petition, the higher his rents, and the denser their
number, the more keenly will they compete ;|

* " As a meaus of alleviating the distress occasioned by the
removal of tenants, it was proposed by the Select Committee
on the state of Ireland in 1832, that public money should be
given in aid of such sums as may be paid by a landlord to a
removed and destitute tenant, with a view to its being em-
ployed in emigration." — Digest Devon Commission, Sitmmari/,
p. 1113.

t " Ecnt being regulated by competition, depends upon the
relation between the demand for laud, and the supply of it. The
demand for land depends on the number of competitors, and the
competitors are the whole rural population. The effect, there-
fore, of this tenure (cottier tenancies) is to bring the principle
of population to act directly on the land, and not, as in England,
on capital. Rent, in this state of things, depends on the propor-
tion between population and land. As the land is a fixed
quantity, while population has an unlimited power of increase ;
unless something checks that increase, the competition for land
soon forces up rent to the highest point consistent with keeping
the population alive. The effects, therefore, of cottier tenure
depend on tlie extent to Avhich the capacity of po])ulation to
increase is controlled, cither by custom, by indiAidual prudence,
or by starvation and disease."

Mill's Folilical Economy, p. 302.

95

emigTation has a tendency to diminish rather than
to increase his rental, and if it has not done so
ah'eady it is because the number of those who seek
to obtain their living* by the land, are still out of
proportion to the area capable of maintaining
them.

Again, the landlord is very often a large em-
ployer of labour. Within the last 15 years I my-
self have paid away upwards of £60,000 in wages
alone. During the last half of that period, in con-
sequence of the rise in wages, I have got much less
for my money than I did during the first half, and
my consequent loss, comparing one period with
another, would amount to several thousand pounds,
and this has been a direct consequence of emi-
gration. But, though a dealer in land, and a

" If the owners of land be liable to the imputation of usury
iu their bargains for rent, the best and only eflcctual corrective
will be found in reducing the competition amongst the labourers
and occupiers of land by removing the ignorance of our hus-
bandmen, and also the impediments to the extension of employ-
ment."

" If these two principles should prove inadequate to esta-
blish the equilibrium of the labour market in this country on a
sound basis, we liave still the vast resource of emigration, which,
wiieu used upon a humane principle, will improve our condition
at home with extreme and certain benefit to those who leave our
shores ; and no other principle of emigi-ution ought for a moment
to be tolerated." — Digest Devon Commission, SmuDiary, p. I'll.

** The only unobjectionable way of enabling tenants to obtain
I'casonable terms from their landlords, is to diminish Ihc com-
petition for land hy lessening the number of conqjotilors."
Thornton's Feasant Froprielors, pp. 215-16.

26

payer of wan^cs, ] ain, above all tilings, an Irishman,
and as an Irishman I rejoice at any circumstance
which tends to strengthen the independence of the
tenant farmer, or to add to the comforts of the
labourer's existence.

But it is said, that though as yet no inconvenient
diminution of the agricultural population has oc-
curred, as is proved by the still inadequate rate of
wages in the rural districts, emigration is acquiring
a momentum which will carry it far beyond all
reasonable limits.* This I admit to be a contin-
gency deserving serious attention : but the first pre-
caution to be taken is to fix those classes most
exposed to the current, in a position of such
comfort and stability as will enable them to resist

* " But, these things being as they are — though a judici-
ously conducted emigration is a most important resource for
Suddenly lightening the pressure of ])opulation by a single
effort — and though in such an extraordinary case as that of Ire-
land, under the threefold operation of the potato failure, the
poor law, and the general turning out of tenantry throughout
the country, spontaneous emigration may at a particular crisis
remove greater multitudes than it was ever proposed to remove
at once by any national scheme ; it still remains to be shown by
experience whether a permanent stream of emigration can be
kept up, sufficient to take off, as in America, all that portion of
the annual increase (when proceeding at the greatest rapidity)
which being in excess of the progress made during the same
short period in the arts of life, tends to render living more dif-
ficult for every averagely-situated individual in the community.
And unless this can be done, emigration cannot, even in an
economical point of view, dispense with the necessity of checks
to population." — Mill's FoliL Economy, p. 246,

27

its influence. Such an object will be fiir more
surely promoted by whatever tends to abate the
tyranny of competition, than by offering those who
are now hustling one another off the land any
artificial inducements to continue the scramble.

Others suggest that the great works of irrigation
and reclamation which still require to be executed
in Ireland, would more than absorb all the re-
dundant population. To this I reply, in the first
place, that during the very period which has
witnessed the greatest emigration, larger areas
have been reclaimed, than have ever been before ;*
that the productive powers of the soil have
been increasing in a ratio nearly corresponding
to that at which the population has diminished ;
and that as we still have one adult cultivator to
every six acres of land under crops, it is not any
want of hands which hinders the island being
converted into a garden from one end to the
other. In the next place, the very thing I desire,
is to see our sui-jdus labour power, now frit-
tered away in the desultory cultivation of fields
wdiich ought to produce twice as much with one-
third fewer hands, intelligently applied to the
development of the country's resources. All that
I contend for is, that while you arc collecting your
capital,! and organizing your plans, for the intro-

* Between ISM and 1862 more than 2,000,000 aorcw of
waste land have been reclaimed. See Appendix, p. 43.

t " Self-evident as the thing is, it is often forp;ottcn that the
people of a country are maintained and have their wants

28

(luctiou of" that iiillleiiiuiii ot" enterprise which has
already disappointed the hopes of previous genera-
tions, you have no riglit to keep the men, whose
grand-cliihben you may perhaps eventually pro-
vide with employment, standing idle and starving
in the market-})lace.*

supplied, not by the produce of present labour, but of past.
They consume what has been produced, not what is about to
be produced. Now, of what has been produced, a part only
is allotted to the support of productive labour ; and there will
not and cannot be more of that labour than the portion so
allotted (which is the capital of the country) can feed, and
provide with the materials and instruments of production.

Yet, in disregard of a fact so evident, it long continued to be
believed that laws and governments, without creating capital,
could create industry." — MiWs Political Economij, p. 80.

* Mr Fawcett thus speaks of emigration iu his essay on the
' British Labourer :' — " From England and Scotland, during
the last fifteen or twenty years, there has been a very large
emigration, although the people have not been compelled to
leave these couxitries by so sudden and awful a catastrophe as

that w^hich caused the Irish exodus When

we reflect on the pecuniary advantages which every emigrant
may reasonably expect to obtain, it seems surprising that our

labourers have not left us iu much greater numbers

The ordinary wages of our agricultural labourers are not more
than nine or ten shillings a week ; many of them live in dwell-
ings which do not deserve the name of human habitations.

It seems wonderful that men who are in this

condition do not emigrate en masse."

Again, he says, " The truth, therefore, becomes irresistibly
brought home to our minds, that if a man finds his labour is
not wanted in one country he ought not to stagnate there in
hopeless poverty. There is placed before him in other lands a
great and glorious career: a great career, because he may become
the progenitor of mighty nations ; a glorious career, because he

29

Again, It Is asked, what Is to become of the
nianiifactiirlng Industry of Great Britain if the
normal flow of Irish hxbonr shoukl suddenly run
dry? How are the armies of England to be
recruited if the magic shilling no longer has attrac-
tions for the Irish peasant ?

With such Ill-omened surmises as these I have no
sympathy. However serious the contingencies
suggested, it is very certain the solution must be
sought elsewhere than in the maintenance of a
fourth of the population of Ireland at starving
point. A perennial flow of cheap labour Into
Lancashire and of broken Irishmen into the Queen's
service, means perennial indigence and discontent
in Munster and Connaught ; — and discontent in hev
Southern provinces means the perpetual abstrac-
tion from the available forces of the Empire of a
garrison nearly as large as the military contingent
furnished by all Ireland. To foster, therefore,
an excess of population with the intention of
forcing the most desperate of their numbers to

will abundantly fulfil the bcheats of his Maker if he causes the
wilderness to become the home of civilized niau. This world
was made for the occupation of the human nice, and it never
could be intended that fertile soils should grow nothing but
rank and useless vegetation. It never could be intended Ihat
rivers which might stimulate production of untold wealth
should always continue to flow through solitudes ; it never
could be intended, we may uidiositatingly say, that scenes
should continue to be viewed by no human eye, which arc so
beautiful, that their contemj)lation must make man look from
Nature up to Nature's God." — TAe Economic Position of the
British Lahoiirrr, hi/ Henry Fiiwcclt, M.P., p. 209.

30

onibraec an existonce wliicli tlie o-radual improvc-
inont ill his condition lias taught the Higliland
gillie and the Kentish yokel to disdain, is hardly
a remunerative speculation.* Of the humanity
of reo'ardino; the sister kinodom as a reservoir of
impoverished war material, and stagnant labour-
power, to he turned on as the convenience of Eng-
land may require, I will say nothing. Even the
Luteher fattens his sheep before he drives them to
the shambles, and to speculate on Irish destitution
to man the looms of Manchester for all eteniity,
seems to me hardly more excusable than to ad-
vocate the continuance of slavery in the tropics, for
the sake of fine cotton and cheap sugar.

Notwithstanding therefore all that has been said
to the contrary, I still consider that not only has
emio-ration been an infinite blessino- to Ireland, but
that for some years to come a considerable portion
of the nation vrill continue to profit by its advan-
tages. I am aware that this is an unpopular opinion,
and I may be told that I am rejoicing in the ex-
patriation of my countrymen, but to those who can
attach such a meaning to the foregoing sentences,
it would be idle to address fiu'ther explanation.
Both in Parliament and elsewhere I have recorded
my conviction that were it not for the agitation
which now scares capital from her shores, and pre-
vents the development of her industrial resources,
Ireland might be rendered capable of sustaining a
population far larger than any she has ever bonie,
* See Appendix, pp. 39, 44,

31

and no one lias deplored in more emphatic tenns
than myself the circumstances which compel so
•many noble-hearted Irishmen to leave the land of
their birth.* But to lament an emigration you are
unable to arrest, and which is composed of those
you cannot employ, is a useless waste of feeling.
There are few human passions with which I have
greater sympathy, or which I can better understand,
than the love of home *, but in this life no one can
aiTange his destiny altogether to his taste ; and to
sally forth and battle with the w^orld is one of the
most universal conditions of existence. It is all very
well to talk pathetically of the hardship endured by
the Irish peasant in quitting the home of his child-
hood, but to dwell for ever in the home of one's
childhood is almost the rarest earthly luxurj- which
can be mentioned ; not one man in ten thousand
expects to enjoy it ; no woman desires it. Law
in France, custom in America discourage such
permanent arrangements, while in England they
are only Avithin the reach of a comparatively
small minority.

Expatriation is undoubtedly a great calamity,
but emigration does not necessarily imply expa-
triation. Hundreds of those who go, return, and
if the greater number stay it is only bec-ause tlicy
prefer to do so. Nor, when Providence spread out
the virgin prairies of the New World, or stored u])
the golden treasures of Australia, can it liavc been
intended that attachment to the natal soil should

* Sec Appciulix, p.

82

become so predominant a passion as to deter man
from taking possession of tlie new territories
prepared for his reception. Far then from being in
itself a calamity, emigration is an essential element
in the future progress of the United Kingdom, and
our fellow comitrymen who depart, even if ab-
sorbed by an alien community, often minister to our
prosperity more effectually than when they dwelt
amongst us. The transformation of an indigent
and disaffected subject into a prosperous foreign
customer is a change not wholly disadvantageous,
and the industry which has gone forth to till the
prairies of the West cheapens the loaf to millions
in the old country.*

One tiling at all events is certain. In the pro-
gress of every civilized community, the period must
arrive when the natural increase of population
overtakes the normal rate of production. The true
remedy may be to communicate additional fertility
to the soil : but this is seldom an immediate pos-
sibility :"!* as a consequence the rate of increase of

* We now import nearly 2,700,000 quarters of Indian corn
a year ; before 1846 our imports of Indian corn only amounted
to 11,000 quarters per annum. See Appendix, p. 35.

•j- " Whether, at the present or any other time, the produce of
industry proportionally to the labour employed, is increasing
or diminishing, and the average condition of the people im-
proving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population
is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than
population. After a degree of density has been attained,
sufficient to allow the principal benefits of combination of
labour, all further increase tends in itself to mischief, so far as

33

the population must be checked ; or its standard
of comfort must deteriorate ; or its acci'uing surplus
must remove.* But the first necessitates an artifi-
cial and often an unnatural social system, as is said
to prevail in France ;f and the next is an alter-
native which entails the physical degradation we
have seen supervene in Ireland. There remains
therefore the third, — a course in perfect harmony
with the laws of nature, and one which has already
established the religion, the language, and the free-
dom of England, over one-fourth of the habitable
globe. To lament the exhibition of so much enter-
prise, vital energy, and colonising power, in the
race to which we belong,:): seems to me more

regards the average condition of the people." — MiWs Folitical
Economy, p. 239.

* " But though improvement may during a certain space of
time keep up with, or even surpass, the actual increase of
population, it assuredly never comes up to the rate of increase
of which population is capable; and nothing could have pre-
vented a general deterioration in the condition of the liumau
ra,ce, were it not that population has iu fact been restrained.
Had it been restrained still more, and the same improvements
taken place, there would have been a larger dividend than tliere
now is, for the nation or the species at large." — Hid. p. 211.

t " Le Partage force afFecte a la fois la petite et la grande
propriete rurale ; il detruit les petits domaines agglomeies, d.
families fecondes, et les remplace par ces petits domaines nVor-
celcs oil la fecondite conduit fatalement au pauperisme, ot oil
le bien-etre des individus se fonde siir la atiriliU- du moriiir/p-
et SUP Tegoisme." — La Bcforme Sociale ai France, par M. I<\
le Play, Vol. I. p. 396.

\ Saxon and Celt have lakon an equal ]iart in cMiii^'raliort
from Ireland. — Sec Appendix, ])p. 41-85.

34

perverse than to stigmatize as a curse the blessing
originally pronoimced on those who were first
bidden '' to go forth and multiply and replenish
the earth."

APPENDIX.

Vital Sfafislics. — France. {See supra, p. IS.)

" The slow. rate of increase of population in France compared
with that of England may, therefore, be chiefly attributed to a
low ratio of births, the result of late marriages and of hind'
ranees to fecundity. Early marriages have the effect of shorten-
ing the interval between generations, and tend in that way to
increase the population. The spirit and character of a nation
alone determine the limit to its numbers ; and the increasing
power and prosperity of England and her colonies, resulting
from a high rate increase of population, have proved the fallacy
of the doctrine " that the increase of the human race should be
restricted, so that it may not outstrip the means of subsist-
ence." The proportion of deaths to 1,000 persons living in
each of the two countries, France and England, was 21'96 and
22-S8 in 1853; 23o7 and 21-80 in 1857; 2318 and 2163 in
1861 ; and 2172 and 2386 in 1864. In France, in 1854 and
1855, the deaths exceeded the births. The mean after-lifetime,
or expectation of life in England, is 409 years. In France it
is 397 years."

Sir G. Lewis on Irish Emigration. (See supra, p. 2Z.)

" The operation of a system of relief in facilitating the transi-
tion of cottier farmers into labourers ought at the same time
to be assisted bv colonization, and this on as large a scale as the
means of the country would permit. The redundancy of the
Irish populaticn is so great, that no one measure can in a short
time be expected to produce even an approximation to the great
desideratum, the maintenance of the peasantry out of wages.
An extensive emigration managed by Goyernment, and in com-

S6

binatiou with ageuts in Cauada aud the United Stales, would
at any rate assist in bringing about this consninmatiou. If
Ireland (as it was once remarked to me) could be stretched out
like a piece of india-rubber, the peasantry would be as tranquil
and contented as that of England. But as this is impossible,
we must strive to do what is possible. As we cannot make
more land to the inhabitants, we must make fewer inhabitants
to the land." — Sir O. C. Lewis on Irish Disturbances, p. 332.

Ihe Effect of Emipfition on Population in Ireland.
(See supra, p. 19.)

Though 500,000 persons have emigrated since 1860 the
actual decrease in the population has been only 216,444, show-
ing that the natunil increase by births over deaths has filled
up nearly one half of the vacancies created by emigration
during the same period.

POPDLATIOX.

Deaths.

BiRTII.S.

5,788,415
5.784,527
5,739,569
5,675,306
5,641,086

2,831,783
2,828,357
2,801,963
2,765.504
2,745,753

2,956,632
2,956.170
2,937,606
2,909,803
2,895,333

1861
1862
1863
186 t
1865

5,571,971

2,696,722

2,875.249

1866

_ ,

IMPOKTATIONS OP WHEAT AND FT.OCH.

Before 1846 (average of 7 years)

In 1860

In 1861

In 1862

{See supra, p. 32.)

Quarter.'i in the Vc av.
]l!7,»5.S

. 1,383,609

. 1,412,809

. 2,112,715

IMPORTATIONS OF INDIAN CORX AND MK.VL

Before 1846 (average of 7 years)
In 1860 . . . " .

In 1861

In 1H62

Quarters in tlic Yc.ir.

11,007
. 1,317,514
. l,970,n.sS
. 1,773,255

D 2

30

Twentij-Jifth General Report, \%Qt>. {See supra, p.

Keturx showing Amounts of Moket remitted by Settlers
in NonTii America to their Friends in tlie United
Kingdom from 1848 (the first Tear in which we liave
any Information) to 1864, both inclusive.

Year.

Amount.

£.

1848

460,000

1849

540,000

1850

957,000

1851

990,000

1852

1,404,000

1853

1,439,000

1854

1,730,000

1855

873,000

1856

951,000

1857

593,165

1858

472,610

1859*

575,378

ISCOf

576,932

1861+

420,285

1862^

381,901

18031

412,053

186i**

416,605

* During this year the sum of 45,798/. was also remitted from Aus-
tralia.
t Do. do. 6G,713/. do. do.

+ Do. do. 78,095/. do. do

§ Do. do. 81,123/. do. do

If Do. do. 48.058/. Ao.- do

** Do. do. 44,631/. do. do.

Note.— In addition to the above amounts for 18G3, 44,123/. were

remitted from America and Australia, but the sum

from each jjlace cannot be specified.

S. Walcott.
Government Emigration Board,
8, Turk Street, Westminster, April 1865.

37

Condition of the Irish People in 1834.
[See supra, pp. 3 if 9.)

''The Comraissioners appointed in 1834 for inquiring
into the condition of the poorer ch\sses in Ireland — a
Commission comprising amongst it members Archbishop
Whately, Archbishop ]\Iurray, and the Eight Hon. More
O'Ferrall — at the commencement of their Third Report^
published in 1836^ state their opinion as to the condition
in which the labouring classes of the Irish people were at
that time. They say : —

" It appears that in Great Britain the agricultural families con-
stitute little more than one-fourtb, while in Ireland they constitute
two-thirds of the whole population ; that there were in GreatBritaiu
in 1831 ; 1,055,982 agricultural, labourers ; In Ireland, 1,131,715:
although the cultivated land of Great Britain amounts to about
34,250,000 acres, and that of Ireland only to about 14,000,000.
We thus find that there are in Ireland about five agricultural
labourers for every two that there are for the same quantity of land
in Great Britain. It further appears that the agricultural produce
of Great Britain is more than four times that of Ireland ; that agri-
(niltural wages of Ireland vary from Qd to \s a-day ; that the
average of the country in general is about Shd ; and that the earn-
ings of the labourers come on an average of the whole class to from
2s to 2s iSd a-week or thereabouts fcrr the year round. ... A
great portion of them (agi-icultural labourers) are insufficiently pro-
vided at any time with the commonest necessaries of life. Their
habitations are wretched hovels ; several of the family slee]) to-
gether on straw, or on the bare ground, sometimes with a blanket,
sometimes with not even so much to cover them. Their food codi-
monly consists of dry potatoes ; and with these they are at times
so scantily supplied as so be obliged to stint tliemselvcs to one
spare meal in the day. . . They sometimes get a herring or a
little milk, but they never get meat except at Christmas, Easter,
and Shrovetide." — (P. 3.)

That the condition of the labouring classes in Irehmd

had not improved up to the famine, is shown by the

Report of the Land Occupation Commissioners in 1845.

They say :—

"In adverting to the condition of the diflcrent classes of oc-
cupiers in Ireland, we perceive with deep regret ihe state of the
cottiers and labourers m most parts of the country from want of
certain employment, It would be impossible to d<'scribe ade-
quately the privations which tli<'y and their families almost

38

habitually aud patiently endure. It will be seen in the evidence
that in many aistritts tlieir only food is the potato, their only
beverngo water ; that their cabins are seldom a protection against
the weather; tliat a bed or a blanket is a rare luxuiy ; and
that nearly in all. their pig and their manure heap constitute their
only projHTty."

'* Sufh being the condition of a large proportion of the
people of Ireland from 1 834 till 1 845 when the population
was at its highest amount, it is perfectly clear that a mere
increatte of population was no proof of prosperity ; and if
so, it is idle to argue that a mere decrease of the popula-
tion is necessai-ily an evidence of decline/' — JV. N. Neilson
Hancock, LL.D., Supposed Progressive Decline, ifc.

Comparison of Profits on Large and Small Farms.
(See supra, p. llj note.)
" This I take to be the true reason why large cultiva-
tion is generally most advantageous as a mere investment
for profit. Land occupied by a large farmer is not, in
one sense of the word, farmed so highly. There is not
nearly so much labour expended on it. This is not on
account of any economy arising from combination of
labour, but because,, by employing less, a greater return
is obtained in proportion to the outlay." — Mill's Political
Economij, p. 186.

Spade versus Plough. [See supra, j». 11, note.)
" Again, the subsoiling by spade labour may cost from
10s Sd per acre, as performed by Mr. Wilson^ to £7 or
£8, or even £12 per acre, as described by M. Barber,
by trenching." — Dig. Dev. Com. Summary, p. 82.

" The cost of ordinary subsoiling with the plough may
be taken at about £1 ]i)s per acre.'' — Ibid. p. 83.

" The ordinary spade subsoiling and trenching, which
consists in moving the soil with the spade to two spits
deep, must alway.'s be a most costly operation.'^

Ibid. p. 84.

39

Pay of the English Soldier. (See supra, p. 30.)
The following extract gives a very fair estimate of the mili-
tary as compared with the civil labour market in England and
Scotland.

" Let us now shortly examine the state of the facts with
regard to the actual terms we offer. A¥e engage to give every
recruit 7* 7d a week, and certain prospective advantages of
good conduct pay and pension, with lodging, fuel, light, and
medical attendance. I purposely exclude from tins estimate
certain articles of clothing which we have to give soldiers gratis,
and certain articles of food which we supply to him on pecu-
liar advantageous terms, as the sum which he must still expend
on food and clothing, notwithstanding these advantages is
equal to that which food and clothing would probably cost him
in civil life." ....

" We buy the man out and out for the period of his service.
We require him to give up in a great measure his ordinary
civil rights, place him under a severe discipline, force him to
serve, even in time of peace, two-thirds of his time abroad in
climates which are often of great severity, forbid him to marry,
and expose him to risks and discomforts to which no walk in
civil life affords any parallel. It cannot be said that this bar-
gain is to us a hard one. Nai/, w it not evident that relatively
to the present enhanced price, even of unskilled civil labour,
it is a most advantageous one for the employer ?^^

Extract from " Our Military Forces and Reserves, ^^
hy Major Millar Bannatyne, p. 10.

Emigration from the Scotch Highlands. (^See supra, p. 21.^
The following conclusions arrived at by the Duke of Argyll
and Sir John McNeill with respect to the Emigration from the
Highlands of Scotland, are very apposite to the topics con-
sidered in the foregoing chapter : —

" I will now shortly restate to the Society the facts and con-
clusions which can, I think, be satisfactorily established in
regard to the past and present economic condition of the
Highlands : —

1. That before the end of the last of the civil wars, the con-
dition of tlie population was one of extreme poverty and fre-
quent destitution.

2. That on the close of those wars, and the establishmeut of
a settled Grovernment, there wa**, during half a century, a rapid
increase of population.

40

3. That this iiicivatic was out of all proportion to the means
of subsistence.

4. That the introduction of potato cultivation increased the
evil of a rapid increase in pojnilation, without any correspond-
ing increase in skill or industry.

5. That the emiijration of the Highlanders arose as a neces-
sity out of this condition of things, and was in itself the first
step towi'rds improvement.

(i. That the introduction of sheep forming was a pure gain,
not tending to dinn"nish the area of tillage where tillage is
desirable, and turning to use for the first time a large part of
the whole area of the country, which was formerly absolute
waste.

7. Tliat for the old bad cultivation of small crofters there
has been substituted for the most part a middle class of tenantry,
thriving, holding under lease, and exhibiting all the conditions
of agricultural prosperity.

8. That the displacement of population by the introduction
of great capitalists lidding farms of very large value, has not
taken place in the Ilighlnnd counties to an extent nearly equal
to that in which it has taken place in some of the richest
counties of Scotland.

9. That the process which has been going on in the Highland
counties, of a diminution in tlie population of the rural dis-
tricts, is the same process which has long ago been accom-
plished in the other counties of Scotland and in England.

10. That in their case it was also deplored under the same
economic fallacies— fallacies which are now applied only to the
Highlands because the process is not yet completed.

11. That the proxj^erity of the Highlands will only be com-
plete when the process shall have been completed also.

12. That no part of Scotland, considering the late period at
which improvement begiin, has advanced so rapidly, or given
within an equal space of time, so large and so solid an addition
to the general wealth of the country."

Extract from the Duke of Ar(/ylcs Pampldet on the Condition
of the Hir/hlonds of Scotland, p. 534.

" Any one acquainted with the county of Argyll will at once
perceive that this progressive diminution in the proportion of
paupers to population corresponds closely with the diminution
in the proportion of the population depending for subsistence
on the produce of small crofts, and that the proportion of
paupers increases as we recede from the districts in which the
old crofting system has been superseded, and the system of the
more advanced parts of the country has been established."

Extract from Mem., h,/ Sir John McNeill, K.C.B.,
l^reaidenf of the Foor Law Board in Scotland,

41

Note as to the Reduction in the number of Persons of different
Religions and Races in Ireland, from 1834 till J 8(31.
{Seep. 33).

A religious ceusiis of Ireland was taken in 1834 by the
Commissioners of Public Instruction, and, when compared
with the rehgious census of 1861, it exhibits a very great
reduction in the population of Ireland.
Population of all Ireland.
In 1S31 . . . 7,954,100
In 1861 . . . 5,798,967

This shows a decrease of 2,155,133, or of 27 per cent.
The greatest part of this total reduction took place
amongst Roman Catholics, who may be taken to represent
the Celtic element of the Irish population.
Roman Catholics in Ireland.
In 1834 . . . 6,430,060
In 1801 . . . 4,505,165

Decrease . 1,930,795
The members of the Established Church — the element
mainly of English orig"in — were :

In 1834 . . . 853,100
In 1861 . . . 693,357

Showing a decrease of 159,803, or about 19 per cent.
The Presbyterians — the element chiefly of Lowland
Scotch extraction — were : —

la 1834 . . . 013,058
Iul861 . . . 523,291

Showing a reduction of 119,797, or about 19 per cent.

It has been supposed from tliese figures that there has been
something unfair in the way in which tlie Celtic population
has been dealt with.

But if we take the largest Presbyterian agricultural poj)ula-
tion, that of the diocese of Derry (which includes the greater
part of the county ot" Londontlerry, the barony of Innisliowcn,
and a few parislies in Donegal, three baronies and two j)ari.shcs
in Tyrone, and one parish in Antrim), we get the following
result : —

rrcsbytcriaiis in Diocese of Dcrry.

In 1834 118,339

In 18G1 . . . . . 79,287

Decrease . .'i9,052, or nt the rato
of about 33 per cent.

42

Aj»ain, if we take the agricultural population belonging to
the Established Church in the south of Ireland, in the diocese
of Ferns (which includes the whole country of Wexford except
three parishcn, part of Wicklow, and one parish in Carlow),we
get the following result : —

Members of the Established Church
in the Diocese of Ferns.

In 1834 .... 24,672
In 1861 . . . . 14,383

Showing a decrease in 1861, 10,289, or 42 per cent.

If we take the Roman Catholic population in the diocese of
Tuain, the largest diocese in Connaught (which includes a large
part of Galway, part of Mayo, and one parish in Koscommon),
we get: —

Roman Catholics in Diocese of Tuani.

In 1831 .... 467,870
In 1861 .... 302,367

Showing a decrease of 165,603, or 35 per cent.
In the same way, if we take the Roman Catholics in the
diocese of Ardfert and Aghador (which includes all Kerry
except two parishes, and part of Cork), we get: —

Roman Catholics in Aidfert (Kerrv).
In 1834 .... 227,131
In 1861 .... 215,028

Showing a decrease of 82,103, or at the rate of 28 per cent.

It appears, therefore, that there has been about the same
decrease of agricultural population from 1834 to 1861, in
Derry, in AVexford, in Galway, and in Kerry ; the same among
the original Celts,. the Scotch settlers, and the English settlers;
the same in the diocese which includes the estates of the
London Companies; the Protestant landlords of Wexford, the
county of Kerry, with its large resident proprietors, many of
them Roman Catholics, and in Galway.

The Presbyterian and Protestant emigration commenced
earlier, and took place to a large extent before the famine,
because they were then better educated than the Roman
Catholics. When a generation of Roman Catholics grew up,
who had been educated in the National Schools, commenced in
1830, they followed the example of the Presbyterians and the
members of the Established Church. The famine accelerated
this movement, but it would have taken place before the present
time if the famine had never occurred.

W. N. Hancock, LL.D.

43

Reclamation of Waste Land in Ibeland.

As to the Cultivation of Waste Land in Ireland, and its effect
on Emigration. {See supra, p. 27.)
In 1841 the land of Ireland was thus distributed : —
Arable . . . 13,464,000
Plantations . . 874,482

Water . . . 630,825

Uncultivated . . 6,295,735
The 6,295,735 acres of uncultivated land were frequently
deferred to in the evidence before the Land Occupation Com-
missioners, and in their report.

In consequence of the extensive drainnge works carried on
to give relief at the time of the famine, and in consequence of
the number of mountain and bog roads, made at that time
under the public works and under private proprietors for the
purpose of giving employment, a great deal of land was brought
within the limits of profitable cultivation between 1841 and
1851. It was accordingly reported by the Census Commis-
sioners in 1851, that the arable land of Ireland had increased
from 13,464,300 acres in 1841, to 14,802,581 in 1851, showing
an increase of 1,338,281 acres. The waste land had diminished
from 6,295,735 acres in 1841, to 5,023,984 acres in 1851, show-
ing a decrease of 1,271,751 acres. There was also a diminution
of about 70,000 acres of plantation, converted into arable land.
8ir Richard Griflath reported in 1844, that 1,425,000 acres
were improvable for cultivation, and 2,330,000 were improvable
for pasture, making a total of 3,755,000 acres improvable.

As the drainage and making of roads consequent on the
famine were all executed after 1844, it follows that the greater
part of the 1,271,751 acres reclaimed between 1841 and 1851,
were reclaimed between 1844 and 1851, and yet this period of
the most rapid reclamation of waste land in Ireland that pro-
bably ever took place, was followed by the largest emigration,
showing how little the improvement of waste laud in Ireland,
the greater part of which, according to Sir Richard Grilfitli, ia
improvable only for pasture, (and which when improved has in
fact been principally devoted to pastnre) can be relied on as aji
important means of checking emigration, when it arises from
comparatively low wages and inadequate means of living in
Ireland.

Since 1851 the reclamation of waste land seems to have gone

44

on at a slower rate ; the best and most jirofitahle land having
been first cultivated, and the inferior soils being exposed by
facility of intercourse and free trade to an increased compe-
tition with foreign soils.

From 1851 to 18G2 the waste landw have been ascertained by
the Eegistrar- General, and appears to have been reduced from
5,209,492 acres in 1851, to 4,507.733 in 1862, showing a
decrease of 701,759 acres in waste since 1851.

If these be added to the 1,271,751 acres reclaimed between
1841 and 1851 (and mostly since 1844), it follows that of the
3,755,000 acres reported by Sir R. Griffith, to have been im-
provable at the commencement of 1845, almost 1,973,510 acres,
or more than one-half have been reclaimed since 1844.

Thus, instead of the 3,755,000 acres, reported by Sir 11.
Griffith improvable in 1844, there would appear to be a little
less than half that quantity (and that, of course, the most
unprofitable half) now available for improvement.

As an increase of pasturage in Ireland, as well as an alleged
neglect of cultivating improvable waste land, is often urged a?
a cause of the emigration, it is important to notice that the
true explanation of pasture having increased so largely in
Ireland, without any material diminution of the land under
tillage, is to be found in the fact that nearly 2,000,000 acres
have, as before shown, been reclaimed at that time.

W. N. Hancock, LL.D.

The JEmancipation of the Dorsetshire Labourer.

. In connection with the subject of Irish emigration it may
not be out of place to consider an incident which has lately
met with a good deal of attention from those who interest
themselves in the condition of the Dorsetshire labourer.

I give it as described in the " Times'* of April 2ud, 1867.

" Distressed at their unsatisfactory condition, Mr. Girdlestone
saw that their wages could only be improved by the force of com-
petition. So he announced in our columns his willingness
to act as a sort of agent for introducing the labourers of his dis-
trict to masters elsewhere who would give them more liberal pay.
He at once received numerous applications from Lancashire,
Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Kent, and even from Ireland, and the
result has been that within six months he has sent out of his
parish and neighbourhood as many as fifty labourers, of whom
only one has as yet returned, of these sixteen are married men

45

with families, and the reinaiuder single men. The married
men, instead of Ts. a week, are in no case earning less than
123. a week, in addition to a house and garden. lu fact, they
have doubled their wages. Nor is this the moat important
result. Of course, the rate of wages about Halberton has
risen at the least by Is., and in some places by 23. a week.
The process, having been once thus started, must, of course, go
further. Those who have migrated will continue to send back
accounts of their prosperity ; and if the farmers want to keep
the young men of Halberton in their service, they will have to
pay them as high wages as they can gain elsewhere." — Times,
April 2, 1867.

" Of course, this is not in all respects an agreeable task to
undertake. The farmers in such neighbourhoods as these are
not the most enlightened of their class, and will scarcely appre-
ciate a change of which the only effect immediately visible is
that they are compelled to pay higher wages to all their
labourers." — lb.

" But we haA'e no doubt that, in time, even the farmers them-
selves will come to acknowledge that Mr. Grirdlestone is doing
them the greatest possible service. No one will benefit more
than they from an improvement in the condition of their
labourers. We believe that, in many cases, they wnll even pay
less. What the farmer has hitherto refused to pay in wages
he has had to pay in rates, and the poor-rate w^ill assuredly bo
diminished as the rate of wages increases. In one way or
another, a labourer and his family must receive enough to live
upon. A half-starving man has neither the will nor the power
to work, and there can be no doubt that the proverbial sleepiness
and sloth of agricultural work are in a great degree due to sheer
lack of vital force. If the farmer has to double the labourer's
wages, he may be sure that he will double the work which he
gets out of him. In some cases we dare say almost everything
else on the farm has been improved by intercourse with other
districts. The labourer may be improved in the same way, and
with equally beneficial results, not oidy to himself, but to
every one concerned." — lb.

Now, what more has Mr. Girdlestone done than to stimulate
the very process which is now taking place of its own accord in
Ireland ?

Instead of deploring the desire of the Irish farmer's son
" to go forth and seek his fortune," we ought to rejoice at the
exhibition of so much cnterprize. One of the inost ])erniciou3
weaknet^ses of the Irish character was an unwilliiigucss to
allow the junior members of the family to leave home. " Sub-
letting exists from a mistaken wish to keep the family together
until they are too old to go to a trade." — J)i(j. Dvi\ Com. p. VMi.
This evidence is repeated up and down tlie whole volume.

4^

CHAPTER II.

In my previous observations I confined myself
to the general question as to whether or not, in her
present circumstances, and making due allowance
for the individual suffering incident to all periods
of transition, emigration had been a calamity or a
blessing to Ireland ; and I endeavoured to show,
not only that emigi*ation had on the whole been pro-
ductive of advantage to both classes affected by it
— viz., those who went and those who stayed at
home— but that, whether beneficial or otherwise to
the empire at large, it was a necessity of our own
immediate situation.

I now propose to examine the specific charge
directed against the landed proprietors of Ireland
— viz., that the legalized injustice of their proceed-
ings has been the principal and active occasion of
emigration.

Many eminent persons say that such is the case,
"llie landlords are the cause of the emigration,"
is the naked and unqualified statement which has
been put forward in Parliament. " More than a
million persons have fallen victims to their injus-
tice," is a common assertion, and various instances
of wholesale evictions are referred to in illustration

41

of the statement. Now, what these gentlemen sav
I am sm-e they believe^ and the vehemence of the
commentary which accompanies their statements is
only natural to men of a generous and patriotic
temper ; but accusations involving a large class of
our fellow-countrymen in so hateful a responsibi-
lity cannot be lightly accepted, and I therefore
propose to examine their validity by such tests as
can be conveniently introduced into a hasty con-
troversy like the present.

Indeed, if we believe so much, there is a great
deal more we must believe. AYe must believe
that all those general incentives to emigration
which I have already enumerated, and which have
told with such effect upon England, upon Scot-
land, and upon Germany, have had no influence
in Ireland, although the peculiar circumstances
of Ireland were so well calculated to intensify
their operation. We must believe that the emi-
gration from Ireland has been entirely confined
to the rural population of the country, and con-
fined not only to the rural population, but to
less than one-half of the rural population — viz.,
the occupiers of land. We must believe that
the wages of labour have doubled in 15 years
— not in consequence of the emigration of the farm-
servant as distinguished from the tenant-farmer,
but from some other cause which has vet to be ex-
plained ; and, finally, we must believe that the in-
dividuals of that class to which alone it is alleged

48

enumeration has been confined — viz., the occupiers
of hnid — liave one and all vacated their mud
cabins and strips of blighted potato ground, not
because they found they could no longer feed their
pig or gi'ow oats with advantage on an acre of
land, — not because they heard that wages were 4s a
day in New York* and that farms could be got
for nothing in the "Western States, — not because
their friends besought them to cross the Atlantic,
and sent millions of money to pay their passage, —
but solely and entirely in consequence of their
havino' been driven from their homes bv the wanton
cruelty of their landlords and the injustice of Par-
liament,— a series of assumptions incompatible with
ascertained facts.

Before, however, addressing myself to the details
of the question opened up by the foregoing consi-

* Faem wages in tue United States — The February-
official report on agriculture contains an elaborate compilation
of the statistics of the wages of farm labour throughout the
country. An average rate of wages for white labour, without
■board is made $28 (=£5. 16* 8^) per month; $15. 50c (=
£3. 4« 7d) per month with board. The average rate of freed-
meu's labour is $16 ; (-=£3. Gs Sd) ; with board furnished,
$9. 75c. (=£2. Os l\d). The highest rate for States is in
California, which is about $15. {=£d. 7s 6d). Massachusetts
pays the next highest, $38. (=£7. ISs 4d). The average rate
for the Eastern States is $33. 30c. (-=£6. 18s 9d) : in the
middle States $30. 7c. {^£(j. 5s Sid) -. in the Western States,
$28. 90c. (=£6. Os 5J) ; in the Southern States for freedmen,
$16. (=£3. Gs 8(7). The increase in the price of labour since
1800, is about 50 per cent. ; since 1835, upon Carey's estiinate
70 per cent. '. -

49^

derations, there is one important misconception
ag-ainst which I wish to guard myself. In con-
ducting this inquiry, 1 have no intention of discuss-
ing whether the landlords of Ireland, as a class,
are good men or bad men, kind or cruel. In all
probability they are as selfish, as interested, and as
unscrupulous as any other collection of human
beings possessing the same amount of education
and intelligence. But the supposed moral attri-
butes of a particular class, or trade, or profession
cannot come within the cognizance of the politician.
His only safe rule w^ill be to take it for granted that
every class, and every individual in every class,
will pursue his own advantage with unflinching
pertinacity ; and, having meted out as justly as the
clumsiness of human legislation may admit, the
bomidaries which are to circumscribe the respec-
tive rights of each, he must be content to accept
as economically legitimate whatever does not over-
pass them. In all ages there have been unrelent-
ing creditors who have insisted on their pound of
flesh, but would it not be unreasonable on that
account to stigmatize the recovery of debt as injus-
tice ? Unhappily, legal obligations can seldom be
rendered co-extensive Avith moral rcsponsil:)ilitics,
and an attempt to correct an exceptional hardship
in one direction, too frequently leads to the inflic-
tion of greater injuries in another.

Still less do I propose to notice any particular
accusations of cruelty or injustice which may

K

50

l)c jilloLfod ii*;aiii>;t incliviclual proprietors* In
the lirst pliiee, they are necessarily derived from
ex parte statements, and their merits cannot be
readllv investigated;* and, in the next, their

* It is uot often, tliat an opportunity occurs of subjecting
tliese charges to tlie test of an impartial inquii-y, but whenever
lui investigation is set on foot they hardly sustain strict scru-
tinv, a fiict especially recorded in the summary of the evi-
dence taken before the Devon Commission.

" J\J any of the witnesses appeared to be impressed wuth the
idea that the power of ejectment is frequently used by land-
lords from caprice to strengthen their political J^arty, or to
persecute their religious opponents ; and some cases were
brought before the commission as instances of that power
having been so used. Sut vpon investigation of these cases few
of them appear to justify such imputations. In general either
the allegations tcere altogether xinfounded , or mainly based upon
hear-say — or it appeared that the ejectment was hroiight in con-
sequence of the tenant having incurred a heavy arrear of rent,
and being unwilling, or unabje, to discharge it. In many estates,
a small sum of money was given to those who resigned their
land ; and the extent to which the increased holdings wei'e
brought, was generally but .small, barely sufficient for those
who remained."

" There is no question that the condition of the property, as
well as of the occupiers, in most of these cases, required a
change, as their previous state was for the most part very
miserable." — Digest Devon Commission, Summary, p. 830.

And again :

" There were frequent charges made against agents of oppres-
sive conduct, which in general icheii investigated, appeared
merely to have consisted in compelling the payment of an
arrear of rent, or preventing a ruinous subdivision of the farms."
Digest Devon Commission, Summary, p. 1027-

Evidence of Christopher Galwey, Esq., agent to Lord
Kenmare.

" My reply to the statement made by Mr. Barry as to the dis-

51

assistance in guldino- us to an opinion on ques-
tions involving such an enormous range of obser-
vation must obviously be infinitesimal. Two of
the very instances adduced during a recent debate
in Parliament, prove the truth of this observation.
For the first is the case of a landlord Avho turns
his tenants out at midnight in winter, without pre-
vious notice, and the other tells us of a would-be
purchaser of an Irish estate who Avas only prevented
from evicting a number of cottiers by being himself
lianged for murder before he had concluded his
bargain. Now, as by law every tenant must re-
ceive at the least eio-ht or nine months' notice
before he can be forced to surrender possession of
his holding, the first case proves nothing against
the laws reo-ulatino; the relation of landlord and
tenant, while in the second story the hero, not
having been an Irish proprietor at all, can scarcely

possession of tenants on the Earl of Kenmare's estates, in the
village of Hospital, in the county of Limerick, is as follows: —
In the year 18iO the lease of a small farm, comprising twenty-
three acres, borderiug on the village of Hospital, expired. A
number of very poor people, inhabiting the most miserable des-
cription of hovels, resided on the skirts of the land ; their hovels
formed one side of the vill.ige of Hospital. I purchased, on
the part of the Earl of Kenmare, these holdings from these
poor people, at a valuation ; and though I cannot now state
the precise .sum paidtoeaeli, the sum total distribiilcd amongst
them was £400. They were all perfectly satisfied, and (|iiii tly
gave up possession. I moreover offered to each of them a i'vrc
passage to America, witli provisions during tlic voyage, an (iH'cr
which they all refused to accept."

Jjigest Devon Cominhsion, p. IGG.

E 2

52

be paraded as a type of the class. Tliat many
acts of harshness and cruelty have been per-
petrated in Ireland, more particularly during the
time of the famine, I have no doubt. But, it is to
be remembered that the famine year was an excep-
tional period ; a sudden storm had broken out of a
clear sky ; the ship lay a wreck on her beam-ends.
It was such a scene as reveals the mingled base-
ness and heroism of human nature, and doubtless,
in the extremity of peril which threatened the
landlords, their wives, and their children, many a
man enforced his legal rights with distressing
severity. That this was not the general practice
is clearly stated by Judge Longfield in his evi-
dence before Mr. Maguire's committee.

In answer to a question as to whether or not
a bad feeling had arisen from many proprietors
in different parts of Ireland having taken steps,
at the time of the famine, to consolidate their
fanns, he replies, " I do not think that had much
to do with it ; the tenants were voluntarily giving
up their lands in great quantities then;" and a
little further on he states that " cases of forcible
eviction for the proposed consolidation were very
few."* Now Judge Longfield's testimony on such

* The same opinion was educed by the Devon Commission.

" Much evidence of a most contradictory character was
given upon the consolidation of small farms into large. Many
statements were made of cases in which sucli consolidation had
been effected ; but these statements were, in general, met by

53

a point is conclusive. He was the first and
most important witness 'summoned before 'My.
Magulre's committee. His professional position,
his experience, the peculiar nature of his duties,
his well-known calmness and impartiality, and
above all his manifest sympathy with the cause of
the tenant, invest his evidence on matters of fact
with an authority that cannot be gainsaid. And it
stands to reason that matters should have fallen out
as Judge Long-field has described. What induce-
ments had the poor people to stay? Their staff of
life had withered in their hands and could not be
replaced. A plough could hardly have turned in

counter statements, denying tlie genera,! trutli of the accusa-
tion, or alleging great exaggeration in it. It seems to be hardly
the province of a digest, such as this, to enter into the question
of the veracity of the witnesses in each particular instance of
alleged oppressive consolidation, as these instances only
affected the characters of particular individuals, and not the
general question as relating to the country at Lirge. It may
sufifice, that it appears that, in some cases, tenants have been
ejected for the purpose of consolidating farms ; but that there
urc few e-statcs upon which evictions for this purpose have oc-
curred, though on some of those few estates many tenants
have been ejected.

" It appears, too, tliat in general, ivhere such evictions have oc-
curred, the ejected tenants owed considerable arrears of rent,
which, in most cases, loere remitted, and that some allowance in
money or value was made to them. The fai'ms, too, from which
they were removed, seem to have usually been below the mini-
mum size capable of affording a maintenance or profitable and
constant employment to an average family."

Diycal Dcoon Commioniun, Sitmmanj, p. 451.

54

tlifir i)otato gardens,* tlicy had neither seed, nor
horses, nor even food, to cany them through the
winter. No difference of teni\re woukl have saved
thoni. Had they owned the fee, it woukl have
been all the same.f Their only chance of life Avas
to get away — some to the poor-house,:|: others to
Amcrica,§ As for the landlord, his position was
every whit as had. It was not a question of rent,

* "The effects of sub-divisijii are very bad; first the land is
cut into such small patches that a plough and horses in many
cases will hardly turn in the field." — Dig. Devon Commission, p.
420. Evidence of John Iloncock, Esq., (an Ulster Agent).

f " To grant to the occupiers the fee of their holdings, freed
from every rent and tax, would not cure our vital distemper.
This is undeniable, when we find that the day labouring popu-
lation in many districts, are almost wholly without employment,
and that the entire produce of the holdings of nearly one-half
of the occupiers of land throughout Ireland would be inade-
quate to the proper sustenance of the families residing upon
them, supposing that no charge for rent or taxes existed."

Dig. Dev. Com. Summary, p. 757.

X As many aa 3,000,000 persons w^ere at one time in receipt
of public relief.

§ The poverty stricken co:idItion of the small tenantry of
Ireland at this period cannot be depicted in truer or more
graphic terms than those adopted by Mr. Fishbourne, himself a
tenant farmer.

" The small tenantry are generally without any capital,
except what is barely sufficient to get in the crop and keep a
cow. Many of them are in a deplorable condition, being over-
whehiied with debts to loan funds, usurers, and mealmen, owing
to the damage to their potatoes for the last three years. In
several instances their stock and furniture have been sold,
under warrants from loan banks, Ac ; that I know of my own
knowledge."— Z>/yc'6-/! Devon Commission, p. 199, evidence of Jos.
Fishbuurnc, Fanner.

55

but of existence. His lands lay around liim a
poisonous waste of vegetable decay, while 25.'?. in
the pound of poor-rate was daily eating up the fee-
simple of his estate.* ^Self-interest, duty, common
sense, all dictated the same course, — the enlarge-
ment of botmdaries, the redistribution of farms, and
the introduction of a scientific agriculture, at av hat-
ever cost of sentiment or of individual sufferiug."]"
Even so, the struggle too frequently proved unsuc-
cessful, and the subsequent obliteration of nearly
an entire third of the landlords of Ireland, while it
associates them so conspicuously with the misfor-
tunes of their tenants, may be accepted in atone-
ment of whatever share they may have had in
conniving at those remoter causes which aggra-
vated the general calamity.

* One landlord alone spent £13,000 in assisting those who
had flocked into the poor-house to emigrate. — See Atiswers to
Queries, p. 21)2.

t The difllculties arising out of this situation of aflairs is
admirably described in the summary prefixed to the digi^st
of the Evidence given before the Devon Commission.— *S'ee
Appendix, p. 145.

That as a general rule the incvilabh' changes were eirectcd
in a humane manner is sufiiciently exempUHcd in the subjoiiK(l
evidence, taken at random from a mass of similar statements.

Andreiv Durham, Esq., Land Proprietor.
" Has there been any considerable consolidation of farma
in your neighbourhood ? — The tendency to consolithitc is in-
creasing, and encouraged by most landlords. It is generally
effected by purchase, and not attended by agrarian disturb-
ances. The consequences are greater productivenesa. more
tilhtge, and increased emplffviiiciit df agricultural labour. Rents
are paid iu the same proportion. "-- Dirj. JJcv. Com. p. 150.

5G

On tuniing' to the statistics wliicli bear upon tins
question, the argument I have thus roughly sketched

Mr. John McCorten, Linen Ilanufacturer, Bleacher and Land

Affcnf.

" Have you known many instances of ejectment without
compcusation, in order to effect such a consolidation ? — No, I
do not think it is ever done. It would he looked upon as a
very tyrannical measure ; and consolidation is very rarely at-
tempted, unless where it can be done Avithout injury to any
party."

" What becomes generally of the out-going tenants in
such cases ; do they emigrate, or do they locate themselves
elsewhere ? — Some emigrate, and others locate themselves
ehsewhere. In some ca.ses they become labourers, or go to
Bome other employment." — Ibid. p. 417.

Lieutenant- General Sir Bichard Bourhe, Bart., Land
Proprietor and 3Iagistrate.

" Has there been any consolidation of farms in the dis-
trict with which you are acquainted? — Very considerable
within these twenty-five years. I should say, in general, that
the consolidation has been advantageous to the property and
to the occupier left upon the land, as he has been placed in a
more comfortable position ; and in the cases of those who have
been removed, where the removal has been managed with hu-
manity and discretion, I am not aware that they have been the
sufferers. I have myself removed persons whom I have sent
to New South Wales, and I am sure they are much better off
thau they were in Ireland. I began very early. Some farms
of mine came out of lease between 1818 and 1827 ; aud in
many, where there was a population which I thought it not to
the advantage of the landlord or the occupier to remain upon
the land, I had to remove a great many of those, and I hope I
removed them without auy great hardship or oppression ; aud
their farms have been since in a very good condition, with only
one tenant upon each farm.

" To what size did you raise the farms?— From twenty to
thirty acres in some cases ; in other cases, from fifty to sixty.

'57

'will be enforced in a still more striking manner.
If it is true, as is asserted, that the emigTation has

" Have you found that those farms have been subdivided ?
—No ; I have looked very close after them to prevent it, but it
requires a great deal of supervision on the pai't of the landlord
and agent.

" You assisted them to emigrate ? — Tes ; and in other
cases, where there were mountains attached to the farms, I
gave them a part of the mountain, and they have been acting
since as labourers to farmers on the estate. In other cases,
I gave them sums of money to go away ; but in no case did
I ever turn a man out with harshness.

" What systeni did j'ou adopt with respect to those who
emigrated?— I paid their passage, and gave them a small sum
of money in hand, and gave them a recommendation to some
friend there. That has been done since I came home from
Australia — since the year 1838.

" Has the course adopted by you been the course generally
followed out in the district ? — I believe, in many cases, it may
have been adopted, and in others it may not. Hence arose
the complaints." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 4G5.

James Galioey, JUsq., Land Agent.

" "Wlien I became agent to one of the properties, there was a
good number of i:)eople put out at a particular place, where it
was necessary they should be got rid of. Theg had not paid
rent for years, and they got £3, and some of them £4 or ^'5,
up to £7, and they went away.'' — Ibid. p. 4G0,

" I have always given them a year's notice. I have said, ' I
will not give you notice to quit, but the next year you must go.'
It has been because they have been comi)lained of as bad charac-
ters. The last year I was obliged to put out five tenants of Lord
Cremorne's — two were bad characters, and the other tlu-ee were
put out because they were complained of by the rest of the
tenants, who were respectable. I told them they must go, and I
gave j6'8 to each of the five families to enable them to cmigrato,
and they went away quietly, and gave up without ajiy ti-ouble."

Uig. Dcv. Com. p. 4G7.

been liilncipally confined to a class which culti-
vates tlie soil— the only class, in fact, which can

liobcrt O'liricn, Esq., Agent, Tenant, and Land Proprietor.

" lias tlio coiisol illation of farms taken place ; to what
extent has it been carried ; with what objects and by what
moans has it been accomplished, and with what consequences ?
— The system of consolidation is not carried on to any great
extent in this district, and indeed bears no relative proportion
to the subdivision of land, which is going on in spite of every
cflbrt of the landlords. However, here and there may be cases
of clearing, and the desire to effect it exists, no doubt, in the
minds of many who are deterred by unwillingness to enter into
such a contest ; others by humanity, knowing the wretched con-
dition that the people so turned out would be in. The desire
to effect it arises from the neglected state of the houses and
land of such tenants ; the frequent failure of their means to
pay the rent, from bad tilling ; the irregularity of their deal-
ings and carelessness in fulfilling their engagements ; the fie-
quent disputes with landlords for cutting timber, burning land,
wasting or selling turbary, dividing land amongst their families,
letting strangers build cabins on their farms. The operation
of the law, as it stands at present, frequently leads to a land-
lord turning out tenants, from whom, in the first instance, he
would have been satisfied to recover his rent, which proceeds
from the necessity of bringing an ejectment on the title where
tenants-at-will iire in arrear of rent, a course attended with
considerable delay, and the tenant so evicted has no right to
redeem." — Dig- Dev. Com. p. 466.

Captain Thomas Bolton, Land Agent to Lord Stanley.

'* AVhat is the more general size of the farms ? — Under
twenty acres decidedly.

" Have you had the management of the estate for any length
of time ? —Since the year 1832.

" In that time have you had occasion to make much altera-
tion in the holdings?— I have altered iu some cases the size oi'
the farms, and iu some cases I have i*emoved tenants in order
to do so.

59

be directly affected by the tyranny and injustice of
the landed proprietor — it must necessarily follow

"Have you had occasion to remove mauy teuauts ? — Tes,
■when I first came ; from one pro])erty.

" What chxss were they ? — The very small pauperized class
of tenantry living near the bog, in the county of Limerick.
They were removed, and the land set in large holdings.

" What system did you pursue in removing these people ?
^I distrained them. They were very badly off, and in a
miserable state ; their mode of living was by stealing turf and
selling it in Tipperar}'. They nominally had paid rent for the
land, but they were greatly in arrear, and I gave them money
to emigrate, and they went to America without any trouble.
I'rom about eighty acres of land there were 290 men, women,
and children sent away.

" Were those proceedings carried ou without any dis-
turbance ? — Tes, it excited no ill-will.

" Have the tenants you put in the farms continued there till
this time ? — Yes, they are there now.

" Can you recollect the largest size of the holdings of any
of those you removed ? — I should think in one case as far as
eight or nine acres ; no holding was over tea, and many of
them two, or three, or one." — Dig. Dev. Com. jp. 4G7.

William Hamilton, jE'a'^'., Land Acjent.

" W^hcn landlords have removed excessive population, ilicy
have generally offered tlie alternative of emigration on very
favourable terms. This has been sometimes accepted, but more
generally refused. Compensation is then given, eitlier by
}uoncy or free occupation for a certain time, or both, the
tenant carrying away crops, materials of houses, &c. AVhere
the arrangements arc made with firnuiess, but at the same time
judiciously and liumanely, the majority of the persons allccted
acquiesce in their necessity, and are often benefited by them."

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 4G7.

Rev. liohert Sargeaiif, Land Agent.
"Was it ufiual in general to make an allowance (o assist

no

tliat the number of emigrants must bear a very
close proportion to the number of persons who

tliem in providing for themselves? — Undoubtedly, it wa3
always. I never knew an instance in which they were not
allowed somctliiug, cither by arrears of rent or in some other
mode." — Big. l)ev. Com. p. 469.

E. L. Swan, Esq., Agent to Lord De Vesci.

" Has there been any consolidation of farms upon the pro-
perty with which you are connected? — Yes, and subletting
in some instances has been carried on to a ruinous extent, con-
trary to his lordship's wishes, by tenants holding under old
leases, who, taking advantage of the well-known benevolence
of his lordship, and the consequent high value set upon being
found on the land at the expiration of the lease, have realized
large profit rents by subdividing their farms ; to prevent
which, when a case of the kind comes to my knowledge, I cause
the intruder to be noticed, that he will have no claim on his
lordship at the fall of the lease ; and. to consolidate such farms,
his lordship either sends the occupier to America, or provides
him with the meansof procuring another residence."

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 469.

William Hamilton, Esq., Land Agent.
" It Is a change, however, to be made with much care and
tenderness, and with every possible attention to the feelings
of the persons to be removed, but which, when accomplished,
is attended with beneficial effects, upon production, employ-
ment of labour, and security of rent." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 470.

Bohert D'Arcy, Esq., Land Agent to the Marquess of
Clanricarde.

" "When those farms in partnership fall out of lease, we
send the surveyor, Mr. Cooper, whom we pay by the year for
•regulating Lord Clanricarde's estate, he surveys the land, and
we find there is generally double or treble the people upon the
townland than can live upon it ; and the direction he has got
is, to lay it out in fifteen or twenty acres ; and then the great

Gl

have been so rutlilessly dealt with. Now the re-
ductions of the holdings in Ireland between 1841

difficulty arises, when tliat is done, ' What is to be done with
the tenants ?' * * * " About a mile from the town there
were about twelve persons to be disposed of. I saw the im-
possibility of satisfying them, and I proposed that they should
cast lots for the land. They agreed to cast lots, upon condition
that each man going out was to get £20, his lordship paying
half, and the tenant who got the land paying the other. That
was settled, and they got their money, and a good many went
to America. * * * The whole of the expense of those
tenants for those two years was £551. 13s 3d.' "

Johi Duke, JEsq., M.D.
" Has the consolidation of farms been carried on to any
extent in this district ? * * * — There has been an anxiety, on
the part of the landlords, latterly to do so. They are doing it,
where they can do it peaceably, to the satisfaction of the out-
going tenant."

D. S. Kelly, Esq., Land Proprietor', Magistrate, and D.L.

" Has there been any consolidation of farms in the district?
I am doing it in every way I can. I am getting the tenants
wherever I can to buy adjoining land when it is vacant ; but if
you refer to consolidation by the ejectment of whole villages,
in order to make large farms, there is nothing of the sort ; but
where there is a beggarman, and he is inclined to go away, or
one man is inclined to buy of another, I have made both into
one holding, and have always assisted the party by lending him
money, and in every way I could."

" To what size have you thought it desirable to bring the
farms? — If I could I should not like to have any thing under
twenty acres ; but I am content with ten, and put up with
six." — Dirj. Dev. Com. p. 471.

Captain K. Lloyd, Land Proprietor, Agent, and Mayistrate.

" Has there been any consolidation of farms, and to what

C,2

luul the ])r('sc'nt date is, of course^ tlic mea.^ure of
the liinits witliin which tlic consolidation of farms

extent, in tlie district ?— Yes, it is very generally practised
now.

" To what extent, and with what objects ? — To introduce
a better class of tenantry, and also to benefit the proprietor
who finds, if he can increase tlie size of his farm, it benefits the
land.

" To what sized farms has it gone? — 1 think they vary
from fifteen to twenty acres and thirty acres — that seems to
be the favourite size, I think, for persons removed above the
mere peasant.

" Do you mean to say, in many instances, large numbers
of people have been dispossessed with a view to increasing the
size of farms? — No, by no means ; but I say that practice is
generally introduced, and is recognized throughout the country,
and where it can be done without oppression, it is generally
practised ; and the persons going out have been generally
assisted to go to America, or otherwise provide for themselves ;
it only anticipates the day when they must go — for it is mani-
fest that sooner or later they must go ; the longer you keep
them the worse is their condition." — Diff. Dev. Com. p. 472.

Zord George Hill, Land Proprietor.
" The estate was mapped and surveyed at very considerable
expense, and the farms remodelled, so that each tenant has his
land together in one place (with few exceptions), instead of
being as formerly in several detached places. This was eff'ected
with much difllculty, the people themselves having the greatest
antipathy to any change. In doing this, each man's case waa
attentively considered, so that no injury or loss was incurred
by any. In consequence of this new state of afi'airs the tenants
were obliged to shift their houses, which was easily accom-
plished, as the custom of the country is, on those occasions, to
hire a fiddler, who, taking up his position upon the intended
site, scrapes away whilst the neighbours are busy bringing
stones from all quarters, and Avhen a sufficient quantity has
been collected, the evening is finished by a dance." — Ih.p. 455.

63

lias been effected and evictions liave been possible.
But it so happens that the total number of holdings
in Ireland containing 15 acres and upwards has
increased enormously since 1841. In fact there
are now nearly twice as many small farmers —
using the term in what in England would be
thought its most modest acceptation — as there
were before the famine. This will, undoubtedly,
be considered an extraordinary statement, but it is,
nevertheless, the fact, that holdings of between 15
and 30 acres have increased by G 1,000, or 78 per
cent, within the last 20 years, and holdings above
30 acres by 109,000, or 224 per cent., during the
same period, while those between 5 and 15 acres
have decreased by less than half those amounts ;*

* TABLE showing the increase of Holdings in Ireland
between fifteen and thirty acres from 184-1 to 1861.

1841

18G1

Increase.

Leinster 3,538 being an increase of 17'1 percent.

Leinster.

Munster.

Ulster.

Connaught.

Ire 1 and.

20,688
24,226

27,611
26,805

25,219
57,660

5,824
32,500

79,342
141,251

3,538

— 800

32,441

26,730

61,909

Munster — 806

Ulster 32,441

Connaught 26,736

a decrease of 2 9

an increase of 128-6

4591

62,715—806
806

Ireland 61,909

78-

G4

tlie cnilirratlon, so far as it lias extended to the
occupying class at all, having been chiefly con-
fined to the poor people who attempted to get a
living out of bits of land ranging from half-an-
acre to five or six acres,* and whose destiny, no
custom, or law of tenant-right, however liberal,
could have materially affected.")" Ko doubt, the
diminution of the holdings in this last category
has been enormous, but even among these, as com-
pared with the area of land under tillage in Ireland,
the reduction has not been so startling as it might
have first appeared : the proportion amounting, in

TABLE showing the increase of Holdings in Ireland above
Thirty acres from 1841 to 1861.

1841

1861

Increase

Leinster 21,441,beiug an increaseof 119.5 percent.
Munster 39,168 „ 235-

Ulster 29,809 „ 308-7

Connaught 18,790 „ 4308

109,208 „ 224-6

* The reduction in the number of holdings between half an
acre and six acres, as compared with the reduction in the
number of holdings between six and fifteen acres, is as
314 + a; to 76 — ^.

t This is sufficiently established by the fact of something
like 100,000 holdings of this description having disappeared in
Ulster alone.

Leinster.

ISIunster.

Ulster.

Connaught.

Ireland.

17,943
39,384

16,665
55,833

9,655
39,464

4,362
23,152

48,635
157,833

21,441

39,168

29,799

18,800

109,208

65

the case of tenements under five acres, to one per
annum on every area of 400 acres ; and in the case
of holdings under 10 acres to one per annum on
every area of 1,G00 acres.* Of course, the process
has neither been so gradual nor so uniform as this
calculation would imply, the principal rush having
taken place immediately after the potato failure,
and from those districts most exposed to its effects ;
the devastation among the small tenements of Ulster
being as tremendous as in any other part of Ireland.
Allowing, however, for all subsidiary corrections,
it is very evident that so far from the landlords
being responsible for the entire emigration, they
held no relation, good or bad, with perhaps three-
fourths of those who went, even though you
counted as emigrants every man, woman, and child
that may have quitted — whether of their own free
will or on compulsion — the agricultural tenancies
that have been extinguished.^

* It is curious to contrast tlie view Mr. Mill seems to take
of the extinction of very small tenancies, with the language of
those who hold up the landlords of Ireland to obloquy for hav-
ing promoted within very moderate limits, and as a general
rule, by the most legitimate and humane means the very im-
provement he desiderates.

" The principal change in the situation consists in the great
diminution, holding out a hope of the entire extinction^ of
cottier tenure. The enormous decrease in the number of small
holdings, and increase in those of a medium size, attested by
the statistical returns, sufficiently proves the general fact, and
all testimonies show that the tendency still continues."

MilVs PoJil. Econonii/,2^. 413, Vol. J.

t It has been objected that iuasmuch as Ireland is an agri-

E*

66

lUit it is woll known that vast numbers of the
cottier tenantry, instead of emigTating, were con-
verted into labourers, and either found employ-
ment in the neighbourhood of their birthplace or
removed into adjoining towns,* or came over to
England,! while hundreds of others were placed in
possession of some of the 160,000 farms which, as
I have already stated, have been reconstructed
since the famine year ; ^ thereby reducing still

cultural country, tlie landlords are responsible for the condi-
tion of the whole population, whether immediately connected
with the land or not. Such a doctrine is scarcely reasonable ;
— the general condition of a people must depend upon their
industry, enterprise, intelligence, and forethought. Though a
landlord may do something to inculcate the foregoing qualities,
his best efforts too frequently produce disheartening results
even amongst those with whom be is immediately connected ;
but as I shall have occasion to show, tbe almost universal prac-
tice of granting leases for a long term of years, deprived most
of the landlords of all control over their tenantry ; it is unjust
therefore to hold them solely responsible for tbe unhealthy social
system which came to exist on their own estates : to credit
them with the misfortunes of the non-agricultural population
would be absurd.

* During the last twenty years the Catholic population of
Belfast, Derry, and the manufacturing towns of Ulster, has
increased nearly one-third. The influx, of coui'se, having pro-
ceeded from the southern and western parts of the island.

t Among a number of Irish navvies, working in London,
whom I have questioned, I never found one who had either
held land, or been forced to leave his country against his will.
Nearly all used the same expression in accounting for their
departure from home, " it was the potato failure drove us
away." All pretty nearly named Qd a-day as the rate of wages
they were receiving in their native place, and none now are
getting less than 4s a-day in England.

X For every two holdings which have disappeared from the

67

further tlie number of the Land-occupying class
who have taken part in emigration, and who pro-
bably with their families have never amounted to
one-fourth of the entire nmnber.*

This moderate share taken by the tenantry
in the emigration from Ireland has greatly de-
creased during the last ten or twelve years. Be-
tween 1853 and 1862 the number of farms in
the country actually increased under the alleged
cxteiTiiinating policy of the landlords, and if within
the last four years there has been a slight diminu-
tion, it is to be accounted for by the three succes-
sive wet seasons, which signalized the period
during which the decrease has taken place. Even
so it is probable that for the last twelve or thirteen

category of those below 5 acres or below 15 acres, a new cue
has been added to the class of farms of 15 acres and upwards.

* I am happy to find that exactly the same proportion as tliat
noted above has been arrived at by a writer in the Home and
l^'oreign Eeview, with whose calculations I was unacquainted
at the time 1 published my own conclusions.

" These figures seem to prove very clearly that the largest pro-
portion of those whose emigration can be oven indirectly traced
to their liaving, either voluntarihj or under compulsion, given U})
their land in Ireland is, roughly speaking, as one to four. But if
we leave statistics aside for the moment, and found our observa-
tions on the personal experience of those well acquainted with
the emigration movement, we shall find that the great majority
of emigrants who leave Ireland for America, or for the manu-
facturing districts of England or Scotland, consists of unmarried
men and women — the junior members of small farmers' aiul
cottierH' families, who are unable to find remunerative ein-
])loyment al homo, and set out to seek it in other countries.''

//. Sf F. Jirvirw, Ap. ISCI, /^ .TIH.

08

years no more than three or four per cent, of the total
number of emijn-ants have been holders of land.*

Siu'li a conclusion is, of com'se, quite contrary
to tlic popular belief, but it is, nevertheless, a fact
within tlic cognizance of every one who is ac-
quamted with the subject. Judge Longfield states
it over and over again. He is asked if he knows

* " Tlierc is oue point in connection with the emigration
movement which should be noticed, in order to dispel a very er-
roneous impression which the tone of certain journals has done
much to create, viz. that there is a feeling of despair amongst
the agricultural class in Ireland, and that the farmers have
given up, or are giving up, their land, to go to America.
Speaking from trustworthy information derived from various
parts of Ireland, we must deny this to be the case ; and we
very much doubt if in the whole of Ireland twenty instances
could be foimd where the tenant of either a large or a small
farm, who has paid his last half-year's rent and is able to pay
the next, has voluntarily resigned his land in order to emigrate.

" Statistics clearly show that, however the number of inhabi-
tants may have diminished in Ireland within the last seventeen
years, the agricultural population is still much in excess of the
agricultural population of either England or Scotland ;| and
bearing this in mind, we cannot avoid the painful conclusion
that, if the people of Irelaiid be destined to remain as exclu-
sively as now dependent on the land for their support, there is
no reasonable expectation of any rapid decrease, much less of
a cessation, of the emigration." J

Some and Foreign JRevieic, Ap. 1864, p. 344.

t Irish Emigration considered, by M. J. Barry, Esq., Barrister-at-Law,
pp. 9—11.

t The average annual preponderance of births over deaths in L-eland is
about 60,000 ; so that, in the absence of any other disturbing causes, a
yearly emigration to nearly that extent would not have the effect of making
the population less than it now is.

G9

that a gTeat deal of emigration from Ireland has
been gomg on. " Yes," he replies, " but I do not
think that the emigration is much caused by the
landlord and tenant question." Again he is asked
if good tenants have not been driven away from
the comitry by the supposed msecurity of the
tenure. He answers, " In some instances an active
man onay have been prevented from investing his
capital in Ireland on that account, but I do not
think that class form a large proportion of the
emigrants as yet," and a little further on he calcu-
lates the emigrants who belong to the tenant-
farmer class as amounting to about four out of
every 100 persons who quit Ireland, the great bulk
of the exodus being composed of small tradesmen,
artizans, and labourers.

Happily, the case admits of even closer proof.
In the denunciatory addresses to which I have
referred, the tenant of Ulster is justly indicated
as occupying an exceptionally good position^ and
many have declared they would be satisfied if
the tenantry of the south could obtain, under an
Act of Parliament, one-tenth of the security ac-
corded by custom to the tenantry of Ulster. If,
therefore, the oppression and legalized injustice
Avhich is supposed to desolate the homesteads of
the south, is absent from the north, it would be
natural to imagine tliat the extinction of tenancies
in Ulster would have been infinitesimal; but as a
matter of fact the havoc amongst the small farmers

F 2

09*

of IHster ilnrlng the first few years succeeding tlie
potato failure was as portentous as in any other pro-
vince in Ireland, for whereas in Leinster only 44,514^
in ]\Iunstcr 85,929, in Connaught 78,958 holdings
between one and fifteen acres disappeared, in
Ulster as many as 95,429 have been obliterated.*
If we restrict the comparison to holdings between
one and jive acres, Ulster's sinister pre-eminence
over Leinster and Munster is still maintained^
nearly twice as many holdings of this description
having been extinguished in Ulster as in Munster,
and almost three times as many as in Leinster, the
numbers being in Leinster 27,007, in Munster
44,956, in Ulster 74,650, and Connaught 81,786.

It has been urged that the foregoing figures
prove nothing, inasmuch as Ulster contains a farm-
ing population largely in excess of that of Munster
and Connaught, and nearly twice as numerous as
that of Leinster, and that we must ignore the fact
of nearly 100,000 small holdings having disap-
peared in Ulster, on the ground that they formed
a smaller percentage on the total number of farms
in that Province than did those which have suc-

* Eeduction of Holdings between 1 and 15 acres, from ISil
to 1861 :

1841.

1861.

Decrease.

Leinster

96,149

. 53,363

. 42,786

Munster

119,610

. 35,695

. 83,915

IJlstcr

201,820

. 110,511

. 91,309

Connaught .

145,656

. 69,831

. 75,825

For the particulars of the entire period from 1841 to 1865,
Bee Appendix.

70

cunibed to a similar fate in Minister, Leinster
and Comiauo-lit, to the total number of farms in
tkeir respective Provinces.

If tliis latter statement were correct, it would
not be a valid objection. Every one is aware
tliat the agriculture of the North has always been
in a sounder state than that of the South and West,*
and in a subsequent chapter I hope to account
for that circumstance. But as it happens even the
proportionate obhteration of the very small holdings
in Ulster, viz : of those between 1 and 5 acres has
been 19 per cent greater than what it was in Lein-
ster, within 41 per cent of what it was in Munster,
only 8 J per cent below what it was in Connaught,

* Thi'ougliout the whole of this discussion I have carefully
abstained from drawing any invidious distinction between the
people of the North and South of Ireland, nor do I now wish
to do more than hint at a consideration, which, in drawing a
comparison between Ulster and Munster, it would be as un-
desirable to omit altogether, as it would be to press unduly,
viz. : — that a more indefatigable spirit of continuous and per-
sistent industry seems to pervade the inhabitants of the North
that can, with perfect impartiality, be attributed to those of
the South. This circumstance, I imagine, will hardly be dis-
puted, though it may fairly be argued, that when controlled
and disciplined by necessity, the labourer of the South will
work perhaps harder and quite as willingly as any one in the
world.

What he seems to lack is a spontaneous inclination to un-
remitting and dogged exertion (which is certainly a charac-
teristic of the Ulster population), perhaps to be accounted for
liy the natural liveliness of his disposition, and even the supe-
riority of some of his intellectual faculties. Nor should the
iuiluencc of the unhappy past be left out of con.^ideiatioii, in
any estimate of the national character.

;\ii«l almost identical with the general average for
the kingdom. It is true, if we ascend to the next
class of farms, viz : those between 5 and 1 5 acres,
or if we take the farms of all sizes which have been
extinguished in the four provinces during the last
live and twenty years, Ulster — as might have been
expected —will show a more favom'able percentage,
the proportionate decrease being 14*2 per cent in
Ulster, against 15*1 per cent in Leinster, 29*9 per
cent in ]\Iunster, and 22 "G per cent in Connaught ;
but when it is remembered that the absolute num-
ber of extinguished farms represented by these
percentages is 33*628 in Ulster, as compared with
20*347 in Leinster, 35*144 in Connaught, and
48*900 in Mmister, it will be admitted that even
from this point of view the share borne by the
prosperous tenantry of Ulster* in the general

* 111 accouuling for tlie stability of the small Ulster tenant,
I must not forget to mention a fact wliich undoubtedly exer-
cised a very perceptible influence on his destiny, viz. : the
prosperity of the sewed-muslin trade, which, though now in
abeyance, was maintained for several years subsequent to the
potato failure. In almost every farmer's cottage, the daughters
of the house busied themselves with this industry. A girl of
.sixteen could earn from tenpence to a shilling a day, — and the
united exertions of the female m.embers of the family amounted
to a considerable sum at the end of the week. This circum-
stance, together with the assistance which a large proportion
of the smaller farmers (particularly in Armagh and Antrim)
derived from hand-loom weaving, enabled many to hold their
ground wlio otherwise would have been swept away, while the
subsequent extension of the flax cultivation (which, in some
respects, is very suitable to small farms, and was greatly
stimulated by the prosperity of the linen trade) still further
iiivigorated their prosperity.

71

calamity sufficiently shows with what impartial
severity every part of Ireland was visited, and
how unfair it is to atti'ibute solely to the oppres-
sion of the landlords of the south a disaster which
wrought an enormous though perhaps not an
equal amount of ruin in those districts where then*
malign influence is acknowledged not to prevail.*

But the measm-e of the Irish landlord's respon-
sibility is not allowed to be limited by the decrease
of agricultural holdings; nay, though it appears
from the census returns that during a period of ten
successive years, ending in 18G1, the number of
farms in Ireland actually increased, we are still told
that because a considerable portion of the popula-
tion is leaving the country, its departure cannot
possibly be occasioned by any other cause than the
consolidating policy of the landlords. Let us then
continue the application of the test made use of
in the preceding paragraph. If emigration is only
occasioned by landlord oppression, Ulster ought
to have enjoyed a comparative immunity from the
general depletion. But what is the fact ? Although
immediately after the famine the emigration from the
south was, for obvious reasons, in excess— though
not very largely — of that from the north, the first

Holdings

Holdings

Decrease.

Decrease

in 1841.

in 18G1.

per cent.

* Leinster

134,780

11G,973

17,807

13-2

Munster

1G3,8SG

118,333

45,553

27-8

Ulster . .

23G,G97

207,G35

29,05i)

12-2

Connaught .

15.5,812

125,513

30,299

19-4

72

^vave ot'cuilgration that ever left the shores of Ire-
land proeecded from Ulster,* and during the last
fourteen years Ulster's contribution to the general
emigi-ation has been greater than that of either Con-
nauglit or Leinster, and in the ratio of twenty-
three to twenty-seven as compared with the average
of the tlu'ce provinces.

But tlie greater density of the population of
Ulster may be again suggested in mitigation of this
comparison. Such a consideration hardly alters the
result. The ratio of emigration from Ulster to the
population of that province has been as great as the
ratio of emigration to population from Leinster and
Connaught, though less than that from Munster
in the pro]3ortion of 1 to 2.'|'

Parliament and unjust landlords we are told are
depopulating the south : what occult agencies are
effecting a similar operation in the north ?

* See Appendix, p. So.

per cent.
t Ratio of Emigrants from Leiu.ster 1851 to 1865 308,609

= = 21.1

To Population of Leinster in 1861 1,457,635

Eatio of Emigrants from Connauglit 1851 to 1865 197,892

To Population of Connauglit in 1861 913,135

Eatio of Emigrants from Ulster 1851 to 1865 436,354

= 21.4

To Population of Ulster in 1861 1,914,236

Eatio of Emigrants from Munster 1851 to 1865 626,958

To Population of Munster in 1861 1,513,558

= 22.8

= 41.4

73

There is yet another method at our disposal of
testing the justice of these accusations.

By a recent Statute, it has been enacted that no
eviction shall take place in Ireland without the
intervention of the Sheriff, who is bound to register
every operation of the kind. Unluckily this im-
provement in the law did not occur until March,
18G5. Consequently, although we huve Sheriff's
lists of evictions for some years back, they are
more or less imperfect until we come to the returns
for the past year, Avhich have been kept in accord-
ance with the Act of Parliament in all the counties
of Ireland except four. Of the evictions in these
fom' counties we can arrive at a sufficiently correct
estimate by an independent process.

By a previous Act of Parliament every landlord,
before proceeding to evict a tenant, was compelled
to give notice of his intentions to the relieving
officer of the Union, who kept a return of all such
notifications : these returns extend over the last
six years, and have been presented to Parliament.
Of course they do not give us the exact number of
actual evictions, because it frequently happens,
when the landlord has resorted to this procedure
for the recovery of his rent, that the tenant pays
up at the last moment, and no eviction takes phice,
thouo-h the notice to the Ilelicvinff Officer remains
uncancelled. During the first three years of the
scries great neglect occurred iu making up the lists,

74

and even for the last year no information is supplied
from a considerable nmnber of the electoral divi-
sions. Luckily, however, the returns of the re-
lievina- officers from the four counties, for which
the Sheriffs made no returns, happen to be perfect,
and more than supply the links necessary to com-
plete the list of evictions for the whole of Ireland
dm-ing the past year, as will be seen on reference
to the opposite table. With the exception of those
for Dublin, and a few other places, no distinction
has been made between the urban and the agricul-
tural evictions, though for the purposes of the
present argument such an analysis would have been
desirable. On the other hand the return of evic-
tions duiing a smgle year is not altogether a safe
guide to an average over a longer period. I there-
fore propose to convert the figures with which we
are famished for 1865, into a round number, and
to take the general rate of rural evictions in Ire-
land at about 1,500 per annum, which is probably
considerably in excess of the ti-uth. {See Table).

75

Table sliowing the Sherifts' return of evictions actually
executed iu the year ISfiS.

Actual return of

Actual return of

Evictions executed

Evictions executed

by Slieriffs.

by Sheriffs.

1 in Counties

in Counties

in 1 of Cities

in

of Cities

Counties. :<fc Counties

Counties,

& Counties

1 of Towns.

of Towns.

Carlow ....

11

Dublin

15

Dublin, aty of

42

Kildare

20

Kilkenny

56

Kilkenny, City of

3

King's Co. .

25

Longford

55

Louth

*23

Drogheda, Co. of

the to

wu of

5

Meath

27

Queen's Co.

30

Westnieath

15

Wexford

54

Wicklow

U

Xj£lNST£li

345

50

Clare .

19

Cork .

71

Cork, City of

U

Limerick

*66

Limerick, City of

Keny

25

Tipperaryf .

36

Watcrfbrd .

22

Watcrford, City oi

MuNSTER

••

5

I'J

Antrim

11

239

Armagh

92

Cavan

36

Donegal

100

Down

29

Fermanagh

9.5

Lomlonderry

36

Monaghan •

25

Tyrone

•130

Ulstiok

484

Gal way

48

Leitrim

47

Mayo .

72

lloscommon

*79

Sligo .

20

CONNAUGUT .

266

Ireland

$1334

69

* In these instances the Sheriffs' returns •vvcre imperfect, and tlic figures
have been supjilicd by assuming that the nimibci- of evictions cxeeulctl
equalled the entire notices served on tlic Kclicvin;; Oflicers.

f This is given in the returns asi the ' County nf Cloniiiel,' and it is
presumed that Tipjicrary was meant.

t It will be seen that thi.s total inchidcs all tlie Urban evictions, with the
exception of those for Dublin and four oilier towns.

76

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Vi

The total emigration from Ireland lias ave-
raged during tlie same interval about 90,000 a
year.* If therefore this emigration has been so
swollen by evictions, the annual average of such
evictions ought to be proportionate to that emigra-
tion ; but the average of evictions durmg the same
period, as compared with the number of emigrants,
has been at the rate of about two to every 100.
That is to say, among every 100 persons who
have left Ireland during the last six years about
ten persons, if we include the family of each indi-

* Table sliowiog tlie emigration from Ireland and its pro-
vinces from 1860 to 1865, both years inclusive.

Ireland.

Leinster.

Munster.

Ulster.

Connaught.

18G0

76,756

13,366

27,428

27,790

8,172

1861

58,427

8,576

22,404

21,323

6,124

1862

65,179

11,368

33,452

14,115

6,244

1863

110,202

15,020

54,870

22,497

17,815

1864

106,161

19,790

48,397

19,853

18,121

1865

92,728

20,524

37,426

22,301

12,477

Not stated

509,458
42,472

88,644

223,977

127,879

68,953

Total 6 years

551,930

Yearly average

91,988

78

vldual dealt ^vltli, liavc done sounder tlie compul-
sion of a landlord. In other words, and to display
the case still more explicitly in relation to the whole
suLject, during the only period for which we have
trustworthy statistics, evictions have been effected
(supposing the responsibility for them be distributed
over the entire landlord class, which is the theory
insisted on) at the rate of one, once in every five
years, on each estate ; or, to put the case geogra-
phically, at the rate of one a year over every area of
10,000 acres of occupied land. It is further to
be remarked that evictions have been fewest in
Munster, the Province from whence the largest
emigration has taken place.*

Not only, however, do we know the number of
evictions during the last ten years, but we also know
what proportion of these evictions was necessitated
by the non-payment of rent. It is true the retm*ns
which give this information again confound the
urban with the rural districts, but it may fairly be
supposed that the same proportions prevailed in
either category *, and if that be taken for granted,
it would appear that of the total number of evic-
tions which the landlords have effected in Ireland
two-thirds were for non-payment of rent.

* It is also to be noted, witli respect to the foregoing table,
that not only have the number of evictions in Ulster been
absolutely greater than those in the other provinces, but that
the percentage of evictions to holdings was higher in Ulster
than in two out of the other three provinces.

79

When, tlierefore, it is considered liow many are
tlie other contingencies, — such as the infraction of
covenants, intolerably bad cultivation, subletting
and illegal squatting, which not only entitle but
render it incumbent on a landlord, from time to
time, to free his estates of an undesirable tenant ;
and the extraordinary number of tenants on each
estate, "vvhicli of course must multiply the chances
of collision, it is impossible not to come to the
conclusion that the annual rate of evictions for
other causes than that of non-payment of rent,
whether taken with reference to the number of
occupiers, or to the extent of the area occupied,
— in the one case amounting to 0*08 per cent per
annum, in the other to one eviction per annum
to every 30,000 acres, proves conclusively that the
relations of the landlords of Ireland with their
tenantry, are by no means on that uncomfortable
footing which is alleged, and that to describe
Ireland as " a land of evictions'^ is to adopt an ex-
pression calculated to convey a false impression.*

But it is now objected that though the list of evic-

* Perhaps no better proof can be given of the general igno-
rance prevailir.^T' throughout Ireland on the subject of evictions
than the avidity with which the returns for the notices of
ejectment, commonly called Lord Belmore's returns, were seized
upon by almost every newspaper in Ireland, as the basis
on which to calculate the nuiuber of persona " annuaUy driven
forth to perish " by their cruel landlords.

Taking it foi- granted that a notice of ejectment and an
eviction were identical circumstances, tlie total number of

80

tions mav not witness so conclusively fis mlglit be
dcsiivJ to tlie talc of oppression, that a record of

notices were iuuncdiatcly multiplied by five and the product,
amounting to 100,000 per annum, was gravely submitted to
tlie jniblic as the figure which represented the exact number of
victims to landlord oppression. The slightest acquaintance
with agi'icultural affairs would render such mistakes im-
possible, and the bona fides with which they are committed
only shows how little qualified to ofi'er an opinion are many of
those who profess to instruct the conscience of the nation.

From a Correspondent of the Daily News, Jan. 18G7.

" The eviction returns of Dr. Hancock are employed, but
these have been superseded by the more recent returns of Lord
Belmore, which show that within the last six years more than
40,000 occupiers, amounting with their families to 200,000
persons, have been evicted. But it should be remembered that
these returns are to the utmost degree imperfect : for no evic-
tions could have been included in them, but such as were
registered and authorized by the Courts of Law, and it is a well-
known fact that ten-fold more {i.e. 2,000,000) are dispossessed —
ten-fold more evictions {i.e. 400,000) are effected by a mere " no-
tice to quit" of which there is no public register and can be no
returns, than by process of ejectment, of which returns might be
procured. Hence these returns must be most imperfect and
cannot form a just formation for any reliable conclusion."

From a Correspondent of the Fhreeman's Journal, Jan. 1867.

" In view of the social charges since 1828-38, assuming that
there were only two defendants — an average obviously too low
— in each of Lord Belmorc's ejectments, the 35,463 cases re-
present 70,926 holdings and at the usual Irish rate of 5 per-
sons to each family, these indicate 709,260 human beings
actually or liable to have been dispossessed in the six years in
question !"

The true relation which a service of ejectment and an eviction
bear to one another, as well as the kind of occasion on which

81

evictions is, after all, but an incomplete indication
of what is going on, and that it is the fear of evic-
tion which uproots the people, before the landlords
have occasion to put in motion the machinery of
the law. The difficulty of disproving so indefinite
a charge is obvious. The fact that more than a de-
cade has passed without diminishing by a single
tenancy, the number of farms in Ireland,* is not
likely to make much impression on those who

this step ia taken, is sufficiently recorded in the subjoined ex-
tracts from the Digest of the Devon Commission.

" A very small proportion of the ejectments brought are car-
ried out to the eviction of the tenants, the action being gener-
ally compromised on the payment of the rent arrear."

Dig. Bev. Com. p. 830.

" It likewise appears that the ejectment process is rarely
carried to extremities, as compared with the numerous cases
in which the first steps are taken, for the purpose of enforcing
payment of rent; but that the serviceof the ejectment process
in the great majority of instances, produces the desired settle-
ment of the rent, without coming to a decree." — Ibid. p. 805.

Philip Meade, Esq. land proprietor.

" AVhat is the usual mode of recovering rent against de-
faulting tenantry ? — Distraining.

" Is that increasing ? — It is diminishing. I perfectly re-
member when no tenant paid his rent without being dis-
trained, no matter how rich he was, otherwise it would not
have been handsome conduct towards his neighbours. I ])er-
f(;ctly recollect that." — Ibid. p. 807.

Increase iu
1851. 18G2. 11 yearH.

* Total Holdings . . G08,0GG . . G0y,:J85 . . 1,31U

82

liave started tins new theory. Still less would the
inference that no landlord can have an interest in
dispossessing a good tenant who pays his rent. I
tliereforc recur to more positive data. Fortu-
nately for the cause of truth, it is the practice of
tlie Custom House authorities in their register
of the persons embarking for foreign countries
carefully to note their previous occupations.
Now, it appears from these returns, which ex-
tend as far back as the year 1854, that the total
number of the farming class who have quitted
the United Kingdom during the last 13 years,
amounted to 86,388 persons, that is to say, to
about 4 per cent, of the total emigration.* Even
supposing, therefore, that no English or Scotch
farmer were included in the category, the total
number of occupiers leaving the ports of Britain
would only fonn eight per cent of the emigi'a-
tion from Ireland alone ; but I have been favoured
by the kindness of the Emigration Commissioners
with an analysis of the nationality of the agricul-
turists who emigrated during the years 1865 and
1866, fi'om which it appears that the Irish element
was very little in excess of the British, and that
the total number of Irish occupiers who sailed from
any part of the United Kingdom was exactly
2^ per cent of the Irish emigration during the
same period. j"

* See Appendix, p. 86.

I Eeturn sbowing the numlier of Irish Farmers who have

83

' In fact, turn the matter as you will, — apply what
test you please, — start from whatever point you

emigrated during the years 1865 and 1SG6, as far as can be
ascertained from the Passenger Lists furnished by the Custom
House authorities.

Year.

Port of Departure.

United
States.

British

North
America-

Austra-
lasia.

AH
otlier
Places.

Total.

1865

Liverpool

1,074

176

93

4

1,947

London .

7

106

113

Plymouth

. .

17

17

Glasgow .

211

32

243

Cork

U

14

Londonderry .

1G9

142

311

All other Ports
Total

2,075

38

••

1

5

39

388

216

2,684

18G6

Liverpool

1,817

122

55

37

2,061

London .

. ,

48

20

68

Plymouth

23

23

Glasgow .

111

2

113

Cork

4

, .

, ,

4

Londonderry .

157

85

, ,

242

All other Ports
Total

••

3

;{

2,119

209

129

57

2,514

Government Emigration Board,

8, Park Street, Westminster,

15th Pebruary, 1867.

101,497
Eatio of Irish occupiers to Irish Emi-
grants in 1865 = = 2.6 p. c.

2684
100,602

„ 1866 = = 2 5p.c.

2514
The number of emigrants in 1866 is deduced from tlio
average of the last five years.

u 2

84

choose, — all the evidence converges to the same
conclusion, and establishes beyond a doubt that
out of every 100 persons who cross the Atlantic,
not more than two or three are induced to do so
by any difficulties which may have arisen out of
their relations with their landlords.*

After this I trust we shall hear no more of the
landlords of Ireland annually driving hundreds
and thousands of victims into exile. And when it
is further observed that the number of emigrants
w^ho are classed as gentlemen, professional men,
merchants, &c. almost equal the number of those
who are entered as farmers,! perhaps the possi-
bility will be admitted that the same economic
laws and inevitable casualties which have in-
fluenced the destiny of the one class may have
also operated on the other, without their having
become the special victims of landlord oppression.

* See Appendix, p. 88.

f Total number of Farmers who liave emigrated
from the United Kingdom in 1864 .... 7245

Total number whom the Commissioners have classed
as Gentlemen, Professional Men, Merchants, &c. . 6842

85

APPENDIX.

Emigeatiott OB Peotestants feom Ieeland. (See p. 72.)

It appears that there was a continual emigration of Pro-
testants from Ireland to America throughout the last century,
at which time persecution by the Catholics could not have oc-
curred. The emigrations appear to have almost constantly
taken place from the northern ports : thus seven ships, leaving
Belfast for America with 1000 passengers, in 1728, are men-
tioned in Boulter's Letters, vol. i. p. 288. The number of
emigrants who left Ireland in 1771, 1772, and 1773, is stated
in Newenham's Inquiry into the Population of Ireland, p. 59 :
the ports from which the ships sailed were Belfast, Newry,
Derry, Lame, and Portrush. Arthur Young gives the fol-
lowing more detailed account of this subject : —

" The spirit of emigrating in Ireland appears to be confined
to two circumstances, the Presbyterian religion and the linen
manufacture. I heard of very few emigrants, except among
manufacturers of that persuasion. The Catholics never went,
they seem not only tied to the country, but almost to the parish
in which their ancestors lived." — Tour in Ireland, part ii. p. 30.

" It is well known that in the counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone,
and Donegal, extensive confiscation took place, and a large
number of farmers (Protestants) were in possession of from fifty
to one hundred and fifty acres, some fee simple, more than 26* o'i/
an acre, which the}^ inherited from their predecessors. In the
lapse of years their families increased, and having received
favourable accounts from pert^ons who had emigrated some half-
dozen years previously, larmers who had three, four and five
sons or daughters approaching to maturity, considered it prudent
to sell their lauds, emigrate, and purchase double or treble
the quantity in a new country ; ' Because,' said they, ' if we
split our farms and apportion to each child a share, it will be
bul a few acres each, and they and theirs will become poor.' "
Sir G. C. Lewis on Irish Disturbances, p. 457.

" In a certain sense, it may be said with truth, that the emigra-
tion of the Protestants has been owing to the pressure of the
Catiiolics. The Catholics having multiplied rapidly, and being
destitute of the means of aubsiatence, have increased the dilli-
culty of obtaining employment, have lowered the rate of wages,
and raised the rent of land by their competition. IMie J'rotes-
taiit.s, unwilling to submit to the degradation, and unable to
resist the tendency to sink, preferred emigration to impoverish-
ment, and left the country while they had still the means of
defraying the expenses of their passage and outfit."

Ibid. p. 158.

86

Rktcrn of llie Emigration from the United Kingdom to all parts of tlic
World, during the years from 1854 to 1866, both inclusive ; showing
the Trauk, Occl rATiON or Profession of the Adults, so far as can
be nscertaiiicd I'roni the Passenger Lists furnished by the Custom House
Authoritica.

Occtipation.

United
States.

British

North

America.

Adult Males.

Agricultural Labourers.

Gardeners, Carters, &.c.

5,208

2,098

Bakers, Confcctioners,&c.

3,554

310

Blacksmiths and Farriers

1,568

456

Bookbinders aid Stati-

oners ....

160

39

Boot and Shoe Makers .

3,613

783

Braziers, Tinsmiths,

Whitesraiths, &c.

1,580

122

Brick and Tile Makers,

Potters, &c.

233

39

Bricklayers, Masons,

Plasterers, Slaters, &c. .

9,331

756

Builders

339

20

Butchers, Poulterers, &c.

1,182

139

Cabinet Makers and

Upholsterers

314

86

Carpenters and Joiners .

14,778

2,115

Carvers and Gilders

302

43

Clerks ....

5,571

1,582

Clock & Watch Makers

615

156

Coach Makers and Trim-

mers . . . ,

72

25

Coal Miners .

1,083

187

Coopers

1,183

157

Cutlers ....

343

11

Domestic Servants

1,592

387

Dyers ....

164

37

Engine Drivers, Stokers,

&c

32

7

Engineers

!,565

292

P^ngravers

261

14

Farmers

58,526

9,427

Gentlemen, Professional

Men, Merchants, &c. .

13,578

3,745

Jewellers and Silver-

smiths

347

29

Labourers, General

333,215

27,068

Locksmiths, Gunsmiths,

&c

85

7

Millers, Malsters, &c. .

886

229

Millwrights .

104

39

Miners and Quarrymcn .

22,470

3,437

Carried forward

Australasia

AU other
Places.

33,315

1,562

1,247

72

2,132

J95

128

18

1,410

156

297

46

347

19

5,058

400

289

16

985

34

431

56

8,602

646

61

8

3,043

912

172

20

136

28

605

4

240

30

66

1

1,189

207

66

3

15

9

1,103

286

78

10

17,C53

782

12,191

3,431

135

17

95,228

2,643

41

6

466

18

134

28

11.259

996

Total.

42,183
5,183
4,351

345
5,962

2,045

638

15,545

664

2,340

887
26,141

414
11,108

963

261
1.879
1,610

421
3,375

270

63

3,246

363

86,388

33,125

528
458,154

139

1,.599

305

38,162

87

Occupation.

Adult Maizes— contd.

Brought forward .

Painters, Paperhangers,

Plumbers, and Glaziers
Pensioners
Printers
Rope Makers
Saddlers and Harness

Makers
Sail Makers .
Sawyers
Seamen
Shipwrights .
Shopkeepers, Shojjmen

Warehousemen, &.c.
Smiths, General .
Spinners and Weavers
Sugar Bakers, Boilers

&c. . . .
Surveyors
Tailors
Tallow Chandlers and

Soap Makers
Tanners and Curriers
Turners
Wheelwrights
Woolcomhers and Sortei
Trades and Professions

not before specified
Not distinguished .

Adult Females.
Domestic and Farm Ser

vants, Nurses, &c.
Gentlewomen and Cover

nesses
Milliners, Dress Makers

Needlewomen
Married Women .
Shopwomen
Trades and Professions

not before specified
Not distinguished .

fJlIILDREX.

•Male Children .
•Female ditto
Infants

Not distinguished .

Grand Total

United
States.

4,042

1.52

899

57

341

48

176

2,568

149

6,142
4,491
6,266

500

54

10,163

35
338
193
283

60

23,000
97,296

62,651

1,370

4,619

149,613

20

737
252,417

105.975
90,474
50,574

94,505

1,463,333

British

North

America.

250
305
133

18

57

15

121

495

38

676

331

1,131

56

16

1,483

6

38

40

112

34

2.428
11,093

5,535

484

259

19,851

4

247
23,699

19,622

17,629

7,277

47,4.59

214,784

1,140
175

558
63

248

60

755

1,154

192

5,509

1,107

921

246
160
964

26
165

99
595
199

5,703
38,065

65,279

977

1,302

72,060

10.8

277
45,693

46,746
44,921
16,179

7,627

556,945

All other
Places.

130

16

64

2

47
3
45
71
53

232

146
7

12

9
99

2
18
U
53
10

444
10,459

2,013

472

118

8,600

3

S
3,.305

4,519
4,234
1,093

28,865

,812

5,562
648

1,644
140

693

126

1,097

4,288

432

12,109
6,075
8,325

814

239

12,709

69

5.59

343

1,043

303

31,575
156,913

135,478

3,303

6,289

250,124

134

1,270
325,114

176,862

10 6,258

72,123

* rrcvious to IR.'iG the Adult Arc for the vurposcs of the ru»scngcr:>' Act wns 14 ; since
that date, by the Act of I8.W, It was fixed at 12.

GovERNMEM Emighation Board, Fcbnianj 1867.

88

Table showing the Occupations, Sex, and Gkneral Destination of
the E.MICK ANTS in 1864.

Occupation.

United
States.

Briti^ih

North
America.

Australasia

All other
Places.

Total.

Adult Males.

Agricultural Labourers, Gar-

deners, Carters, &c. .

344

CI

1,779

.29

2,213

Bakers ....

229

12

50

1

292

Blacksmiths and Farriers .

48

13

180

10

251

bookbinders & Stationers .

14

3

10

3

30

Boot and Shoe Makers

218

19

111

3

351

Braziers, Tinsmiths, White-

smiths, &c.

175

6

11

2

194

Brick and Tile Makers, Pot-

ters, &c

41

1

17

59

Bricklayers, Masons, Plas-

terers, Slaters, &c. .

803

17

226

3

1,049

Builders ....

50

18

68

Butchers, Poulterers, &c. .

93

8

42

3

146

Cabinet Makers and Uphol-

sterers ....

32

36

2

70

Carpenters and Joiners

761

92

466

18

1,337

Carvers and Gilders .

19

4

2

25

Clerks ....

331

79

189

185

784

Clock and Watch Makers .

61

4

10

4

79

Coach Makers & Trimmers

7

5

12

Coal Miners

26

4

16

46

Coopers ....

90

6

21

3

120

Cutlers ....

45

1

1

47

Domestic Servants

259

20

86

34

399

Dyers . • . . .

9

5

4

.__

18

Engravers ....

28

1

2

31

Engineers ....

77

14

79 .

42

212

Farmers ....

5,213

932

925

175

7,245

Gentknicn.Professional Men,

Merchants, &c.

2,555

665

1,676

916

5,842

Jewellers and Silversmiths .

36

2

9

7

54

Labourer.^ General

45,210

2,699

9,930

158

57,997

Locksmiths, Gunsmiths, &c.

6

1

3

4

14

Millers, Malsters, &c.

65

5

29

2

101

Millwrights

4

14

1

19

Miners and Quarrymen

2,539

203

454

70

3,266

Painters, Paperliangcrs,

Plumbers, and Glaziers

238

22

72

5

337

Pensioners ....

8

16

14

7

45

Printers ....

90

14

32

2

138

liope Makers

4

8

12

Saddlers & llarnesj Makers

41

o

18

61

Sail Makers

6

1 ^

4

—

10

89

Occupation.

United
States.

British

Noitii

Ameiica.

Australasia

All other
Places.

Total.

Adult Males — co7iti»ued.

Sawyers ....

6

7

29

—

42

Seamen ....

232

51

78

18

379

ShipTiTights

12

—

11

3

26

Shopkeepers

400

45

305

47

797

Smiths, General .

685

10

64

4

768

Spinners and Weavers

763

332

61

1

1,157

Sugar Bakers, Boilers, &c. .

2

—

28

1

31

Surveyors

5

1

9

2

17

Tailors ....

1,473

19

49

6

1,547

Tallow Chandlers and Soap

Makers ....

1

1

__

2

Tanners and Curriers .

61

2

10

1

74

Turners ....

10

—

7

1

18

Wheelwrights

33

2

39

__

74

Woolcorabers and Sorters .

—

—

1

__

1

Other Mechanics not before

specified ....

2,028

202

85

74

2,389

Not distinguished

3,073

463

1,606

2,720

7,862

Appendix to 25th Report of the Emigration Commissioners, p. 56.

90

CHAPTER 111

Having sliown that the " exterminating policy "
of the Irish landlords has resulted in the existence
at the census of 18G1, of a greater number of
lioldlngs of all sizes in Ireland than there were in
1851, and of 160,000 more tenant fanners of
fifteen acres and upwards than there were twenty
years ago, (and on referring to the evidence given
before Mr. Maguu'e's Committee it will be seen
that, in the unanimous opinion of Judge Longfield,
of Mr. Dillon, of Mr. M'Carthy Downing, of the
Catliollc Bishop of Cloyne, and of Mr. Curling,*
fifteen acres are the smallest area which can be
cultivated with advantage, or over which those
gentlemen would themselves be willing to ex-
tend the protection of a lease^) I would have
passed to the third point in our inquiry, had
It not been objected that I have mistaken the
nature of the accusations directed against the
landlord class in Ireland, who, I am informed,
have been so ruthlessly gibbeted, not exactly on

* By fifteen acres, 15 Irish acres=24 statute acres were
probably meant by these gentlemen. I should not myself have
drawn so hard a Hue or passed so sweeping a condemnation on
farms of this size.

• 91

account of tlieir own acts, but as representatives of
those bygone generations to whose vicious mis-
management of their estates the present misfortunes
of the country are to be attributed. That such is
not the issue raised in the various manifestoes
which I have undertaken to consider, will be at
once apparent on referring to them ; but, as it
may be useful to ascertain what have been some
of the historical sources of Ireland's economic diffi-
culties,* I will endeavour to discriminate between
the share in them attributable to the former owners
of the soil and that which is due to other causes.

The writer who thus proposes to antedate our
responsibilities seems satisfied he has arrived at
the fountain-head of Ireland's calamities when he
points his finger at the Irish proprietory of former
days ; nor does he dream of inquiring whether the
landlord of 70 or 80 years ago may not himself
have been a creature of circumstance, involved in
the complexities of a system of which he was as
much the victim as his tenants. And here again I
eliminate from the discussion all reference to the
supposed personal characteristics of the class. Ilie
popular conception of the Irish country gentleman
of former days is principally derived from works of
fiction and caricature, and is probably as correct
as is usual with information rrathcred from such

&*

* Though intimately connected witli her cconoraiciil ciireer,
I do not profess in this treatise to enter upon the considera-
tion of Ireland's poliliccd and .social dinicullics.

92

sources. Ill many respects it stands in favour-
able juxtaposition with the picture drawn of his
English cotemporary by IMacaulay, though the
noxious influences which emanated from the policy
pursued by England towards the Catholics of Ire-
land must have been as demoralizing to him as it
was to every other member of the dominant
community. But with any estimate of his indi-
vidual vices or virtues we are not now concerned.
Of one thing alone can we be certain — that in
dealing with his property he pursued his own
advantage with more or less intelligence, and in
doing so exercised a right not only legitimate in
itself, but which has been universally recognized
as the mainspring of human progress. But it is
objected that the practical results of his proceed-
ings have been over-population, rack-rents, and an
exodus of 2,000^000 souls. The question is, have
these phenomena followed in such direct sequence
as is alleged, or have other influences, independent
of the landlord's agency, vitiated a system which
otherwise would not have been mihealthy? Now,
of the three evils he is supposed to have occasioned,
the two last are the direct consequences of the first.
A rack-rent is the product of competition, and both
competition and emigration are the results of over-
population. The true measure, therefore, of the
responsibility of the Irish landlord is the share he
has had in disturbing the equilibrium which ought
to have been maintamed between the increase of

93

population and the development of the country's
Industrial resources.

But, first, had space permitted, I should have
wished to exhibit, as I have already done with regard
to emigration, the true nature and origm of the rack-
renting system, which is invariably described as
the offspring of landlord rapacity. As a matter of
fact, it does not appear that the Irish landlords of
former days dealt harshly with their tenantry.
Even Mr. Butt admits that during the whole of the
18th century there were scarcely any evictions, and
that long leases were almost universal ;* while
Judge Longfield states that so late as 1835 there
was very little land in the southern and western
counties not on lease, and that " most of the leases
ivere all in the tenants' favour T Nor is it alleged
that the landlords themselves exacted exorbitant
rents ; the principal complaint against them is that
they leased their lands to middlemen, and that
sometimes they were separated from the actual
occupiers of the soil by a dozen derivative tenures.
From this fact it is evident that the rents they
charged must have been comparatively moderate.
But long leases at moderate rates are hardly a

* In earlier days tenancies at will sceiu to have been pre-
ferred by the tenants to a lease. "Irisii landlords," says
8penser, " do not use to set out their lands in farm, or for
terms of years, but only from year to year, and some during
pleasure ; neither indeed will the Irish htishandman otherwise
take his land than so long as he lists himself.''

94

criminal arrangement. It is true the increasing
pressure of a teeming population, and tlie natural
instinct wliich, Judge Longfield tells us, is inherent
in every Irish tenant — to turn himself into a land-
lord if he irets the chance — resulted in a state of
things replete with mischief. But for the develop-
ment of this unexpected phase in the Irish land
system, the proprietor is by no means responsible
to the degree which is supposed. Up to nearly the
close of the last century the great proportion of the
coimtry was in pasture, and the population was less
than half of what it amounted to in 1841. The
lioldings were of considerable size,* and when a

* Both the soil and climate of Ireland are peculiarly adapted
to pasturage, and consequently to large farms, but there was
a peculiar reason why, during the earlier half of the last
century, the holdings were necessarily of a considerable size.

Amongst the many infamous statutes known as the Penal
Laws, was one which precluded Catholics from purchasing lands,
from holding a lease of more than thirty-one years, or from
deris'ing from the permanent occupation of land any profit in
excess of one-third of the rent ; consequently the proprietors of
estates had no option — as Mr. Thornton very justly remarks —
than to let their lands to the few capitalists who could legally
occupy them. I have placed in an appendix Mr. Thornton's
admirable description of the circumstances under which Ireland
continued to remain a grass country until the close of the last
century. (See Appendix, p. 147.)

" The Protestant landlords also suffered indirectly from the
operation of the same penal laws ; for in letting these estates,
they were to a great degree confined in the selection of their
tenants, to those who alone could enjoy any permanent tenure
under them, and were exclusively entitled to the election fran-
chise. Many landlords parted with the whole or a great portion

95

fann was let the landlord never dreamt of its beino;
converted into tillage, and no provisions against
subdi\dsion were introduced. But as population
multiplied the situation changed, and the enormous
rise in the price of grain and provisions on the break-
ing out of the French war made it the interest of
the tenant to subdivide his land as minutely as he
could.* He accordingly introduced an Irish edition
of what is known as ' la petite cidtm'e.'

It is true most of the later leases contained
clauses against subletting, but an unexpected
legal subtlety rendered them practically inopera-
tive, and when attempts were made to stop an
innovation, which in no way benefited the land-
lord, most proprietors found, after going to great

of their property for long terms, and thus avoided all immediate
contact with the inferior occupiers, so that all the duties of a
landlord were left for performance to a middleman. The latter,
on the other hand, in the favourable position in which the laAvs
had indirectly placed him as regarded the proprietor, dictated
very frequently his own terms to the landlord; and restrictive
covenants against subletting or subdividing were seldom in-
serted."— Digest Devon Commission, Summary, p. 1109.

* " The introduction of the 40* franchise and its extension
to the Catholic population also acted as an inducement both to
the proprietors and to the middlemen to subdivide and to sublet.
The war with France raised considerably the profits of the
occupier, who was thu? enabled to pay a large rent to the mesne
letiyee. These causes produced throughout the country a class
of intermediate proprietors, known by the name of middlemen,
whose decline after the cessation of the war, and the fall of
prices in 1815, brought with it much of the evils we have
witnessed of late years." — Ibid.

96

expense that tliey were completely powerless.* The
practice consequently spread, andan obnoxious class
of middlemen, as they were termed, relet the greater
proportion of the soil of Ireland at rack-rents to
their teeming countrymen.| But though the ma-

* " Many of the witnesses, however, seemed to be impressed
with the idea, that even with the assistance of the subletting
Acts, there is frequently much expense and difficulty in pre-
venting subletting in the case of leasehold farms ; and this
opinion has tended to prevent the grant of leases." — Dig. Dev,
Com. Summary, p. 418.

t " The high prices of agricultural produce during the late
continental war, and the consequently increased value of land,
appear to have much increased subletting, by enabling the
large farmers, without personal trouble, to derive from their
leaseholds considerable incomes in the form of profit rents."

Ibid. p. 418.

" Lord George Hill records, among other facts relating to
rundale, that one person held his farm in forty-two different
patches, and at last gave it up in despair of finding it ; and
that a field of half an acre was held by twenty -two different
persons."

" The evidence proves clearly that these malpractices have
produced the results which might naturally be expected, and
that sub-tenants, the tenants of lands much subdi^-ided, and of
farms held in rundale, are ia general excessively poor, and
their lands much exhausted." — Ibid. p. 419.

" It will be observed that several of the covenants above men-
tioned have for their object the prevention of the subdivision
of farms, which is alleged to be so commoa and so injurious
an eficct of leases."

" But none of these covenants provide against the possibility
of the farm, upon the death of the occupier, becoming sub-
divided, either by the provisions of his will, or by the opera-
tion of the statute of distributions, although it appears that
these are the causes most frequently operating to produce
subdivision." — Ihid. p. 237,

97

jorlty of middlemen became constituted in tliis
maimer, there is no doubt that sometimes they were

" Tliis tendency to sublet even discourages the building of
cottages." — Dig. JDev. Com. p. 49.

" Some proprietors felt disposed to build cottages for them,
(the cottiers on their estate) ^vith small allotments, held
du'ect from themselves ; but the chief difficulty in this case is,
to secure that the original evil may not thus be increased by
still further increasing the glut of the labour market, which
would be the effect, unless the farmer can be restrained from
still bringing in additional people for the mere profit he may
derive in letting to them a house or garden ; this tendency has
long been felt, and is likely to continue the chief difficulty in the
management of property." — Ibid. p. 130.

The following is a fair example of the history of most Irish
estates.

" This estate has been for ages in the family.

" Between the years 1777 and 1787, James Lord Caher let
great portions of it on sixty-one years' leases. Lessees were
conditioned in all cases not to sublet, and in most cases to
build a good house on the farm.

" It is almost needless to state that there is scarcely an in-
stance of a house being built by the lessee of the slightest value ;
and every lessee has sublet generally to a great extent.

" These farms at the time they were let were all in gi'ass, with
scarcely any inhabitants on them, and the lessee held the whole
farm.

" There was no use in the head landlord attempting by law
to have the clauses in the lease observed, as no jury would find
a verdict against a tenant, for the probability was that some of
the jurors were in the same state as the defendants as regarded
subletting." — Diff. Dev. Com. p. 437.

" Subletting was barred in all these leases ; but the landlord
never could have found a jury to put the clause in force. Tho
late Lord Glengall endeavoured to break some of these leases
thirty years ago, which were proved to have been forgeries by
connivance of the agent, after the decease of the late lord's
predecessor; l)iit, though Judges charged in favour of the land-

n

98

placed in possession of land by the owners, with the
express intention they should sublet, and it is with

lord, aud tlic Superior Courts {^ave verdicts also in his favour,
still the couut}^ juries never would agree, and the landlord failed.

" Timber and slates are given to them by the landlord, con-
sequently the estate is now, on these new farms, varying from
twenty to fifty acres, studded with slate houses."

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 437.

" Between the years 1780 and 1787, James Lord Caher let
immense tracts of land in large farms to single individuals.
They have now enjoyed them for sixty-one years, and the
leases are about expiring— some have expired. Those farms
have been sublet in the most astonishing manner, and except
upon one or two of those great farms, varying from 1,000 acres
to 100, I do not think there are above two or three lessees now
in possession of any part of those lands which were let to
them by .lames Lord Caher.

" They are entirely new people brought in ? — Entirely a
new population. The lauds were altogether in grass in those
years. They were great grazing farms. In the high times
during the war, those lessees sublet their lands ad injinitum,
and became middlemen ; and when the peace came prices fell,
and the middlemen became totally ruined.

" AVliat course has your lordship taken upon them ? — I
will take the first case which presents itself to me in the state-
ment, Kilcoran, 161. That is 281 acres Irish, and the rent
formerly paid was 13s lOd an Irish acre.

" "What the sub-rents were you do not know ? — No. The
lease was for sixty-one years, let in 1782. It was completely
deluged with paupers, and the lessee himself did not hold above
sixteen acres. One house, inhabited by a most notorious
ruffian, was thrown down and the man turned out. The land
was squared as much as possible into from fifteen to twenty
acre farms to residents, the rest of the people still remaining
on the lands in their houses

" Are they numerous ? — Very numerous, I should say. The
land is remarkably good, generally speaking, and worth from
about 30s to 35s an Irish acre.

" As what they had been in the habit of paying? — I cannot

99

tliis method of procecliu'e adopted by a few that
the entire class have been credited. But though

exactly answer that question for this rery simple reason — the
lessee, the middleman, being in abject poverty from idleness,
took fines, so that it is impossible to tell."

Rt. Son. the Earl of Glengall, Big. Dev. Com. p. 278.

Evidence of Wm. Hamilton, Esq. Agent.

" Did any of these old leases contain the non-letting clauses ?
— Yes ; but they were inoperative.

" Do you know of any cases in which an attempt was made
to oblige the tenants to act under them ? — No ; because the
law was, that any permission or toleration of a breach by the
landlord, did away with the covenant altogether until the recent
act ; then, as in most instances, partial consents were given, or
breaches overlooked ; it became a matter quite hopeless on the
part of the landlord to enforce the covenant when the evils of
subletting became apparent." — Digest, Dev. Com. p. 281,

Evidence of Mr. Ed. Byne, Farmer.
" Do the landlords permit the sale ? — They are very seldom
consulted ; they would not be satisfied generally. In Lord
Carrick's leases there was a covenant against subletting, still
the tenants broke through that, and the trustees could not
prevent them doing so." — Ihid. p. 3^5.

William Ford, Esq. Sessional Solicitor for County 3Ieathy Land
Agent and Toion Cleric to the Corporation of city of Dublin.
" What do you conceive to be a power which could be
fairly given to prevent too minute subdivisions ? — If I were
going to make a law to regulate the tenure of land, I ccrtainl}-
would make it part of that law to prevent the too minute sub-
division of it, because I would coerce by the law the parties to
send their families to earn their bread at different trades.
That would create manufacture, and put them in other calliug.s,
and they have now other countries to go to, wliich would lead
to emigration. Without compulsion they would learn trades
and business, and go abroad of their own accord, and perhaps
return to the hive enriched." — Thid p. 421'.

II 2

the experiment turned out unsuccessfully, there was
nothing at the time to warn the proprietor against

liichanl If'Iiite, Esq. Land I'roprietor.

" What clauses are tlicrc in your leases in reference to
subletting or subdividing the lauds ? In some of my leases
since the year 1832, there are clauses against subletting, but
I am sorry to say I have not put them in force. In fact I
think it a dangerous thing in Ireland, to do it.

" What thou is likely to be the consequence ? — That is
one of the most difficult questions. I am perfectly convinced,
if there could be an end, generally speaking, to subletting, it
would be one of the greatest blessings that could occur to the
country ; and in order to do that — I am speaking now from
experience — if landlords could only give sufficient land, not
too much nor too little, to a man, it would be the best thing
they could do. If a landlord gives a large farm, there is no
doubt, as soon as a son marries and the daughter-jn-law is
brought in, the son gets a part, and the second and third son
the same, so that it is cut up into small bits, and when it comes
into the landlord's hands it is over-populated. He goes upon
the sweeping system, and he is held up as a cruel man ; but a
landlord cannot help doing it. If there was a law passed of a
strict nature to prevent subletting, it would be a great advan-
tage to the country. The tenants would be obliged to send
some of their children out into the world, and to provide for
them in some other way — a thing seldom dreamt of."

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 424,

John IlancocTc, Esq. Agent to Lord Liirgan (Ulster).

" Is there much subletting or subdivision of farms ? — Yes,
subdivision prevails to a great extent. Every tenant, if per-
mitted, would divide his farm, in equal shares, amongst all his
sons

" On leases, as soon as a son marries, he builds a room, or
a ' bay,' as it is called, to his father's house, and gets a
share of his father's land. The linen manufacture offers the
strongest inducement to subdivision, because a very small por-
tion of ground, in addition to the looms, will support a family.

101

it, and it can be easily conceived that many a
landlord, speaking neither the language, nor

Tlie effects of subdivision are very had ; first, the land is cut into
such small patches, that a plough and horses, in many cases, will
hardly turn in the field; and a large quantity of ground is lost
in fences ; habits of slovenliness and idleness is increased ; and,
as I have already stated, the most subdivided leases are the worst
paid, although cheap, and the places are in the worst condition.
I oppose subdivision all I can, but there is no duty connected
with the management of property more difficult to be performed.

The sons have been brought up ignorant of any other

occupation What are they to do ? Subletting

also prevails to a very large extent. The high prices that
weavers will give for houses and small gardens offer great
temptations to the farmer." — Dig- Dev. p. 425.

Evidence of J. V. Stuart, JEsq. Land Proprietor, and
Magistrate.

" In answer to that question I should state a practice which
exists only in this country, and in a very remote part of it, and
it is this, that they have gone on subdividing so far that instead
of its being called a * cow's grass ' it is gone down to the
' cow^sfoot/ which is one-fourth of a coio^s grass — nay, they have
gone so low as a ' cold's toe^ which is one-eighth of a cow's grass.

" To what extent is the subletting or subdividing of farms
carried out, and is it permitted by the landlords ? — Subletting
or subdividing existed formerly to a great extent, and it is still
universal where the landlord or agent is not most vigilant ; it
is generally to provide for tenants' children, but often to exact
income from cottiers. Its effects are certain, and generally
proximate pauperism ; generally it is against the landlord's
consent, and is prevented by limiting tlie quantity of fuel.
Ejectment is an example, and watchfulness on the part of the
1)ailiff when it can be secured.

" What arc the effects of subletting on tlie accumulation
and introduction of capital, and also on population ? — It puts
an absolute stop to the accumulation of capital, in the namo
proportion that consolidation assists its accunmlatidii ; and, if
carried to auy extent, the ground ulliniately produces little

102

professing the same religion as his tenants, might
consider it not only a very convenient, but a very

more thau food for tlic rapidly accumulatiug population to be
fed out of it. AVhen subdivided witli tenants' sons it encou-
rages improvident and early marriages (already too general),
and consequently a fall in the condition of the farmer ; and,
when sublet for the sake of income to cottiers, a most exacting
rent is enforced with rigorous punctuality in the shape of
money and labour utterly disproportioned to the value received,
and leading the former rather to depend upon this income than
upon his own industiy, and is therefore a great discouragement
to agricultural improvement.

" I conceive the evil at this moment is, that if a man comes
into a farm held under me, he subdivides it, and before I can
take any proceedings against him, the evil has grown up, and
I should have to increase the evil by driving the man out."

Big. Lev. Com. j). 428.

JEvidence of H. L. Prentice, Esq. Agent to Lord Caledon.
(Armagh and Tyrone.)

" Has subdividing or subletting been carried on to any
extent in other districts ? — Yes, to an alarming extent,

" How minutely have you known farms to be subdivided ?
— I have known ten families on a farm of six Irish acres.

" Was that a case where land was held under a deter-
minable lease or at will ? — There was a lease of it.

" Do you find that a man holding by lease even in per-
petuity disposes him to divide ? — Tes, it does." — Ibid. p. 428.

Evidence of James Johnson, Esq., Land Proprietor.

" It is not carried to a great extent in Donegal, but it does
exist, I am sorry to say ; and although every means are taken
by both proprietors and agents to prevent it, they find it
almost impossible to put a stop to it.

" Do you find that subdividing farms takes place to a greater
eytent on those estates than where the proprietor is resident ?
— Yes, it m-jst do so ; and even with a resident proprietor it
is very difficult to prevent a father giving his children portions
of his farm" — Big. Bevon Com. p. 429.

103

popular alternative to give a long lease at a low-
rent to some person less alien to tlie peasants in

Evidence of Mr. John M'Carten, Linen Manufacturer and Affent.

" Has subletting been carried on to any great extent in
your neighbourhood ? — I may say it has, though the landlords
are every day watching it, and do all they can -wdthout quarrel-
ling with the people : there is a great desire for it on the part
of the tenants.

" Have you ever known any legal measures taken by
landlords to stop it or counteract it ? — I am not aware that
any legal steps have been taken, under a lease, to enforce the
covenants against the tenant for subletting ; but on some
estates, leases are refused iu consequence of it and in order to
check it ; and I have known, other cases where a reduction of
rent, actually contemplated, was refused to the tenant because
he had subdivided the land contrary to the landlord's wishes." —
Digest, Dev. Com. p. 432.

Evidence of J. E. Taylor, Esq., Landholder, Agent and
Magistrate.
" The only reason I can assign for it is, that there are some
old leases, and on the old leases and cheap farms there is more
subletting than on the recent set farms.

"Then, in point of fact, those 309 subdivided farms have
been held principally under old leases ? — Tes ; and they are
the cheapest, and most unimproved, and the hardest to get the
rent from." — Ibid. p. 432.

Andrew Orr, Esq., Zand Proprietor and Farmer.

" With regard to the subletting and subdividing of farms,
to what extent has it been carried out, and what are its
effects ? — This is a ruinous measure to both landlord and
tenant, and almost impossible to prevent. The people are apt
to contract early marriages. A farmer's son brings home a
wife, and then, after some time, the barn is fitted up for the
newly married couple : the farmer then finds he cannot do
without the barn, and a new house has to be erected for his
son, and then he prevails on his father to give him part of the

104

race and religion than liimself, npon tlie under-
standing that he niight relet it in smaller areas.*

land. The landlord of course sets his face against the measure;
but still the evil proceeds, until all are driven to beggary and
ejected. That, so far as 1 perceive, is what generally happens."

Digest, Dev. Com. p. 432.

JEvidence of Bichard Mayne, Esq., Agent and Magistrate.

" Does the subletting or subdividing of farms still con-
tinue?—Oh, yes.

" Is it permitted by the landlords ? — They cannot stop it.

" What means do they take to attempt to stop it ? — They
cannot take any ; they try as well as they can, by turning out
the tenant ; but if you dispossess a man and his family, it
creates such a sensation that people cannot do it ; it is impossi-
ble to do it."— Ibid. p. 432.
JEvidence of JEdward Spoule, Esq., Liiien Bleacher and Land
Proprietor.

"Is the subletting or subdividing of farms carried on to
any extent ? — It is too much so ; and it is injurious to the
landlord as well as the tenantry themselves ; it is destructive
to the accumulation of capital, and lowers the farming popula-
tion, so as to render them subject to greater privations than
day labourers. It is done in two ways — one to provide for
children marrying, by dividing the tenement, and another to
procure some money, by the sale of a portion of the farm, to
enable a struggling farmer to clear of a debt. In both cases
the evils are permanent and the benefits slight." — Ibid. p. 432.

Evidence of William, C. Collis, Esq., Land Proprietor and
magistrate.

" Subletting exists from a mistaken wish to keep the

family together, and have the benefit of their labour until
they are too old to go to a trade, and have formed such habits

* Charles King CHara, Landed Proprietor and Chairman of

Board of Guardians.
" When a tenant has proved himself to be industrious and

105

If the event proved unfortunate, it was not because
the tenant was a middleman, but because he dealt

as are only fitted for tilling tlie land, then the extreme difficulty
of getting other farms reduces the parent to the necessity (I
will call it) of dividing his farm. . . . Landlords cannot well pre-
vent this, except by most rigid and unpopular means, though
they see and understand the evil. And I have here to remark,
that this difficulty of obtaining farms ai'ises chiefly from the
odium that is attached to a landlord, under any circumstances,
for dispossessing a tenant." — Dig.Dev. Com. p. 434.
John P. Molony, Esq., Land Proprietor.

"Does the subletting or subdividing of farms still con-
tinue ? — ^Tes, indeed it does.

" la it permitted by the landlords ? — Not where they can
prevent it ; but it is generally done without being brought
under the eye of the landlord, and sometimes in consequence
of a man having a large farm — as his children marry off he
gives them a portion of it, If he has eight or ten acres he will
give one son four or five, and another three, and in that way."

Ibid. p. 434.

trustworthy, and has acquired capital, the landlord is by no
means averse to place under his management improveable land,
with a promise of a lease when improved ; reserving to himself
a controlling power over the subletting and management of the
Bub-tenants. Such middlemen are necessary, and, under proper
control, become salutary links in the chain connecting the lord of
the soil with the humblest occupier thereof ; they co-operate with
the landlord in maintaining peace and good order, being equally
interested therein, and become a check to general combination,
so likely to prevail where the landlord, unsupported, has to
conteud singly with one uniform mass of small tenants com-
bined for a common object and interest : they aftbrd a support
and protection to the landlord, of which, latterly, ho stands
much in need. I do not think that you can act upon any one
decided principle ; you must bring all into practice. You will
find some middlemen very well intentioncd, and improviujg, and
valuable members of society ; and oji the other liaud they may
be otherwise." — Dig. Devon Com. p. 417.

100

■with Ills comrades and co-relio:ionists more un-
mercifully than might have been expected.*

Evidence of Thomas Ware, Esq., Land Proprietor, Vice-
chairman of Eoard of Guardians, and Magistrate.

" What steps do tliey take to prevent it ? — They are generally
obliged to yield to it, the remedy afforded by law is so dillicult

of attaining At the time that the Subletting Act

was in force in this country, my father and I jointly let a
small lot of ground to a Eoman Catholic clergyman ; there
was as strong a clause inserted in the lease against subletting as

the skill of the legal man could devise He gave a part

of the ground to his brother, and a part to his sister. His sister
got a license, and opened a public-house upon the premises. I
did not like this getting on. My immediate tenant retained
in his own hand one small field, containing probably an acre
or an acre and a half of land. I brought an ejectment against
him for a breach of covenant in subletting. I had a record in
court upon it, and it was with extreme diflficulty that I was
able to sustain the case, though I proved that the county rate
was paid in three separate payments — one by the brother, one
by the sister, and a third portion for the small field he kept as
a colourable possession in his own hand. I succeeded in
getting a verdict, but it was afterwards set aside, and an order
for a new trial came down — and all this arising from the im-
possibility on my part to prove that those lettings had taken
place by written agreement. It was set up by him, ' I put
in my brother as my steward or caretaker, and lent my sister

* " It appears that as one means of abolishing the class of
middlemen, proprietors in many cajes on the expiration of a
lease, set the land to the occupying tenants, letting to the mid-
dleman that part only of the farm which he retained in his
own hands. And to avoid the operation of this system many
middlemen have sought to remove the competitors for a renewal,
and have ejected all their sub-tenants previous to the lapse of
their own interest. This has not unfrequently caused much
suffering and outrage." — Ibid. p. 1029.

107

Whether even the middleman is deserving of all
the abuse which is heaped upon him may be a

the use of the house ;' but finally I succeeded." — Digest, Dev.
Com. p. 433.

JEvidenee of M. Mahony, Esq.

" I will give you an instance of it (subdivision): — One portion is
called Ballycarberry, forming three ploughlands. The occupying
tenants some years ago divided the land into little divisions
among themselves. They calculated each division as the
grass of four cows. There was one man of the name of
Crahan, now living on one of those lots with four cows — he
had four in family ; he got them all married, and the fortune
he gave was a cow's grass to each ; and of course, the sons
came to reside upon the land. There are four families. The
last of all was a daughter. Ho had but one cow's grass
remaining. He married that daughter to my cow boy, and he
got the remaining cow's grass, or he was to have one on the
faLher-in-law's death." — Ibid. p. 434.

Evidence of J. Butler, Esq., Land Proprietor.
" As soon as a man has a son or daughter grown up, the first
thing he does is to give them a bit of land." — Ibid. p. 435.

Evidence of M. T. Saunders, Esq., Land Proprietor.
" I have some leases ready, but the tenants will not accept

them With respect to subletting, a tenant-at-will

cannot subdivide his farm so easily as a tenant by lease, and such
never takes place on a well-regulated estate ; but a tenant by
lease most frequently subdivides by his last will and testament
amongst his children, thereby leaving all not suflicicnt land to
support their faniilies, and in a short time none can pay their
rent, consequently the landlord loses his rent and they lose
their farms." — Ibid. p. 284.

Evidence of Captain Thomas Bolton, land agent to Lord Stanley.

" AVith respect to the subletting or subdividing of farms,
does it still continue? — Yes, it does, very much, and I have
much difficulty in checking it. There is more difficulty in Ihat
than any thing else. That ia my reason for not granting

108

question. To drive a hard bargain is a failing
not confined to that cdass of persons ; and it has

leases. Toil have no control over them with a lease. You
may put stringent clauses, but presently you find a barn or
stable occupied ; and you find a field with a tenant, and he
says, ' This man is a labourer or a servant of mine.'

" Have you attempted to enforce any of those clauses ? —
Yes, several times ; and succeeded once on a farm of fourteen
acres of ground, at an expense of ^220. It was twice referred
to the upper courts, and two trials at the assizes. I had enough
of it, but I succeeded. The rent was about 22s an acre, upon
fourteen acres of ground.

" Explain in what manner these enormous costs were in-
curred ? — Points were raised by the defendant's lawyer with
regard to the proceeding. There was a new trial, and points
reserved a second time, and it went up to Dublin a second
time. The tenant sold his interest in th^ farm ; he was a
drunken blackguard sort of a fellow, and I was aware before
it actually took j^lace, that it was intended to be done. I for-
mally told him before a number of persons, that he ought not
to do so, and cautioned the purchaser, who gave him £150. for
his interest in the land ; that I should proceed upon the lease,
and if he persuaded the other man to dispose of it, I would
turn him out. This was openly done, but still the purchaser
gave him ^6150. for his interest in the land. I had to prove
the subletting ; and there were some difficulties I had to en-
counter, that I cannot call to mind." — Digest, Dev. Com. p. 436.

Evidence of Bolert O'Brien, Esq., Land Proprietor, Tenant,
and Agent.
" The subletting of land has long been a grievance, and
those landlords who first broke through the system of
letting their lands to middlemen were at that time hailed as
benefactors to their country ; but now the rule has become so
general, and the class of middlemen so nearly passed away, that
the evils of it are nearly forgotten, and the occupiers are now
getting up a cry against the landlords as if they were unkind
and hard taskmasters, forgetting that in nine cases out of ten

109

always seemed to me that the moral responsibility
of accepting a competition rent is pretty, much

tbeir existence on the land was without the consent of the
landlord ; that they have much greater indulgences from him
than they had while under the middleman ; and that they
always looked forward with anxiety to be brought into direct

communication with their landlord The great value of

land during the war, induced many who were of a respectable
farming class to sublet the lands and set up to be gentlemen ;
and one frequently meets with people who say their father had
£100, £200, &c., a year out of such and such lands." — Digest,
Dev. Com. p. 435.

W. J. Fennell, Esq., Landholder and Magistrate.

*' Can you give us any instances of that subdivision ? —
Yes, I can. A tenant of my own held a few years ago thirty-six
Irish acres of land himself, under a lease directed to himself,
not under the restriction of the Subletting Act. He had a lease
for lives prior to that. After a bit he got one of his sons married,
and gave him one-third of the farm, and planted him on it.
A little after he got a second son mai*ried, and planted him
On it, and gave him one-third. One of those men not being
industrious, and matters going wrong, could not pay his rent
for his third, and to relieve himself out of the dilliculty ho
gives half of his third to a fourth party, getting some money
for it."— Ibid. p. 440.

"Were you before this division took place aware of it, and
did you try to remonstrate with this person? — I did, and his
reply was what else could he do with his sons ? And now the
stranger is not paying anytliing, or paying badly, and he looks
to me to get the man out for him.

" Is the lease still in existence ? — Yes, there are three
lives in existence still. I wish to state another instance about
the division of land, and the way they deal with the land.
About sixteen years ago a lenant died in this place. ITc left
me executor to his will, and guardian to his two infant daugh-
ters. He had but ten acres of land An allowance of 5s

an acre had been made for some time, and uji 1o lliis lime.

110

tlie same as tliat of profiting by the market rate of
wages. If tlie first is frequently exorbitant, the

Still I think be was paying the value. His will was, that on
the eldest girl attaining the age of nineteen, she was to get
married ; and upon her getting married, cither to give half the
ground to her other sister, or secure her in £50. On her at-
taining the age of nineteen, in one month afterwards she did
get married, and her husband passed notes for the £50 to the
other girl, instead of dividing the land, which ^650 must still go
out of my land, or I must have another tenant on it ; I could

instance hundreds of cases of that kind I may notice

one more particularly — a case of that kind. Another man died,
leaving two sons. He had only nine acres of land. He divided
this ground between them by will. One was married. The
unmarried man he bound in his will to give £30 to his sister
on marriage, having only four acres and a half of laud. He did
secure her in it, and has been three years in paying it. He
has discharged it, but I believe he is beggared by it. He is
pauperised. He had to sell his only cow and mule he had for
the use of his farm, to provide the 5630 for his sister."

Digest, Dev. Com. p. 441.

Francis JE. Curry, Esq., Agent to tlie DuTce of Devonsliire.

" Does the subletting or subdivision of farms stUl con-
tinue ? — It is a thing I endeavour to check by every means in
my power. There is scarcely any subletting except under old
leases unexpired, where it cannot be prevented ; but the sub-
division of land is more difficult to prevent, and it is done
sometimes contrary to covenant and the known rules of the
estate ; but I endeavour to check it as much as possible by
timely cautioning and watchfulness more than by any other
means. In some instances I have been obliged to have recourse
to stronger measures. I think there is a greater tendency to
subdivide among the smaller tenants than the large ones.

" What measures have you taken to prevent the subletting
or subdivision ? — In some instances where I have found sub-
division to exist, and being unable to check it otherwise, I have
been obliged to give the parties notice to quit In a few

Ill

latter is as often inadequate, and inadequate wages
are as fatal to efficiency as a rack rent is to produc-

cases ejectments have been brought on account of it. I endea-
vour to prevent it as much by watchfulness as anything else.
It is not practised to any great extent ; the parties I have the
most difficulty in watching are the small holders,"

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 442.

Evidence of Thomas Butler, Esq., Agent and Farmer.

" Does the subletting or subdividing still continue ? — •
Whenever the tenants are allowed they will subdivide to a
quarter of an acre a piece.

" Upon the property which you manage is that permitted ?
• — Tbey are bound by leases not to subdivide, but they will do
it in spite of you." — Ibid. p. 443.

Evidence of John D. Balfe, Esq., Farmer.

"The tenant having a lease, the covenants of which can
only be broken by the fact of subletting, do you see any prac-
tical difficulty in the landlord preventing it ? — I think, as the
law is at present, it is difficult, but it might be remedied."

Ibid. p. 443.

Evidence of Edward Elliot, Esq., Land Proprietor.

" The people would, I have no doubt, be most anxious still to
divide ; they would divide down to a rood at this moment if
their families required it." — Ibid. p. 443.

Evidence of Thomas Barnes, Esq., Landholder, Agent, and
Magistrate.

" To what extent is the subletting or subdividing of farms
carried on ? — It is not carried on to any extent ; the landlords
are doing all they can to prevent it : they seem to be doing
every thing they can, and notliing is more troublesome.

" What means do you resort to to prevent it ? — We insert
strong covenants against it, and we threaten legal proceedings ;
but wo have never taken any." — Ibid. p. 41'3.

Evidence of John Niinn, Esq., Land Proprietor.

"Is there any covenant about subletting or subdividing?
— I have known even in old leases a clause to that cirect put

112

tion ; tlioiigli cacli be the result of voluntary acljust-
ineut, it is the same aliject misery and absence of

iu, but I believe it never availed, because the courts of law
allowed what they termed waivers in such matters. If a land-
lord received rent after ho know the subletting had taken place,
it was admitted as a waiver ; and I believe for that very
reason the landlords gave up inserting the clauses."

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 444.
Evidence of Robert If Arcy, Esq., Farmer and Agent.

" The middlemen, w^e found, destroyed every thing they had to
do with. They were not satisfied with the profit from farming,
but they covered the land with poor tenants ; and it is easy to
explain to any one acquainted with the country the desire they
have to subdivide. Every man who has twenty acres of land,
if he has a good house, and a barn, and a cow-house and stable,
the first thing he does is to put his son into the barn. The
son says, ' I am not satisfied to live in that manner with you,
and I will put vip a chimney in the stable ;' and they never
stop till they cover the little farm, that was once a comfortable
thing, and bring the greatest possible misery upon themselves.
It is to get rid of those that we ship those people to America.

" Does the subletting or subdivision of fiirms still con-
tinue ? — Very much ; where a poor man can do it he will doit,
particularly with their own families. When a family grows up
they become a little unpleasant, and wish to settle themselves —
the daughter must have her part, and the son must have his part.

" Is it permitted by the landlords ? — No.

" "What course do they adopt to prevent it ? — Where there
is a clause against subletting they proceed according to that
clause to put them out, but latterly there has been some
change in the Act in respect to that ; that unless the penalty
was set forth, and recited in the body of the lease, you could
not enforce it. I think nothing would prevent it but a clause
making it an avoidance of the lease." — Ibid. p. 444.
Evidence of John Duke, Esq., M.D., Leitrim.

" It is a common practice, where a man has five acres he will
subdivide it with three sons." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 445.

smnivisidN oi i.MiM.s in ihki.and.

•S"/u7«.f thr .inhJinsum fffei-ttil i/i /

'105 acres ■formerfy held W 2, hut
now ocatfjifd m 4-Z1hjt.s,'b\'29tmanis
3 ofyvhyose scattered Iwhh'jiffs are
shffHTi in- dtffa-axt colors .

£xtracted froin Report of Devon (xmiinissioTj.

113

an alternative which rule the rate of both ; if the
unhappy condition of the Irish cottier tenant of
former days may be referred to the one, the physical
and mental deo;radation of the labouring; classes in
the Black Country, as revealed in the report of a
late Commission, is even a more startling illustra-
tion of the other.

In fact the middlemen of Ireland were rather
the exponents than the cause of the people's misery,
and, though piled ten deep one above the other, on
a single tenancy, they no more occasioned rack
rents than the degrees on a barometer occasion the
atmospheric pressure they record. Derivative
tenancies, cottier allotments, potato cultivation,
low wages, emigration have been the rude allevia-
tions— not the origin — of the country's destitution ;
just as half-rations are the alternative for short pro-
visions,— or any wages are preferable to starvation
— a patch of ground, at a rack rent, to serfdom

Hon. W. Le Poer Trench.

"I do not see the means of preventing tliis subletting

Subdivisions of farms by tenants, for the purpose of alienation,
are always ruinous." — Dig- Dev. Com. p. 28G.

^Evidence of Charles King C liar a, Ef^q., Land Proprietor and
Chairman of Board of Guardians.

" Is subletting carried out to any great extent ? — It is in

general practice when not prevented by the landlord:

it is practised against the consent of the landlord, who endea-
vours to prevent it by enforcing the penal clauses of the lease, or
ousting the tenant, if at will. It is injurious to the interest of
all parties, for it lessens capital, increases population, and im-
poverishes the land." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 447.

I

114

and 3</. a ilnv,— and a free farm in America to
digging- anotlici* man's potato garden in Conne-
mara. Similar phenomena would have declared
themselves under any system of land tenure, and
in any country where tlic population had expanded
in a degree disproportionate to its capacities for
self-sustenation. If it were otherwise, every per-
petuity in Ireland would be a land of Goshen,*
and Ulster a paradise where rack-rents and evic-
tions were unknown. | But it is an acknowledged
fact that the low-let perpetuities of the South and
AVcst onlv exao-o-erate the worst features of the
worst estates, J: and in Ulster, though under a more

* " It does not appear either, as a general rule, from
the evidence, that thos^e tenants who have the longest leases,
and tlie most beneficial interest in their farms, have brought
the lands they hold to a more productive or improved state
than others, not possessing such advantages or security. It
is even broadly asserted by n)any that lands held under long
leases, at nominal rents, are in a worse state than those held
from year to year." — Digest Devon Commission, Summary, p. 16.

f " It may be assumed that the fourtli class houses are gene-
rally unfit for human habitations ; and yet it would appear
that in the best circumstanced county in this respect (Down)
24-7 per cent., or about one-fourth, of the population live in
houses of this class." — Ihid. p. 126.

X Evidence of John Quin, Esq., Land Proprietor.

" What, in your opinion, is the length of lease which is
most calculated to encourage agricultural improvements? —
The better the lease the better the improvements. At the
same time I do not think that those who have long leases, and
pay nominal rents, exert themselves in a way beneficial to the
country or to themselves." — Ibid. p. 284.

115

subtle guise, rack-rents and the middleman are as
rampant as they used to be in Connaught.

Evidence of Chas. King O' Uara, Land Proprietor.
" In this district, long leases have proved injurious to the
condition of the tenants and improvement of the land. The
tenant having secured a long term, procrastinates, gets into
laz}-^ habits, neglects his business, alienates portions of his
farm, to meet his rent or engagements, or provide for his
family ; goes on con-acring and impoverishing until his land
is exhausted and himself a pauper, or his land is covei'ed with
paupers — himself the greatest. Four marked cases now present
themselves on my property, in proof of the bad effect of long
leases. First by the termination of a lease made in 1773, to
one tenant, of eighty acres, at 9* per acre ; the original
tenant sold his interest to the present occupier, who is in the
worse condition, and no improvement whatever is made ; the
land is con-acred to exhaustion, and three sub-tenants on it. I
know this myself. The second is a farm, leased in the year
1772 to one tenant (by whose death it terminated), of seventy-
eight acres, at 5* per acre. The tenant had only sixteen acres
in his possession at his death, having sublet the remainder. I
believe there about fifteen families on it. The third case is
368 acres, leased in 1784 to one tenant, of excellent land in the
best condition at 10*. per acre for 256 acres of upland, with
112 acres of bottom and bog not charged for. The farm is now
occupied by the four sons of the lessee, holding in common ;
they have no division, and all the buildings, walls, fences, and
drains are decayed or destroyed, and land lying unfenced and
exhausted, covered with weeds ; and 1 will venture to say,
that if now surveyed, I shall not be able to find the number of
acres of upland that was leased to them. They have let some
of the lower part go back to bog. The term of the original
lease was for three lives. The fourth case is 208 acres, leased
in the year 1784 to one tenant, at 5* per acre : the lessee
apportioned it among his throe sons ; they among six ; and it
now has twenty-four families on it. Each of those farms
should have made the fortune of the tenant, had he been pos-
sessed of common industry. I could state several similar

I 2

IIG

This last statement requires explanation. In
Ulster it is the custom for the incoming tenant to pay

instances ; but these liavc occurred williin the last few weeks.
There was one case of a farm, about the same size, leased by
my father to one tenant. The lease lasted for many years. I
found the son on it with thirty tenants, and himself the poorest
man of the whole. The tenants admitted that they had been
in the habit of contributing to his support. That was from
drink."— J)?>. Drv. Com. jy. 286.

Evidence of Thomas Urudford, Farmer.

" What lease should a person have to remunerate him for
that draining? — He should have a lease for sixty-one years at
least.

" Taking, generally, large and small farms, do you see
much greater improvements where there are leases than where
there are tena]its-at-\vill ? — I cannot say that I do. I know a
farm which is upon lease for 999 years, and there is not such
a b:idly managed estate round the country.

" Are the lessees of that farm under that long lease sub-
letting ? — Tes, they are subletting every day.

" Are they holding any land themselves ? — Tes, but they
are the most \v retched people I see. Upon the townland which
I have spoken of, there are many families, who are neighbours
of those parties, who are paying £S or 364 an acre for their
land, and they are much more snug and comfortable, and that
is their character throughout the neighbourhood.

*' Have those neighbours any leases who are paying £3.
or £4. an acre? — Some of them have, and some of them have
not:'— Ibid. p. 279.

Evidence of Lieut. Col. Wm. Blacker, Land Proprietor.

" I passed one farm that I happened to know something of,
which I know is held for ever at Zd. an acre, and it is in a
worse condition than farms adjoining, held by an ordinary
lease, at 25*. or 26«.

" Is it in possession of the lessee, or is it sublet ? — It is,
1 believe, in the possession of tlie lessee, but I am not quite
certain."— 76/f/. p. 260.

117

the outgoing tenant a sum of money - nominally, for
his imj)rovements, really — for an indeterminate
value called his " goodwill." If the worth of the
improvement coiTesponded with the amount of
the payment, the arrangement would be unobjec-
tionable. But it seldom does. An incoming
tenant will give openly, or surreptitiously, £5, £10,
or £20 an acre for land let at high rent, in a bad

Evidence of Richard Longfield, Esq. Land Proprietor.

" How is it principally let — on lease or at will ? — Generally
on lease ; but I think there i« a degree of objection now and
dislike to letting on lease that formerly did not exist. Many of
the farms let on very old leases are in a very bad state." — Diff.
Dev. Com. p. 274.

" Have you, in point of fact, observed that those who
have very long leases among the farmers are not the most
improving? — Decidedly. Nor do I believe it to be to the
advantage of the landlord or tenant that the land should be
at a very low rent." — Ibid. 2)- 275.

Evidence of Rondly Miller, Esq., Agent.

" On the estate let in perpetuity in this neighbourhood, the
tenants generally are the poorest in this barony, and have sub-
divided their farms to a great extent, and cultivate them very
badly.

" In that case vou mean where the tenant occupies him-
self the land he holds in perpetuity ? — The tenant of lands in
perpetuity pays 2*. (jd. the Irish acre ; lie subdivides the lands
away, and holds a small portion himself, it may be in a farm
of fifty acres, he may have eight or ten tenants, he kec^ps a
small portion himself, just as much as will give him a voto in
the county.

"What is their comlil ion ? — Tlicy arc very poor, gene-
rally."—;>. 207.

118

condition, and without improvements, the figure
generally increasing in an inverse ratio to the size
of the farm and the poverty of the district, the
largest tenant prices prevailing in Donegal,* and
the most moderate in Down, while the payment is
almost invariably made with money borrowed at a
high rate of interest.| This interest is, of coui'se,

* Lord Georye Hill {Donegal).

" The good-will or tenant-right of a farm is generally very
high, often amounting to forty or fifty years purchase, land
being the thing most coveted, as indeed, it has been the only
means of subsistence, employment being uncertain, and as till
of late no support being provided for the poor and helpless
every penny was carefully put by with a view of purchasing
land. This took all their little capi'al, and very often left them
in debt to some money lender, who had made up the required
sum at an euormous rate of iiiterest ; by this means nothing
was left them for the purchase ot the cattle and seed."— i>/^<?«^,
Devon Commission, p. 299.

f The following remarks on the uurestricted sale of what
is called the good-will as distinguished from fair compensation
for improvements is well worthy of attention.

" It is even questionable whether this growing practice of
tenant-right, which would at the first view appear to be a valu-
able assumption on the part of the tenant, be so in reality ;
as it gives to him, without any exertion on his own part, an
apparent property or security, by means of which he is enabled
to incur future incumbrance in order to avoid present incon-
venience— a practice which fi*equcntly terminates in the utter
destitution of his family and iu the sale of his farm, when the
debts thus created at usurious interest amount to what its tale
would produce." — Ibid.jy- 5, 2i.

" The eft'ect on the purchaser of the tenant right to a farm is
also highly injurious. He is generally a person who has
managed to accumulate a small portion of funds, but not
sufficient to pay ofi' the whole amount of the purchase-

119

a second or rack rent paid to the lender of the pur-
chase money, and the recipient who walks ol¥
with it is neither more nor less than a bastard
middleman* who takes a fine in lieu of an annual

money. He, therefore, is obliged not only to part with the
whole of that capital which would be requisite to establish him
in his new enterprise, but he must, at the very commencement-
encumber himself with a debt which requires a considerable
time to liquidate.

" The equitable and legal rights of a proprietor in his land,
as well as the equitable rights of a tenant to a fair return for
his judiciously-invested labour and capital, are alike outraged
by the existing practice in Ireland."

Digest of Evidence, Devon Commission, p. 5.

Evidence of Thos. Eyre, Esq. Farmer and Miller.

" What do you think of the effect of the tenant-right
generally ?— I always thought it injurious; but am not com-
petent to judge, perhaps. I had been always living in England
till 1826. I always thought it an injury to the tenant, rather
than a benefit.

" In what manner do you consider it injurious to the
teuaut ? — The incoming tenant impoverishes himself by pur-
chasing this land. He has to go and borrow money to buy the
land, in the first instance ; and after he gets it, he gets credit
where he should not do it at home. The shopkeepers say,
" Oh, he has a farm, and we may trust him." — Ibid. p. 30(J.

* Here is a case where the lender actually becomes the
Landholder.

Evidence of JR. W. Codd, Roman CatlioUc Clergyman.

" By whom is the stamp and interest paid ? — By the tenant.

" Ho you know the usual rate of interest ? — I have been
inquiring, and I have been told it is not less than twelve per
cent., generally speaking; somelimos this money costs them 10
per cent., when they give them tlic land in pledge. The une of
the land is granted a 9 the interest for the monvy borrowed y

llnd. p. *J()S.

120

2)aynieiit for a non-existing value. As a conse-
quence, tlie new tenant commences liis enterprise
burdened with debt and destitute of capital.
Hence low farming, inadequate profits, unedu-
cated children, and too frequently, the ruin and
emig-ration of the Ulster tenant, in spite of indulgent
landlords and a secure tenure.

Evidence of John Forsyth, Esq., Agent.

" Supposing a man obliged to borrow money to purchase
the tenant-right, and having to pay interest, and finding a
difficulty in paying the interest and the rent, which is he most
likely to complain of, the interest or the rent ?— We do not
hear much about the interest ; but they frequently pay the
interest where they do not pay the rent. I think they get
the money very frequently from people in their own rank, who
are associating with them." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 292.

*' That a portion of the borrower's farm is occasionally trans-
ferred to the lender as a security for the repayment of the
debt, and that the use of the land is received instead of
interest." — Ibid. Summary, p. 195.

" That the interest paid by the needy man to local usurers
frequently ranges from 25 to 100 per cent." — Ihid. Sum. p. 195.

Charles A. Walker, Esq., Land Proprietor and Deputy
Lieutenant.

" In the poorer parts of the country there are unfortunately
some of those curses to society, usurers, who charge exorbitant
interest to the distressed tenants, and have been the means of
more injury to farmers and estates than any other cause.

'' The usual way in which the interest is paid by the borrower
is, he gives up to the lender the best field on his farm for three
years or more, for the usurer to repay himself by the produce
of it. The usurer takes wheat crop after wheat crop until the
land can produce no more. The next loan is repaid in a similar
manner with another field, and both tenant and laud are ruined.
I know miles in extent in this district which have been so
treated."— /*/(/. p. 207.

121

It is amusing to observe that the same persons
who are anxious to mitigate the effects of compe-
tition by imposing on the owner of the land a rent
fixed by Act of Parliament, always contend that
the person in whose favour this beneficial interest
is to be created should have the right to dispose of
it to the highest bidder :* that is to say, though I
am to be precluded from receiving the market value
of my land, — my tenant is to be allowed to do so,
by extracting a fine from whoever may be induced
to make the most extravagant offer for his good-
will. It is hardly perhaps to be expected that the
advocates of such measures should condescend to
show how far their proposals are compatible with
justice, and the narrowest interpretations cf the
rights of property, but at least they ought to prove
them conducive to the agricultural prosperity of
the country, and consonant with public policy.

* The Church Temporalities and Landlord and Tenant QueS'
lions. — Drogheda, 3farch llth. — " At a very full meeting of the
Droglieda Board of Guardians — Patrick Matthew, Esq., J. P.,
in the chair- the following resolutions, in connexion with the
above questions, were unanimously adopted: — "That we peti-
tion the Legislature to pass such a law of landlord and tenant
as will give a fixity of tenure of from Gl to 100 years, accord-
ing to the relative number of reclaimed acres of land in each
holding, fixing rents by adding one-fourth or one-third to the
present Poor Law valuation, making that sum the rent. No
compensation save for permanent improvement k made within
fifteen years prior to the expiration of term ; also, (jiving a
rif/ht to tenant or oceujner to .sell the good-will of the holding,
if anything should occur to oblige him to take such a course."

JSorihcrn Whig.

l'2-2

But as the renmlt of" such iiu arniugement wouhl
be to lill tlic majority of the farms in Irehiud^
in the cour.se of a few years, with tenants
paying a double rent, i.e. the Parliamentary rent
to their landlords, and the interest on the fine
squeezed out of them by the lucky individual to
whom Parliament had attributed a share in the
original owner's proprietory rights, it is difficult to
see what could be the advantao^e of the chano-e.
It may indeed be urged that the vice in the system
would only blaze into life on a change of tenancy :
— but changes of tenancy are continually taking
place : — not only by the suiTcnder of farms, but on
the death of every occupant. His sons succeed : —
they all consider they have an equal claim to the
holding : — if permitted they subdivide it ;* — if not

* " Or, if the parents' improvideuce do not reach to this extent,
it gives them an erroneous feeling that at their death a fund
will exist, without any previous accumulation of their own,
from which their children can be all provided for. Accordingly,
the death of a father generally leaves the son who succeeds to
the farm encumbered to an irretrievable extent by charges for
the provision of other members of the family ; and this fre-
quently upon a holding in a most unproductive or half-culti-
vated condition. He is obliged to sell oft" his stock, and is
utterly unabie to make those exertions which his position re-
quires, and perhaps even incapable of fulfilling the arrange-
ments required by his father's will, A minute subdivision of
the small farm is then made amongst the members of the
family, thereby laying the foundation for perhaps five or six
pauper families on an extent of surface barely sufficient for
the comfortable maintenance of one family."

Diff. Dev. Com. Summary, p. 4.

123

the eldest has to piy the others their share of the
father's beneficial interest ; and the competition
price is their standard of valuation.* Consequently
the peimanent tenant finds himself in the same
position as if he had boiig'ht the farm from a
stranger : — that is to say, destitute of capital and
probably in debt : — while the brothers walk off
with a sum of money which if the rent is as fair
as the theory of the arrangement pre-supposes,
can represent no real value, | and to which there-
fore they have much less right than the landlord,

* Evidence of Robert Smith, Esq. Clerk of tlie Peace.
"In my opinion, such is the anxiety of the majority of the
lower class of farmers, in the districts wherein I am best ac-
quainted, that they would purchase the outgoing tenant's in-
terest, disregarding all covenants."

Dig. Dev. Com. Summary, p. 295.
Evidence of John UancocTc, Esq., Agent.
" The number of competitors have a still greater eft'ect. The
demand, in general, regulates the price." —Ibid. p. 295.

Evidence of John Andrews, Farmer and Agent.

" I think land, being sold at a high price by the outgoing
tenant, takes away capital that ought to be left with the in-
coming tenant, for there is such eagerness to get land, that a
man will give all he has got in the laud, and leave himself
without capital." — Ibid. p. 295.

f Evidence of Mr. John Wilkin, Farmer.

" With regard to the purchase of land, I may say, generally,
that so much is not given for the land now ; but where there is
an anxiety to provide a place for a man's family to set down
upon, in many cases the money is borrowed, and not repaid
till it is sold again, so that it is a fictitious \-d\\xo.'"--lbid.p. 305.

Evidence of Mr. Robert Macrea, Farmer.
"In the case of a farm that has been improved by the
tenant, docs it sell proportiouably higher than one that has not

lL>4

wliom it liiis been the intention of Parliament to
debar from such exactions. Now, it is not pre-
tended that the imposition of rack rents is at all a
general practice with proprietors. The high value
of the goodwill on many estates is the index
of the landlord's moderation, and his virtues
are put up to auction in the same lot with his
land.* The rents of Ireland are comparatively
low,! and fines, which is the worst form of
rent, are never taken : to transfer therefore the
power of exaction created by competition from
the landlord, against whose interest it is to enforce
it, and to hand it over to the tenant, who would
never fail to do so, would hardly be a change for
the better ; yet so little is this question understood

been improved ? — No, I do not think it does; and I think
small farms sell higher infiuitely than many lai'ge ones."

Dig. Dev. Com. Summary, p. 308,
* Evidence of Mr. Alex. Kinmouth, Farmer.
" Is the value of it (goodwill) increasing or decreasing ?
Increasing on our estate.

" How do you account for that increase ? — They have found
out that Colonel Close is a good landlord." — Ibid. p. 294

Evidence of Henry Leslie Prentice, Esq., Ayent to Lord Caledon.

" They would go unknown to me or to any agent, and give
an additional sum to get what is called ' the good-will' of it.

" Generally speaking, over the country, what is the amount
of the sale of the tenant-right per acre by the year's rent ? —
It depends very much upon the landlord under whom the farm
may be held. If he is a good landlord, and a man of character
in the country, the price will be higher ; if he is an inferior
landlord, the price will be comparatively low." — Ibid. p. 171.

f This I believe is generally admitted, though there are
flagrant exceptions ; even a rent that is absolutely low, may
be beyond the means of an indigent or unsskilful tenant.

125

that you will hear the same person who would ve-
hemently denomice a landlord for msistmg on a
rack rent, detail with complacency the enormous
sums of money which tliis or that person has ob-
tained for his tenant right, from some ill-advised
successor to his form, whom he has skinned by the
process, and left stranded for life on the barren
acres :* Yet it is in the prosperity of this latter
individual, on whose solvency the proper cultiva-
tion of the land will depend, rather than in that of
the outo-oino- tenant, that both the landlord and
the community is interested.

From the foregoing considerations it is apparent
that competition is an irrepressible force il that if
stifled in one direction, it will burst out in another ;

* " It is, iutbe great majority of cases, not a reimbursement
for outlay incurred, or improvements effected on the land, but
a mere life insurance or purchase of immunity from outrage.
Hence, the practice is more accurately and significantly termed,
' selling the good-will.'

" And it is not uncommon for a tenant ivithout a lease to sell
the t)are privilecje of occupancy or jwssession of his farm without
any visible sign of improvement having heen made by him, at from
ten to sixteen, up to twenty and even forty years' purchase of the
renty

Evidence of John Andrews, Esq., Farmer and Agent.

" The tenant-right is more valuable than any compensation
for improvement could be, though we have not many sales of
farms, except by ill-doing tenants, who work the land till they
have nearly exhausted it, and then sell it, and get a good deal
of money upon it ; and I have seen parties get a good deal of
money by such sales who would be fairly liable to an action for
dilapidations."

f The subject is resumed in the following conclusions in the
Summarv of the Evidence given before the Devon Coramisaion :

100

tl»;it ji .system of compulsory rents would only
lead to its manifestation, in a more objectionable
form ; and tliat as a matter of policy, it is better
that those alone shoidd have the opportunity of
taking advantage of it, who are the least likely to
abuse their power.*

" Tliat small holdings, in consequence of the greater compe-
tition, command a higher price than large.

" That the tenant-rin;ht confuses the ri<2;hts of landlord and
tenant, and is an undue interference witli the interest of the
proprietor.

" That the amount paid for the purchase of tenant-right
injures the incoming tenant, by diminishing his capital.

" That debts are contracted upon the security of the tenant-
right.

" That the children of farmers are provided f r by charges
upon the tenant-right.

" That the incoming tenant is frequently compelled to borrow
funds for the purchase of the tenant-right at usurious interest.

" That the existence of the tenant-right renders more
difficult reclamation of waste lands by capitalists.

" That in most parts of Ireland the practice exists of selling
the possession of farms held even from year to year.

" That the price of tenant-right frequently amounts to £10,
£\2, ^20, or £25 per acre, and that sometimes as much as
forty years' purchase of the rent is paid for it.

" That many proprietors have attempted to regulate and
restrict its price.

" That such restrictions are frequently evaded.

•' That the tenant is able to obtain a high rate of purchase for
his good-will where he has effected no improvements, or has
even deteriorated his farm.

" That even if the price of tenant-right be at all affected by
the improvements made on a farm (a fact doubted by some
witnesses), it is not so influenced in proportion to the value of
the improvements." — Diy. Devon Com. p. 290.

* " It may be ob8erved:,that if an Irish landlord resist the temp-
tation of a high offer, and lets his land at what he considers a

127

Wherever yon go the same deleterious influence
signalizes its presence by analogous, if not by
identical effects. In the South and West the
poison has infiltrated the system itself, breeding
monstrous excrescences in the shape of the middle-
man and the rack-rented cottier. In the North it
has manifested its presence by a parasitical growth
of inflated tenant-right prices,* as effectually fatal to
the healthy expansion of our agricultural industry.
The original cause of the disease is everywhere
the same. The disproportion of the opportunities
of employment to population has resulted in uni-
versal j^ressure and imiversal competition, — compe-
tition in the labour market, already modified by
emigration ; competition in the land market — only
to be relieved by the application to more profitable
occupations of so much of the productive energies
of the nation, as may be in excess of the require-
ments of a perfect agriculture.

fair rent, he often creates a set of intermediate tenants, who
make a profit rent, by subletting the ground to persons who
live in the extreme of misery."

Si)' G. C. Lewis on Irish Disturbances, p. 313.

* I wish it to be distinctly understood, that I apply this
phrase only to those cases where the price paid by the incoming
tenant representee^ real value.

The Hev. John O' Sullivan, P.P.

" The premiums paid for these holdings to one another is in-
credible. I have known a man to pay £35 for a plot of land
for which he paid only £2. 5s a year without any lease. Mr.
Ilickwon has been telling me of a man who gave £15 to

another, who held land at a very high rent ; a man on

the other side of the bridge paid £50 for the grass of three
cows There are only ten years to run of the term, and

128

lUit, it may be objected tlmt even though emi-
i>T{itioii, rack rents — and their natural result— low
t'anninii-, are equally rife under every description
of tenure, and cannot therefore wholly be set down
to the pernicious influence of the owners of landed
property, yet, some human agency must be ac-
countable for the perennial desolation of a lovely
and fertile island, watered by the fairest streams,
caressed by a clement atmosphere, held in the
embraces of a sea whose affluence fills the noblest
harbours of the world, and inhabited by a race —
valiant, generous, tender — gifted beyond measure
with the power of physical endurance, and graced
with the liveliest intelligence.

It is to the discovery of this enigma that I now
address myself, and in its solution it is possible we
may find an answer to the famous question origi-
nally put to the Kilkenny Parliament, and lately
repeated with considerable point by Mr. Bright, —
" How is it that the King is none the richer for
Ireland ?"

he has taken it in defiance of Mr. Hickson ; . . , . but, not-
withstanding, lie is going to lay out ^6250 upon it. I hold
some land from Lord Lansdowne. He gives me the glebe, and
there was a field adjoining the lawn before the house I was
anxious to get, but I should not think of getting it without
the full consent of the proprietor. I could not drain my lawn
without draining his field. I sent to him to know what he
would let me have it for. He was under ejectment at the time,
and he wanted 3620 for it, though it was not worth 5*. I
thought I should get it for £3 or £4^. I could have got it
from Mr. Hickson without paying anything for it ; but, of
course, I could not think of that." — Digest, Dev. Com. p. 309.

129

Of course, any perfect retrospect of tlie economic
career of Ireland would necessarily involve a re-
view of her political and religious history, but so
large a treatment of the subject would not be
adapted to the present cursory discussion. I am
only anxious to point out, in a very few sen-
tences, what those influences have been which
have as effectually stunted the development of our
material prosperity as penal laws and religious
intolerance have vitiated our social atmosphere.
I allude to the commercial jealousies of Great
Britain.

It has been rather the custom of late to repre-
sent the landed interest of Great Britain as the sole
inventors and patentees of protection. The expe-
rience of Ireland does not confirm this theory.
During the course of the last 250 years we have
successively tasted the tender mercies of every
interest in turn — whether landed, trading, or com-
mercial— and have little reason to pronounce one
less selfish than another. From Queen Elizabeth's
reign until within a few years of the Union the
various commercial confraternities of Great Britain
never for a moment relaxed their relentless grip
on the trades of Ireland. One by one, each of our
nascent industries was either strangled in its birtli,
or handed over, gagged and bound, to the jealous
custody of the rival interest in England, until at
last every fountain of wealth was hermetically

K

130

sealed, and even the traditions of commercial en-
terprise have perislicd tlirongh desuetude.

Tlie owners of England's pastures opened the
campaign. As early as the commencement of
the IGth century the beeves of Eoscommon, Tip-
perary, and Queen's County undersold the pro-
duce of tlie English grass counties in their own
market.* By an Act of the 20th of Elizabeth Trisli
cattle were declared a "nuisance," and their
importation was prohibited. Forbidden to send
our beasts alive across the Channel, w^e killed
them at home, and began to supply the sister
country wdth cured provisions. A second Act of
Parliament imposed prohibitory duties on salted
meats. The hides of the animals still remained,
but the same influence soon put a stop to the im-
portation of leather. Our cattle trade abolished,
we tried sheep farming. The sheep breeders of
England immediately took alarm, and Irish wool
^Yas declared contraband by a Parliament of
Charles II. Headed in this direction we tried to
work up the raw material at home, but this created
the greatest outcry of all. Every maker of fustian,
flannel, and broadcloth in the country rose up in
arms, and by an Act of William III. the woollen
industry of Ireland was extinguished, and 20,000
manufacturers left the island. The easiness of the
Irish labour market and the cheapness of provisions
still giving us an advantage, even though we had
* See Appendix, p. 117.

131

to import our materials, we next made a dasli at
the silk business; but the silk manufacturer proved
as pitiless as the woolstaplers. The cotton manu-
facturer, the sugar refiner, the soap and candle
maker (who especially dreaded the abundance of
our kelp), and any other trade or interest that
thought it worth its while to petition was received
by Parliament with the same partial cordiality,*
until the most searching scrutiny failed to detect a
single vent through which it was possible for the
hated industry of Ireland to respire. But, although
excluded from the markets of Britain, a hundred
harbours gave her access to the universal sea.
Alas ! a rival commerce on her own element was
still less welcome to England, and as early as the
reign of Charles II. the Levant, the ports of
Europe, and the oceans beyond the Cape were for-
bidden to the flag of Ireland. The colonial trade
alone was in any manner open, — if that could be
called an open trade which for a long time pre-
cluded all exports whatever, and excluded from
direct importation to Ireland such important articles
as sugar, cotton, and tobacco. What has been the

* An amusing instance of tho feeling that Ti'eland was to bo
sacrificed to England is mentioned by the author of the Com-
mercial Eestrainta of Ireland, p. 125. In 1098 two petitions
were presented to the English House of Commons from the
fishermen of Folkstone and Aldhorough, stating that tlioy were
injured " by the Irish catching herrings at Waterford and
Wexford, and sending them to the Straits, and thereby foro-
stalling and ruining petitioners' markets."

132

consequence of such a system, pursued witli relent-
less pertinacity for 250 years? This: that, debarred
from every other trade and industry, the entire
nation flung itself back upon '"''the lancV with as
fatal an impulse as when a river whose current is
suddenly impeded rolls back and drowns the valley
it once fertilized.*

For a long time, however, the limits of their own
island proved sufficient for the three or four millions
which then inhabited it. The cheapness of pro-
visions in Ireland used to be the bugbear of the
English manufactarer. But each successive cen-
tury found the nation more straitened within its
borders. At last a choice had to be made between
the sacrifice of domestic happiness or of physical
comfort ; the natural liveliness of their affections,
combined with a buoyant temperament, led the

* lu 1836, the Eoyal Commissiouers for inquiring into the
Condition of the Poor in Ireland, reported

" That they could not estimate the number of persons in Ire-
land out of work and in distress during tJie thirty weeTcs of the
year at less than 585,000, nor the persons dependent on them
at less than 1,800,000, making 2,385,000."

" The estimate of these Commissioners received a singular
but sad corroboration nine years afterwards, in the fact I have
already noticed, of 3,000,000 of persons being in receipt of
rations under the relief arrangements at one period during the
height of the famine in 1817. It receives a further corrobora-
tion in the reduction of the popvilation by two millions and
a-half by emigration. It was tlie extraordinary productiveness
of the potato before 181G, which enabled those 2,385,000 per-
sons to exist, with only half work, even in the wretched condi-
tion they did." — Dr. Hancoclcs Aller/cd Decline, Sfc.

133

people to accept the latter alternative.* The mild-
ness of the climate, the cheapness of the fuel, and
above all, the suitableness of the potato to what
is technically called " la petite culture " contributed
to turn the scale, and early marriages continued to
remain a characteristic of the Irish peasantry."!"
Even had the landlords interfered, their remon-
strances would have been in vain, and, the down-
ward impulse once communicated, acquired a
continually accelerated momentum, for the simple
reason that each succeeding generation was ac-
customed from infancy to a lower standard

* A. Young, enumerating the causes favourable to the growth
of population in Ireland, says : — " Marriage is certainly more
general in Ireland than in Eoglaud : I scarce ever found an
unmarried farmer or cottar ; but it is seen more in other classes
which, mth us, do not marry at all ; such as servants ; the
generality of footmen and maids in gentlemen's families are
married, a circumstance we very i-arely see in England. An-
other point of importance is their children not being burden-
some. In all the inquiries I made into the state of the poor, I
found their happiness and ease generally relative to the number
of their children, and nothing considered as such a misfortune
as having none." — Part ii. p. Gl.

t The following Table, quoted by Mr. Mill, sufficiently illus-
trates the rapid rate of increase of population which at one time
prevailed in Ireland : —

pel

cent.

jicr cent.

Ireland

2-45

Bavaria

. lOS

Hungary

2-40

Netherlands

. oot

Spain .

IGG

Naples

. os;j

England

1.G5

France

. o(;3

Rhenish Prussia .

!•:«

Sweden

. or,s

Austria

I'M

Lombardy .

. 0 15

MilVs I'olit. Ecun. Vul. /., p. 300.

134

of comfort than tliat wliicli liad satisfied their
fathers.* Extraneous circumstances, such as the

* Mr. TliorutoD, iu his Plea for a peasant proprietory, quotes
the following passage from McCuUoch, aud, I think, every one
acquainted with Ireland will acknowledge the truth of Mr.
McCulloch's obser\'ations : —

" The strong predilection entertained by the great bulk of
the children eugnged in agriculture for the pursuits of their
fathers lias been remarked by every one in any degree familiar
with rural affairs. Children at liberty to divide their father's
estate, possess the greatest facilities for gratifying their natural
inclination. They have the power of continuing in the line of
life in which they have been educated, and which must in con-
sequence be endeared to them by all those early associations
"which exert so strong an influence over future conduct. More-
over, the possession of a piece of ground gives a feeling of
independence to a small capitalist or a poor man, that he can-
not otherwise experience." A possession of this sort may fail
to render him comfortable, " but it gives him a security against
want ; it furnishes him with a cottage, and unless it be un-
usually small it will enable him to raise such a supply of potatoes
as will go far to support himself and his family. In no wa}'-,
therefore, can a poor man be so independent. The possession
of a piece of ground renders him in some measure his own
mastei'. It exempts Mm from the necessity of severe labour and
unremitting application.'^ From these considerations Mr.
McCuUoch concludes that the children of small landowners
will choose " to reside on the little properties they have obtained
from their ancestors, and that the process of division and sub-
division will continue until the Avhole land has been parcelled
out into patches, and filled with an agricultural population
equally destitute of the means and the desire of rising in the
world." — McCuUoch' s Edition of the Wealth of Nations, Vol. iv^

" This reasoning," observes Mr. Thornton, " must be acknow-
ledged to possess great force." It is an exact description of
what has actuallv occurred.

135

rise of prices diirmg the Frencli wars, stimulated
the popular tendency to self expansion, until by a
logical sequence of events the spectacle was pre-
sented of a nation doubling- its population every
fifty years, yet entirely dependent for its support
upon an agricultural area which had been found
barely sufficient for its needs w^ien it was a third
less numerous ; under such conditions, high rents,
low wages, and all the other indications of destitu-
tion would be as inevitable as famme prices in a
beleaguered cit}".

But I may be told this frantic clinging of the
Irish to the land is natural to their genius, and not
a result of commercial restrictions. History sup-
plies the perfect refutation of such a theory •
Though the hostile tariff of England comprehended
almost every article produced in Ireland, one single
exception was permitted. From the reign of
William III. the linen trade of Ireland has been
fr'ee; as a consequence, at this day Irish linens
are exported in enomious quantities to every
quarter of the globe, and their annual value nearly
equals half the rental of the island.

Many attempts were made by the rival interest
in England to deprive us of this boon, and in 1785
a petition — signed by 117,000 persons — was pre-
sented* by Manchester, praying for the prohibition
of Irish linens, but justice and reason for once pre-
vailed, and the one surviving industry of Jrchmd

* "Wado\s Clirouology, Vol. I. j). 5Ji9.

136

was spared. How lius it repaid the clemency of
the British Parliament ? By dowering the crown
of England with as fair a cluster of flourishing-
towns and loyal centres of industry as arc to be
found in any portion of the Empire. Would you
see what Ireland might have been — go to DeiTy,
to Belfast, to lisbum, and by the exceptional
prosperity which has been developed, not only
within a hundred towns and villages, but for miles
and miles around them, you may measure the ex-
tent of the injury we have sustained.* Would you
ascertain how the numerical strength of a nation
may be multiplied, while the status of each indi-
vidual that comprises it is improved, — go to Bel-
fast, where (within a single generation) the popu-
lation has quadrupled, and the wages of labour
have more than doubled.l

* " The injury we endured by the suppression of our trade
may be best measured by the expansion whicb immediately
followed its liberation. In 1780 the duties on the expor-
tation of woollen manufactures from Ireland were removed.
In three years the export of our woollen stuffs increased from
8000 yards to 538,000 yards of old draperies, from 494 yards
to 40,000 yards, of new draperies. Again, with regard to the
cotton manufacture ; in 1783 130,000 yards of cotton goods
were imported into Ireland within six months from Chester
alone. In 1784, after the removal of the prohibition, only
18,000 yards were exported from that port during the same
period."

f Extract from a letter from a Belfast Merchant.

" I think you may fairly assume that the present rate of
wages earned by mill workers is about 50 per cent in excess
of that paid to them thirty or forty years since. Mechanics

137

How powerfully tlie development of maniifjic-
tures ill tlie North of Ireland has contributed to
the relief of the agricultui'al classes of Ulster, by
giving the tenant-farmer an opportunity of appren-
ticeing some of his sons to business instead of sub-
dividing among them his diminutive holding, by
enabling the cottier tenant to supplement his

aad artizans are receiving from 50 to 70 per cent, more wages
than were paid twenty to thirty years since. I am paying my
permanent farm lahourers lis per iveeh wlien I do not provide
them with a home. I should say that day labourers in Bel-
fast, such as porters in warehouses, may be all put down as
receiving fully 50 per cent in excess of what they used to get."
" The enclosed statement, which Mr. Henderson has furnished
at my request, shews pretty clearly the progressive advance of
wages paid to the last-named class.

" The following is a statement of the rates of wages which
appear to have been paid by us to ordinary lahourers at the
periods undernoted. We give separately the wages paid to
men hired by the week, and to men hired by the day. The
wages paid to carters and head porters was somewhat higher.
By the Week. By the Day.

1828 . . 8/« . . .• 1/G to 1/8

1832 . . 8/« to 9/ 1/G to 1/8

1840 . . 9/« . . .1/8

1847 . . 9/„ to 10/ 1/8 to 2/„

This was the famine year, and wages fluctuated more than
usual.

1857 . . 10/, 2/«

]867 . . 12/„ . . . .2/0
It will be seen that the rise in 40 years is about 50 per cent."

Belfast, 10th July, 1807

I have given in an Appendix a few facts connected with tlio
improvement which has taken phico in lielfast and its neigh-
bourhood during the last 30 or 10 years. — >Sce Appendix, p. 149

138

agricultural earnings with hand-loom weaving,
and by a general alleviation of the pressure
upon the land, I need not describe. These and
many otlier considerations of the sort are too
patent to need suggestion. It will be sufficient for
me to record my profound conviction — a convic-
tion which, perhaps, may be shared by some of
my readers — that had Ireland only been allowed
to develope the other innumerable resources at her
command, as she has developed the single industry
in which she was pemiitted to embark, the equili-
brium between the land and the population de-
pendent upon the land would never have been
distiu'bed, nor would the relations between land-
lord and tenant have become a subject of anxiety.
I will not pursue this portion of the inquiry
further. Feeling convinced that our best chance
of dealing with the difficulties of Ireland is to an-ive
at a correct appreciation of their origin, I have done
my best to detail the facts which prove that it is
unjust to refer them wholly or to any extraordinary
degree to the influence of the owners of landed pro-
perty in Ireland, while I have indicated a succession of
circumstances amply sufficient to account for them.
If my language has betrayed too warm a sympathy
with the class of which I am a member, the ground-
lessness of the accusations with which it has been
assailed must plead my excuse. No such instinc-
tive partiality has extended to the disposition of my
facts or the array of my arguments. If I seem to

189

have suj)pressed all cognizance of the Instances of
harshness and mismanao;ement laid to the charore
of individual landlords by men of the highest honour,
it is not because I do not acknowledge and deplore
their existence, but because they are so manifestly
exceptional as to have produced an inappreciable
effect on the current of events we are considering.
In dealing with the economic interests of a great
country, it is on the essential forces which are pro-
ducing specific results, rather than on the capricious
accidents of the situation, that we must fix our
attention.

If, on consideration, it should be found tliat the
responsibilities of the landed proprietors for the ills
of Ireland have been grossly exaggerated, I have
sufficient faith in the generosity of their accusers to
believe that they will rejoice rather than regret to
discover that so numerous and important a section
of their fellow-countrymen neither are nor have
been unworthy of their esteem ; and my conviction
gathers strength from the fact that our conclusions
on such a point cannot materially affect any pending
controversy between the landlords and their te-
nantry. If an alteration is to be made in the tenure
of hind in Ireland, that alteration must be founded
on abstract principles of justice, and the require-
ments of present policy. Many eminent statesmen
view with regret the relative position of the Ca-
tholic and Pi-otestant clergy of Ireland. Ihit when-
ever the time arrives for effecting an improvement.

140

the cliaiigc ^vill ])v made — not because a century
ago Irish Bisliops were sometimes lax and indi-
vidual clergymen inefficient, but because it lias been
always required by justice and is now recommended
by expediency. By a parity of reasoning it would
be as great an outrage to visit with penal legislation
the recent purchaser of a property in the Encum-
bered Estates Court because fifty years ago tlic
grandfather of the former proprietor created 40s
freeholders (a tenure of which ]Mr. Butt, I observe,
speaks almost with approval) and took the best rent,
as it would be to load the woollen manufacturers
of Lancashire with the responsibility of Ireland's
misfortunes because the particular industry in
which they are interested owes more than any
other its present prosperity to the cruel policy
towards Ireland inaugurated by their predecessors.*

* It is a great satisfaction to me to find that tlae following
observations by Mr. Cobden "wliicli have been published since
the foregoing chapter was written, bear out the view of the
subject I have taken.

" But whatever were the causes of early degradation of Ire-
land, there can be no doubt that England has, during the last
two centuries, by discouraging the commerce of Ireland, — thus
striking at the very root of civilization — rendered herself respon-
sible for much of the barbarisms that afilicts it.

" However much the conduct of England towards the sister-
island, in this particular, may have been dwelt upon for party-
purposes, it is so bad as scarcely to admit of exaggeration.

" The first restrictions put upon the Irish trade were in the
reign of Charles II. ; and from that time, down to the era when
the united volunteers of Ireland stepped forward to rescue

141

their country from its oppressors, (the ouly incident, by the
way, in the Chronicles of Ireland, deserving the name of a really
national effort) our policy was directed, incessantly to the de-
struction of the foreign trade with that country. Every attempt
at manufacturing industry, with one exception, was likewise
mercilessly nipped in the bud. Her natural capabilities might,
for example, have led the people to the making of glass : it was
enacted, that no glass should be allowed to be exported from
Ireland, and its importation, except from England, was also
prohibited. Her soil calculated for the pasturing of sheep
would have yielded wool eqiial to the best English qualities ;
an absolute prohibition was laid on its exportation ; and King
William, in addressing the British Parliament, declared ' that
he would do everything in his power to discourage the woollen
manufactures of Ireland.' Down to the year 1779 we find that
the export of wooUen goods from that island remained wholly
interdicted.

" Not only was her commerce with the different parts of
Europe fettered by the imposition of restrictions upon every
valuable product that could interfere with the prosperity of
England ; not only was all trade with Asia and the East of
Europe excluded by the charters which were granted to the
companies of London ; but her ports were actually sealed
against the trade of the American Colonies.

" Although Ireland presented to the ships of North America
the nearest and noblest havens in Europe, and appeared to bo
the natural landing-place for the products of the New World,
her people were deprived of all benefit, — nay, they were
actually made to suffer loss and inconvenience from their
favoured position ; laws were passed prohibiting the importa-
tion of American commodities into Ireland, without first land-
ing them in some part of England and Wales, Avhilst tho
exports of Irisli products to the Colonics excepting through
some ]iritish port wa>s also interdicted.

" If we add to this that a law was enacted, preventing beef or
live cattle from being exported to England, some idea may bo
formed of the commercial policy of this country towards Ire-
land,— a policy savouring more of tiie mean and sordid tyranny
of the individual huckster over his poorer rival, than of any

14-2

nobler oppression that is wont to characterize the acta of vic-
torious nations."

m • * * *

"Tlicre are those who think the Irish genius is unsuited to
tliat eager and persevering ])ursuit of business which distin-
guishes the English people ; and they argue tlaat, but for this,
the natives of a region in all respects so favourable to com-
merce must have triumphed over the obstacles that clogged
their industry."

" There is, we believe, one cause existing less connected with
the injustice of England, and to which we are about to allude
why Ireland is below us and other Protestant nations in the
scale of cizilization ; yet if we look to the prosperity of her
Btaple manufacture, the only industry that was tolerated by
the Grovernraent of this country, — it warrants the presumption
that, under similar favouring circumstances, her woollens, or
indeed her cottons might equally with her linens, have survived
a competition with the fabrics of Great Britain.*'

Cohdens Polit. Writings, Vol. I. p. 53-

" The two gi'eat objects for which the patriots contended were,
legislative independence and commercial freedom.^'

" With regard to the latter object, it was not merely the mis-
taken or prejudiced policy of a party, but the pure selfishness
and jealousy of the English nation, which denied this object to
Ireland : it was a mixture of ignorance and selfishness not less
prejudicial to British than to Irish prosperity. But I am only
now concerned in showing that such was the spirit and dis-
position of the English towards the Irish people ; and that by
its operation these feelings of animosity and alienation were so
deeply rooted in the latter country, that no subsequent con-
cessions, no change of policy, however liberal and complete, have
been able to extirpate them. In proof of this part of the case
I must produce the testimony of Mr. Huskisson. " Eecol-
lecting," he says, " that for centuries it has been a settled
maxim of public policy, in all great states having dependencies,
to make the interests of those dependencies subservient to the
interests, or the supposed interests, of the parent state. There
is, perhaps, no country where the consequences of persevering

143

iu such a system cau be so forcibly illustrated as in our own.
In the first place, let us look at Ireland till the year 1782, The
many other causes which contributed to keep that fertile island in
a state of misery and depression, I shall pass by on the present
occasion ; but is it not a well-known fact, that, till the year
1780, the agriculture, the internal industry, the manufactures,
the commerce, the navigation of Ireland, were all held in the
most rigid subserviency to the supposed interests of Great
Britain ?" In 1778, a partial relaxation of this exculsive
system was -proposed in the English Parliament : " and what
was the reception these proposals met with in the House of
Commons, and on the part of the trading and manufacturing
interests of the country ? The opponents of these limited con-
cessions, enumerating the boons already conferred on Ireland,
declared that to grant more would be fatal to the commerce and
manufactures of England. . . . Our merchants and manu-
facturers, our shipowners, our country gentlemen, all took the
alarm— all were to be ruined, if we granted the proposed par-
ticipations to a country almost without debt, and paying the
same taxes with ourselves. Resting on these and other grounds,
petitions poured in from all quarters. The merchants of
Glasgow prayed ' that neither the present nor any future ad-
vantage should be granted to Ireland, which might in the least
degree operate to the disadvantage of Great Britain.' . . .
The language of Manchester was still more decided in repro-
hating the j^foposed concession. Liverpool, also, did not hesi-
tate to predict, that by the adoption of the proposals that town
and port would be speedily reduced to their original insignifi-
cance. In 1779, a more limited concession to Ireland wag
proposed in the British House of Commons, but this measure
was negatived on a division. Towards the close of that year,
the events of the war in North America, and the state of things
in Ireland, produced a different feeling in the British Parlia-
ment. State necessity, acting under a sense of political danger,
yielded without grace, that which good sense and good feeling
had before recommended in vain."

Oreville's Policy of England toioards Ireland.

144

" At tlic same time tliat a wide and impassable line was drawn
by the law between the two religions in Ireland, and the one
persuasion was made a privileged, the other an inferior class,
the whole of Ireland was treated as a province or colony, whose
interest was to be sacrificed to those of the mother-country.
Hence arose the restrictions on Irish commerce, — on the ex-
portation of corn, cattle, and woollen goods, — avowedly for the
benefit of England. A system of government administered in
this spirit, and in a country where a people were already in a
state of great rudeness and disorder, necessarily led to the
degradation and demoralizing of the bulk of the population."
Local Disturbances of Ireland and the Church Questions^

by Sir O. C. Lewis, p- 47.

145

APPENDIX.

The DifficuUies of an Irish Landlord's Situation.

The following extract from the Summary prefixed to
the Digest of Evidence taken before the Devon Commis-
sion, describes very clearly the difficulties >vith which an
Irish landlord has to contend when dealing with a property
which has been subdivided and over-populated during the
continuance of a long lease.

" It is quite evident that if the gross produce derived
from a limited holding amount to £8, and that it bo oc-
cupied by a family of five persons, in a district where
there is little or no assistance for them in the way of
profitable or casual labour, we find a most difficult and
embarrassing situation to be presented, both as regards
the land proprietor and the tenant ; and yet this is by no
means an exaggerated or uncommon case. The most
moderate calculation of a year's maintenance for such a
family would amount to £24, to pay which, together with
the rent, the taxes, and the seeding of his farm, there is
only the value of the gross produce, £8.

'' Thus the gross produce would amount to only one-third
of the sum requisite to support the family, without allow-
ing for either rent, seed, or taxes. The seed and taxes
must, however, come as a charge prior to maintenance —
they are inevitable. The landlord then looks for his rent.
His just claim is not the point which the debtor or the
pubhc considers when he seeks for its liquidation. The
broad fact of a rich man pressing a wretchedly poor man
for a payment of money is the point that arrests attention ;
it matters little whether the rate of rent be in fact low ;
any claim, however moderate, made by tin; landlord,
appears exorbitant, not from its disproportionate amount

L

14C

as ix rent, but from the utter destitution iind inability of
the tenant to meet it, however small it may be ! Goods
are distrained, or loG^al proceeding's instituted, and the
landlord at once acquires the character of an oppressive
rai'k-ronter. Inattentive management permits the sub-
division of farms to increase : the £8 worth of gross pro-
duce nuist now provide for two or three families. This
needy class of tenants increases in number and destitu-
tion, and the landlord's character for oppression increases
in a like proportion, although his land may be let much
below the rate that well-circumstanced tenants could pay
with ease ; and although his list of arrears may prove
that a considerable portion of that rate has not been
levied !

" The evil grows to an extent that threatens the annihi-
lation of the landlord's income ; a clearance of the tenants,
or consolidation of farms, is resorted to, and forms the
climax of tyi'annical landlordism, from which a sacrifice
equal to the fee value of his estate could not cleanse him.
Nor would his granting their holdings to such tenants
free of rent, materially mend their case ; as although it
might raise the annual means of support for a family from
£3 to £4, or from £6 to £8, it must be recollected that
from £15 to £24 would be required to supply them even
with the necessaries of life.

"Numerous witnesses have proved the extreme tendency
that there is amongst the tenants to subdivide their lands
below the quantity that will maintain the occupiers in
comfort. They concur in describing the unremitting vi-
gilance required to prevent a rapid recurrence of this evil,
even after the estate has gone through the distressing
ordeal of correction."

Di(/est Devon Commission, Summary, p. 8.

147

" The Pastures of Irelaiuiy (pp. 94 and 130.)

" From tlie earliest times then, until late in the last
century, Ireland was almost entirely a grazing country."

p. 193.
* * * *

" Its level surface, overspread with the most luxuriant
herbage, presented a wide field over which the cattle of
the first settlers might freely range and multiply at an
exceedingly rapid rate. Their owners became propor-
tionably wealthy." — pp. 196 and 197.

5J» 5jS >(C ^

" The pastoral occupation of the primitive Irish was not
laid aside as soon as they had divided their new coun-
try amongst them, and had stationed themselves on
particular spots ; but continued to be practised by their
descendants for many generations. The principal obsta-
cle to change was probably at first the nature of the
climate which, Mela says, was as unsuitable for grain as
it was favourable to the growth of grass (Pomp. Mela,
de Situ Orbis, lib. iii. cap. 6) ; and this was, perhaps,
the sole reason why, as late as the twelfth century, tho
people could still be represented as despising husbandry,
and as not having laid aside their ancient pastoral mode
of life. Even in the beginning of the 16th century tho
Book of Ballymote is said to havo been purchased for
140 milch cows. More than a hundred years later, wo
find the poet Spenser lamenting that ''all men fell to
pasturage, and none to husbandry ;" and recommending
that an ordinance should be made to compel every ono
who kept 20 kino, to keep one plough going likewise."

pp. 180 and 190.

*(• *!• 'P T*

L 2

148

" In the long period of anarchy which succeeded to the
conquest by Henry the Second, the incessant warfare
between the English Colonists and the natives, acted as
an effectaal bar to agriculture, for both parties thought it
wiser to keep their property in the shape of flocks and
herds, which could easily be removed to a place of refuge,
than in corn stacks, or standing crops, which must have
been left to tho mercy of a successful invader/' — p. 191.
* * * *

"In the year 17G2, tho Irish Parliament granted high
bounties on the inland carriage of grain; and in 1783
and 1784, granted further bounties on its exportation,
and prohibited its importation from abroad ; and the rise
of price which took place in consequence, was further pro-
moted by the demand for foreign corn in Great Britain,
after the commencement of the war with France, and by
the abolition in 1806 of all restrictions on the com trade
between this country and Ireland. Inducements were
thus given to landholders to substitute tillage for pastur-
<' age, and as the tracts held by single graziers were in
general much too extensive to be cultivated by the actual
tenants, they were divided into farms of more convenient
size, and let to such persons as were willing to under-
take them. There was not, however, capital enough in
; the island to meet the requirements of this revolution in
\ husbandry, and most of the new race of farmers were so
V poor, that they could not pay their labourers in any other
way than by assigning to them pieces of groimd to
build cabins upon, and to cultivate for their own sub-
sistence. Together with the farmers, therefore, a con-
siderable body of cottars sprang up, and in this manner
the bulk of the peasantry were converted into occu-
piers of land.'' — Thornton's Plea for Peasant Proprietors,
pp. 190 and 191.

149

PROGRESS OF BELFAST.

The following statement will give an idea of the progress
of Belfast during the last half centuiy.

Population of Belfast in 1811 . . . 27,000
„ „ 1865 . . . 150,000

New Erections.

In 1856

176

In 1862

. 840

„ 1857

251

»

1863

. 1455

„ 1858

409

»

1864

. 1505

„ 1859

378

j>

1865

. 1057

„ 1860

225

?>

1866

(6 mos.) 953

„ 1861

730

—

—

Griffiths'

Valuation— In 1861

. 36253,900

j>

>}

»

1862

.

. 278,892

»

»

>j

1863

. 297,551

>>

186J-
1865

•

. 311,041
. 333,894

Tonnage entering the Harlour.

In 1848
„ 1865

Tons under.
506,953 Revenue, £23,911
1,111,581 „ 52,282

Expenditure on quays and dock accommodation, jG716,000,
giving an extent of tidal and floating dock room of 92 acres,
beaides 34 acres of water storage for timber.

One of our floating docks is 450 feet long, 60 feet width of
entrance, and 15 feet depth of water on sill at high water neap
tides.

Water Siq^pli/.

36150,000 arc being expended by the "Water Commissioners,
giving an estimated daily sui^ply of 6,000,000 gallons of water.

150

Iron Ship Building.

Three screw steamers are being constructed, each 3000 tons
burthen ; and wages paid in one establishment (whose owners,
Messrs. Ilarland and Wolff, have been appointed constructors
for the Admiralty up to 5000 tons), range from £1000 to
jei200 weekly.

Machine Making and Engineering JEsfallishments.

Turning out work yearly value for 3^550,000 ; of this
£320,000 is for Ireland ; £70,000 for England and Scotland ;
and £110,000 is for Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

Spinni?ig and Weaving ly Power in Ireland.

Total cost, £3,514,416 ; and of this there is, within a radius
of ten miles from Belfast, £2,476,920.

Deposits.

Our three local Banks have at their command, in deposits
and other resources, upwards of £8,000,000 sterling; and the
value of the exports from this harbour last year amounted to
^11,755,170.

151

CHAPTER IV.

Though my previous observations have been
received with great indulgence, particuhir passages
have naturally provoked a good deal of criticism.

As no one can hope to escape all error in re-
viewing the economical condition of a great coun-
try, it is probable that some of this criticism
may be just. In so large a survey, taken from a
single point of view, the perspective is apt to be out
of drawing, nor can a sketch in Avliich the objects
are foreshortened lay claim to the accuracy of a
geometrical plan. On the other hand, it is possible
that some of the exceptions taken to my views may
be occasioned by the objector's attention having
been attracted to some point whose importance
has become unduly magnified by its proximity to
himself, though hardly affecting the general con-
tour of the landscape.

Having, however, done the best I can to give a
faithful picture of the general situation as it pre-
sents itself to my own contemplation, I must be
content to allow the conflict of ophiioii wliicli
never fitiils to arise out of the discussion of an Irisli
question, to evolve whatever further amount ol'
truth can be extracted from tlic sulijcct.

152

To one point only will 1 recur.

Of tlie several observations I have made, none
seem to liavc elicited such lively comment as those
referring to tlie disproportion still existing in Ire-
land between the numbers dependent on agi'icul-
t\n-e and the proportion necessary for the perfect
cultivation of the soil. As this is a vital point in
the discussion, I may be pennitted to adduce one
or two further proofs of the correctness of my
previous suggestions.

My method of calculation was a simple one.
Having ascertained the number of hands employed
in the cultivation of specified areas in those parts
of England and Scotland where agriculture is best
understood, I applied a similar scale to the occu-
pied area of Ireland, and on its appearing that
there were still about 300,000 more persons en-
gaged in agriculture in Ireland than are found
necessary to a very high rate of production in
Great Britain I argued, not, as it has been ab-
surdly stated, that tliis surplusage of agricultural
industry should of necessity remove from the
country, but that the application of a considerable
portion of it to other employments would tend to
reduce competition, and to increase both the profits
of the farmer and the wages of the labourer. But
as the analogy I drew was necessarily imperfect,
I purposely went on the supposition that the whole
of the 15,000,000 of acres in Ireland was cultivated
as tillage land. But, in reality, little more than a

153

third of this area (or 5,700,000 acres) is cropped, the
remaining nine millions and a-half being under
cattle, and consequently, reqiuring only one-eighth
of the amount of labour necessary on a corres-
ponding expanse of tillage.*

If, therefore, I had desired to push the argu-
ment to an extreme length, I might have brought
out a more startling result. But being perfectly
aware of the fallacy involved in too close a com-
parison between countries so differently circum-
stanced as the sister kingdoms, I contented myself
with an approximation, as unfavourable to my case
as possible, but which, nevertheless, was sufficient
to prove that the disproportion of agricultural
labour in Ireland to the area under cultivation,
and to the amount of capital invested in the pur-
suits of husbandry, — originally deplored by Arch-
bishop Murray, Mr. ]\Iore O'Farrell, and Arch-
bishop Whately, — still existed. As, however, it
may be useful to elucidate this point to the fullest
extent, I now subjoin a comparative table of the
proportion of cultivators to the extent of land
under tillage and pasture, in Belgium, Flanders,
England, Ireland, as well as in the four provinces,
and in some of the counties of the latter kingdom,
together with the amount of produce obtained from
corresponding areas in each locality.

* Evidence of John Qitinn, Esq.
" TTpon Iho plains of Roscomnion one man has 4000 eliccp,
and only two herds attending the flock." — Diff. Dev. Covt. p. 73.

154

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From the foregoing statistics it would appear
that the same amount of labour which is found
sufficient in England to cultivate 11|^ acres in a
highly efficient manner is employed in Ireland in

155

the less perfect cultivation of 6 acres. In other
words, whereas in Ireland it takes four men to
raise 15 tons of grain off 24 acres, in England
only two men are required to raise 16 tons off
23 acres.*

Now, whatever allowance it may be desirable
to make for the diversity of conditions under
which husbandry is prosecuted in the two coun-
tries, or with however light a touch the comparison
is applied, it is evident that if the area under
cultivation in Ireland were treated with the same
skill, energy and intelligence as is employed on
the soil of England, a far larger amount of pro-
duce might be obtained with a far fewer number
of hands. But it is urged that it is unfair to argue
that because great economy of labour is prac-
ticable on the large farms of England,! a similar
rule can be applied to the small subdivisions of
Ireland. If this were indeed the case, it would be

* Thanks to the value of our potato and flax crops this
disadvantageous proportion in the acrcable result of our cereal
cropping is not maintained on a comparison of the money-value
of the total produce of the two kingdoms taken in globo. — See
Appendix.

" D'apros les chiffrcs rccucillis par M. Ducpetiaux 1,000 agri-
culteurs nourriraient 41G7 personncs dans le Flandro orien-
tale, 3,861 dans la Grande-Bretagnc, ct 1,511 en Irlande. Ces
nombrcs, ou le voit, sent encore plus flivorables h I'agriculturo
llamande que ceux indiques ici."

De Laveleye's Econ. Ruralc, p. 57.

f The average size of farms in England is below what is
generally supposed ; — more than two-thirds of ihe fai-iiis in
England are uikUm- 100 acres in extent. — Sec Mu/ion^- ILaiul-
hook of Lahuur, 2'' ^^-

156

.'111 aclniission very damaging to the advocates of
tlie small farm system ; but though in some
respects there may be a saving of labour, over
extensive areas, as compared with very diminished
ones, the necessary difference will be fomid far less
than is supposed ; — within certain limits, economy
of laboiu", though not of buildings or of machinery,*
is as practicable on reasonably small farms as on
large. If a proof were wanting, we need only again
refer to the table, w^hen we shall see that the tillage
lands of Ulster and Leinster, the two provinces
from which the largest rate of produce per acre
is obtained, are cultivated by a fewer number of
hands than are crowded into the husbandry of

* " The large farmer lias some advantage in the article of
buildings." — MilVs Political Economy, p. 180.

" It has been suggested that machines and horses should be
held in common by small farmers, but the practical execution
of such arrangements are very difficult. In an uncertain
climate like that of Ireland, it may be of the most vital impor-
tance to take advantage of the few days of fine weather which
after weeks of expectation may afford a transient opportunity
of reaping a crop already compromised, or of ploughing a field
still saturated "with moisture at the end of April. All the co-
proprietors of the plough horses and machines would require
the use of them simultaneously." — Ihid. p. 180.

" Some soils, however, are unsuitable, for spade husbandry ; as,
for instance, heavy wet lands liable to inundation ; stony,
gravelly, or shallow soils, more especially if incumbent on
chalk. Manual labour is also inapplicable where the climate is
precarious, and it is necessary to be expeditious in tilling the
land, and in soiciny and harroioing for a crop. On these accounts,
sjnide husbandry cannot be universally resorted to with advantage
either to the agriculturist or the community."

MacdonaWs Estate Management, p. 261.

157

Minister and Connaiiglit, and that in Down and
Antrim, the two Irish counties in which agricul-
ture is supposed to be most advanced, and the
average size of the farms smaller than elsewhere,*
the proportion of cultivators to the acre is con-
siderably less than it is in Cork and Kerry. In
fact, the density of the agricultural population over
the several areas referred to appears to be in an
inverse ratio to the rate of their agricultural pro-
duce ; and no matter how the calculation is con-
ducted, or wdiat districts are brought into com-
parison, whether England with Ireland, Ulster
with Connaught, or Down with Cork, the same
conclusion is evolved, viz. : that in those districts
wliich are worst cultivated, a far larger number of
persons are engaged in agriculture than are ne-
cessary to obtain the same results as are arrived
at in those districts which are better cultivated.f

But it is urged that if only the Belgian system
could be introduced into Ireland, our present agri-
cultural population would be anytliing but in excess
of the requirements of the country's Imsbandry.

I shall show, by and bye, how inapplicable to
the present circumstances of Ireland is the Belgian
system of agriculture, if by Belgian cultivation

* This is a common statement, but I doubt the acfuracy of
the latter part of it. If due allowance is made for Ihc hnid
under pasture, it would probably appear that the Ullage farms
of the best parts of Ulster arc larger than the average of those
in many parts of the south and west, though exceptional areas
in the south and west may contain farms of larger size tliau
are usual in Ulster.

t See Append i.x, pp. 20G— 209.

]58

is intended the minute garden husbandry of East
Flanders ; but even admittino- such a change of
system not only to be possible, but proximate,
a further reference to our table will show that
at all events in many parts of Ireland, if not in
all, the proportion of the agricultural population
to the area it occupies is almost as dense as it is in
Belgium. If, therefore, the Belgian system is to
be introduced, and our tenant-farmers are to
take to growing tobacco, hops, onions, colza, and
carrots, on patches of three or four acres, in the
expectation of making a fortune, emigration can-
not be accused of having deprived them of the
opportunity.

But in Belgium it is only by dint of the most un-
remitting industiy, and a traditional skill,* which

* " L'accroisscment de la population developpa necessaire-
ment les forces productives du pays, et ron est etonne de voir k
quelle epoque reculee reinontent les procedes les plus perfec-
tionnes de la culture. Uu grand nombre des villages actuels
sont designes dans les cliartes les plus anciennes ; meme les
noms de beaucoup d'entre eux se rapportent aux croyances
religieuses de I'epoque pai'enne." — De Laveleye, Econo^nie Bur.
p. 12.

" Ce qui lui permet de subsister avec un salaire aussi insuffi-
sant, c'est le travail sans relache de tous les metnbres de la
famille. La jouruee finie, et souvent la nuit au clair de lune,
le pere cultive le petit champ, d'une dizaine d'ares, qu'il loue
autour de sa chaumiere. Depuis que la vapeur a brise I'antique
symbole de I'industrie domestique, le rouet, la mere et les
fiUes font de la dentelle, travail delicat et gracieux, mais trop
peu retribue, et surtout trop incertain, comme tous les tra-
vaux qui repondent aux besoins du luxe et aux fantaisies de la
mode. Les fils que les occupations des champs ne reclament
pas encore tilevent des lapins pour le marche de Londres.

159

has been the growth of centuries, by a vast ex-
penditure of capital, and by the application of
enormous quantities of manure, that the agri-
cultural class, whose rate of increase is slow,* and
whose redundant members a flourishing manufac-
turing industry is ready to absorb, has been able,
under peculiar advantages of climate, situation,
and markets, to maintain an existence at all times
considerably straitened, and daily becommg more
difficult under the pressure of increasing competi-
tion. In Ireland these fostering conditions are as
yet completely wanting, and years may elapse
before they are created. How can we be justified
then, in the expectation of so remote a contingency,
in tethering down to the soil by artificial means,
an agricultural population far in excess of the
requirements and the system of husbandry best
adapted to the present circumstances of the coun-
try, in the expectation of the ultimate introduc-
tion of a system of ' petite culture,' which, even

Leurs humbles mains mettent a profit la moindrc toufto d'hcrbe
oubliee dans lea taillis ou Ic long des chemins, diminucnt le
gene de la maison paternellc et donnent lieu a un mourement
d'exportation qui n'est pas a dedaigner, tant il est vrai qu'eii
agriculture il n'est rien qui n'ait de T importance. 31 s'exportc
par Ostende seulement, 1,250,000 lapius par an, d'uno valeur
de plus de 1,500,000 francs. La peau est coiiservce dans Ic
pays pour la fabrication des chapeaux." — De LaveJeye, Economic
JRitrale, j). 70.

* Tlie Dopulation of Flanders has actually diminiHJied since
1846, in East Flanders by 10,000, a;id in West Flanders by
18,000. In all the other provinces of Belgiiiiri ihc iiopuhilioii
haw increased.

100

tlieii, would hardly afford adequate employment
to our existing numbers.

But I turn from any calculations of my own to
evidence of a more unexceptionable character.
Five witnesses besides myself were examined last
year before ]\Ir. Maguire's Land Tenure Committee.
No one will pretend that the sympathies of those
gentlemen were undidy enlisted on the landlord's
side. Some of them were members of the Na-
tional Association, and their bias — so far as their
minds were susceptible of bias— was clearly in
favour of the tenant.

All were asked the same question. What is the
smallest area which a tenant can cultivate with
advantage, or over which you would extend the
protection of a lease ? How did each reply ?
Judge Longfield says (Q. 401) : —

" To grant a 21 years' lease to the occupier of five or ten
acres would generally be no use." " He himself would not
grant one." " No improvement on so small an area would pay."

Mr. Dillon says (Q. 1,859) :—

" He would not grant a lease to a man who held a very small
or bad farm." (Q. 2, 108 — " Twenty acres of good land at a
fair rent was the holding on which he could live with comfort."

IVIr. M'Carthy Downing doubles the desirable
minimum. He is asked what he considers a small
holding. He replies (Q. 2,502) :—

" From 15 to 20 acres."
Again he is asked (Q. 2,503) : —

" Do you consider so small a holding is good either for the
country, the tenant, or the landlord ?"

He answers : —

" If I had land without any population on it, I would rather

IGl

not have so small a liolding as that, though, if the tenants were
there, I would not remove them ; but from my experience, a
tenant paying 3625. per aunum is as good a tenant as a larger
one," (Q. 2,564)—" That would be a man holding 40 or 50
acres." — "Yes."

Even the Catholic Bishop of Cloy ne, when pressed
to name the minimmn area on which a farmer
could live, admits that " small f\irms, with any
amount of industry, must be precarious," and that
a tenant to be comfortable ought to have " 20 acres
or upwards ;" while ]\Ir. Curling declares " that he
would not be disposed to give a lease even to an
industrious and punctual tenant, unless his farm
were over 15 acres in extent."* Now, what is the
necessary deduction from this evidence produced
by ]\Ir. ]\Iaguire himself on behalf of the tenant ?
If reason and not passion is to guide us, it must
be conceded that a greater amount of intelligent
energy than necessary is dissipated in the cultiva-
tion of land. At all events, if the champions of
the tenant's cause are themselves found condemn-
ing small holdings and 15-acre leaseholds as un-
profitable and '''"precarious^'' and if it is shown
that the extinction of farms in Ireland has been
hitherto almost entirely confined to that category,
may not tlic landlords be absolved from tlie cliarge
of undue consolidation ?

* The following opinion of Mr. Mill is well worfhy of con-
sideration in connection witji this .subject: —

"That each peasant should liave a patch of land, oven in inll
properly, if it is not Niiflicicnt lo Hii|)|)orl l)ini in lomfori, ih h

102

Let us now examine tlie agricultural system of
Belgium, to which reference is often made. Fortu-
nately, in the work of ]\I. Do Laveleye, we possess
a text book on the subject of European celebrity.

According to popular belief Belgium is cultivated
by a peasant proprietary twice as numerous in pro-
portion to the area they occupy as the agricultural
population of Ireland, living in peculiarly easy cir-
cumstances, and affording unmistakeable evidence
of the advantages of la iJetite culture. The real
facts are these: — That, makmg a proportionate
deduction for the population employed on the
pasture lands of both countries, the total popula-
tion dependent on tillage in Ireland is probably
almost as dense as that of Belgium. That the
greater portion of Belgium is cultivated, not by
small proprietors, but by tenants (and almost en-
tirely so wherever la 'petite culture is carried to

system with all the disadvantages, and scarcely any of tlie
benefits, of small properties ; since he must either live in
indigence on the produce of his land, or depend as habitually
as if he had no landed possessions, on the wages of hired
labour ; which, besides, if all the holdings surrounding him
are of similar dimensions, he has little prospect of finding.

" The benefits of peasant properties are conditional on their
not being too much subdivided ; that is, on their not being
required to maintain too many persons, in proportion to the
produce that can be raised from them by those persons. The
question resolves itself, like most questions respecting the
condition of the labouring classes, into one of population.
Are small properties a stimulus to undue multiplication, or a
check to it V'—MilVs Polifical Economy, p. 346.

163

excess.)* That the competition for land is intense,
and rack-rents universal. f That from 1830 to 18-lG

* " En Flandre la plus grande partie du sol est exploite par
dea locataires." — Economie Rurale,p. 72.

" Dans la Flandre orientale 166,311 li. etaieut cultives par
des locataires, soit 75 p. c. et 52,673 par les proprietaires ; dans
la Flandre occidentale, 229,970, par les locataires, soit 85 per c.
et 40,831 h. par les proprietaires. Le recensement offieiel con-
state que dans cette derniere province la terre tend a ecliapper
completement aux mains qui la cultivent."' — Eco. Bur. 72.

"On a remarque en Belgique un rapport constant entre
I'etendue des exploitations et le nombre des proprietaires qui
font eux-memes valoir leurs biens. Ainsi dans les provinces
de Namur et du Luxembourg, les trois quarts des cultivateurs
sont proprietaires de la totalite ou de la plus grande partie des
biens qu'ils exploitent, et c'est aussi dans cette region qu'on
rencontre le plus de fermes an dessus de 20 hectares et le moins
d'occupations inferieures a 1 hectare, tandis que dans les Flan-
dres, oix les cultures sont extremement petites, les quatre
cinquiemes du sol sont mis en valenr par des locataires."

Eco. Bur. 216.

Taking the vhole kingdom, the proportion of holdings
cultivated by tenants to those cultivated by the proprietor is
as 65-78 to 34-22.

-j- " D'autre part, dans un pays aussi peuple que ha Belgique
le nombre des fils de fermiers qui cherchent a se placer est tou-
jours plus grand que celui des exploitations vacantes ; il en
resulte que, n'entrevoyant d'autre carriero ouverte devant cux
que celle du cultivateur, et incapables de calculer les profits
probables d'uno entreprise agricole, ils encherisscnt a I'envi
I'un sur I'autre, jusqu'ii ce qu'il ne leur reste pour prix do leur
rude labeur qu'un minime salairo et un iuteret insuffisant do
leur capital engage." — Eco. Bur. 234.

" La petite propriete coinbinee avcc la location dans un
pays tres peuple, comme cola se voit toujours, ])laco le culti-
vateur dans la pire des situations. Applique a des populationa

M 2

164

rents have risen 25 per cent, and between 1846 and
18G0 40 per cent.,* though the price of grain has
only risen 5 per cent. That leases are rarely
granted for a term exceeding nine years, and fre-
quently for only three or five years. I That the
average profits of the farmer are scarcely more
than three per cent., instead of from 7 to 10 per

qui n'auraient pas pour les travaux dea champs un godt instinc-
tif tres prononce, ce syateme produirait le decouragement, et
pourrait avoir pour la production et le travail agricoles les plus
facheuses consequences." — Eco. Bur. 238.

" Or, dans les circonstances actuelles, cette multitude d'hom-
mes rasserables sur uii espace relativement restreiut amene la
concurrence des bras qui s'offrent au rabais, et par consequent
la portion de la richesse produite qui reste entre les mains des
classes laborieuses ne suffit pas a la satisfaction de leurs be-
soins."— JFco. Bur. 2i2.

* " Ce qui frappc surtout en Belgique quand on etudie les
faits reunis dans les publications officielles, c'est la hausse
constante et rapide des fermages. Depuis 1830 jusqu'en 1846,
ils s'elevent de 30 per cent. ; c'est a dire de pres de 2 per cent,
par an et depuis 1846 I'augmentation, loin de se ralentir, s'est
plutot acceleree." — Eco. Bur. 231.

" En effet, d'apres les statistiques officielles, le prix dejocation
par hectare a ete porte, de 1830 a 1846, dans la Flandre occi-
dentale, de 60 a 73 francs, soit une hausse de 21 pour 100, et
dans la Flandre orientale de 71 a 93 francs, soit une hausse de
30 pour 100. Depuis 1846 jusqu'en 1860, I'augmentation, loin
de se ralentir, s'est plutot acceleree, surtout dans la premiere
de ces deux provinces : on a constate qu'eUe a ete en moyenne
de 40 pour 100 en trente ans, tandis que, pendant la meme
periode, le prix des cereales ne s'est eleve que de 5 pour 100."

Eco. Bur. 72.

t " Mais do nos jours il a completemeut disparu pour faire
place au bail de neuf ans, terme qui est generalement en usage."
(See also Appendix, p. 209.) Eco. Bttr. 126.

165

cent., as in England.* That the condition of
the agricultural population is worse where the sub-
division of farms is gTeatest, and best w^here the
farms are largest.| That the Belgian labourer is

* " Malheureusement la condition des hommes laborieux
qui ont amene I'Agriculture a un si haut degre de perfection
n'est point en rapport avec la masse des produits qu'ils recol-
lent. Uouvrier Ayricole des Flandres est peut-etre celui de
totts les ouvriers europeens qui travaillant le plus est le plus
mat nourri. Le petit fermier ne vit guere mieux, et si Ton y
regardait de pres on se couvaincrait que, loin de tirer du capi-
tal engage dans son exploitation, les 10 p. c. qui est necessaires
en Angleterre, il n'en obtient pas 3 p. c. en sus de salaire
qu'il merite par son travail personnel." — ^co. Bur. 69.

f " Dans les districts ou domine relativement la grande cul-
ture, le sort des cultivateurs locataires est sans doute plus
heureux que dans la region de la petite culture."

Uco. Bur. 232.

" On nous pardonnera sans doute d'avoir insiste sur ce fait
particulier, car il met nettemeut en relief le contraste que
presentent les Flandres, ou la production agricole, la plus
riche qu'on puisse voir, ne laisse aux mains dc ceux qui tra-
vaillent la terre que juste de quoi vivre, et d'autre part,
I'Ardenne, oii ceux qui font valoir le sol jouissent d'une cer-
taino aisance relative, nialgre linferiorite de la production et
des procedes agricoles." — J^co. Bur. 215.

" De tous ces faits on serait tcnte de conclure que si la petite
propriete offre d'exct-llents rosultats et pour la culture et pour
le cultivateur, quaud cclui qui exploite la terre la posscde,
dans le cas contraire la grande propriete assure uue nieilleure
condition au fermier." — Uco. Itur. 238.

" NuUe part, {i.e. in the East nf Belgium, where the farms are
largest), jc n'ai vu ni la proprcte ni les soins, ni I'aisance
apparente des chaumieres flamandes. Mais nulle part non plus
des indices de Textrcme misere qu'on rencontre trop souveiit
dans les Flandres." — Eco. Bur. 2 LI.

" Et neanmoins dans cette conlreo ingrate, dout riioiniiie n'a

16G

supposed to be the most industrious and the worst
paid of any labourer in Europe, that the faraier
is scared V better off than the Labourer :* and that
in Flanders population is not merely at a stand-
still, but diminishing.

It may be objected that, however little advan-
tageous to the agricultm'al classes themselves,
la petite culture of Belgium turns out a greater
amount of gi'oss produce than any other method of
cultivation known in Europe. This is probably the
case, if we omit all reference to cost, and, under
suitable circumstances, it is (at all events, for the

paa meme appris a fairc valoir toutea les forces productives,
lea populations rurales jouissent d'une aisance beaucoup plus
grande que dana les belles campagnea dea Flandres si admira-
blement cultivees. D'ailleura le fermier jouit ici d'une large
aisance rustique ; il vit beaucoup mieux que le fermier fla-
mand."— £^0. Hur. 193.

* "H nous reste a faire connai're la condition du simple
ouvrier rural. EUe oe se preseute pas, il faut bien le dire,
sous des couleurs plus favorables que celle des locataires. Le
salaire moyen etait porte pour 1S46 a ] fr. 13 c. par jour.
Depuia cette epoque, il s'est releve, et on pourrait le porter
pour 1860 a 1 fr. 40 c. S il approche, dans certainea parties
du pays, de 2 fr., daus d'autres districts il tombe meme au
dessous de 1 fr."- — JS'eo. liur. 240.

" La statistique ofiicielle constate elle-meme que la population
rurale de la Belgique est I'une des plus mal nourries du con-
tinent."—JFco. Rur. 240.

" Dans la region flamaude, de beaucoup la mieux cultivee,
I'ouyrier de la campagne gague moins que dans la region
wallonne, ou se sont surtout fixes I'industrie et les exploitations
minieres.

"La ligne de partage entre les hauts et lea baa salaires auivrait
a peu pr^s les limites qui t e parent les Flamands des Wallons."

i:co. liur. 239, 240.

167

lancllorcl) a most profitable system.* But the pro-
vinces of Belgium where la petite culture prevails
are thickly studded with populous towns and in-
numerable villages,! and the land around them is

* " Sans doute nous avons vu en Elandre que, malgro de
telles circonstances, la petite culture associee a la petite pro-
priete peut doaner un produit brut enorme ; mais la atissi
nous avons ete frappes du tiiste contraste que presentaient ces
magnifiques recoltes et I'existence miserable de ceux qui les
font naitre. Ainsi un grand nombre de petits proprietaires
sans aucun interet direct dans la culture, superposes a la classe
plus nombreuse encore de ceux qui exploiteut la terre, et
elevaut sans cesse la rente aussi baut que peut la porter une
concurrence excessive, voila le facheux revers qu'ofFre I'orga-
nization agricole de la Belgique, surtout dans ses parties les
plus riches." — Eco. Bur. 231.

" II n'en est pas de meme quand le sol est partage entre uq
grand nombre de proprietaires qui ne cultivent pas eux-memes
les terres qui leur appartienncnt. Dans ce cas, le produit
brut peut encore etre tres eleve ; mais la condition do ceux
qui le creent n'est point ce que les sentiments d'equite feraient
de sirer qu'elle fut, Tous ces petits proprietaires n'out qu'un
but, elever le fermage aussi haut que le perinet la concurrence
des locataires." — Eco. Rur. 23:?.

t " La population rurale nc forme ici (in East Flanders) que
le tiers de la population totale." — Eco. Rur. 56.

The intimate dependence of the Agriculture of Belgium
on the long-established manufacturing industries of that coun-
try is brought out in strong relief by M. Laveleye.

" Les progres do I'agriculture, qui suivircnt Ic developpcmcnt
de rindustrie do la laine. Cotte marche parallclo du travail
agricole et du travail iiuluslriel scmble rcmontcr tres haut." —

Eco. Rur. 11.

" Les terres communes de la tribu ayant (He partngees cutro
les chefs de famille, la part de cliaquc cultivateur seinble avoir
compris une etendue ii pcu prcs cquivalente a ccllc dcs pelitcs
fermcs actuelles qui entrctiounent un chcval. Dans la plupart

108

devoted to an extensive system of niarket-garden-

de CCS menses soumiscs au seigneur, les femmes filaieut la laine
.et le lin, les hommes fabriquaient des etoffes de drap et de
toile qui s'cxportaient dans toutcs les contrees du nord et
principaleraent en Angleterre. Les relations commerciales,
s'ctendant jusqu'au fond du pays, y firent penetrer quelques
luinieres et quelque richcsse. Cette prosperite, derivee de deux
soyrces differentes, s'accrut rapidement, Les hameaux situes
aux lieux ou les nanres pouA-aient aborder avec facilite se
peupl^rent et s'agrandirent. C'est aiusi que I'iudustrie en-
richissait les catnpagnes, tandis que le commerce creait les
villes."— ^co. Eur. p. 12.

"La Flandreetait alors pour I'Angleterre ce que cc dernier
pays est aujourd'hui pour le continent (1): une nation cTiez qui
V accumulation de la richesse produite pa?' Vindustrie et le com-
merce fait faire a Vagriculture des progrks incessants.'*

:Eco. Eur. p. 13, 14.

" II suffit de visiter les riantes demeures groupees au milieu
des prairies qui bordent le Jaer, de voir I'ordre et la proprete
qui y regnent, pour juger jusqu'a quel point un travail de main-
d'ceuvre intimement associe au travail des champs pent trans-
former un canton pauvre et isole."

" Le village flamand est forme non de I'agglomeration des
fermes, mais de la reunion des industries que reclament les
besoins de la nombreuse population dispersee dans les cam-
pagnes. Quelques-unes de ces communes compteut de six a
huit mille habitants." — Eco. Eur. p. 75.

" Quand, pour se soustraire aux exactions des seigneurs et
pour repondre plus facilement aux demandes d'une exportation
croissante, les tisserands viurent se grouper autour marchands
et constituer les glides de la laine a I'abri des murailles, alors
meme I'industrie ne deserta point les carapagnes, od Ton
continua d'associer aux soins d'une culture deja tres variee la
fabrication du drap et de la toile.^'

"Aux yeux des chroniqueurs anglais du XIP et du Xllle
siecle tout cultivateur de ce pays est un liomme qui sait faire du
drap et manier les armes." — Eco. Eur. p. 13.

" Lorsque les communes de Gand et de Bruges, d'Tpres et

169

ing,* only practicable in such localities. Tlic facili-
ties for obtaining manure are exceptional, and liigli

de Courtrai, enrichies par I'exportation des etofFes, arriverent a
compter deux ou trois fois plus d'habitants qu'tlles n'en ont
aujourd'lmi, il fallut arraclier a un sol rebelle les subsistances
necessaires a una population a la fois si dense et si aisee."

Eco. Bur. p. 6.

" Les progres de cette culture sont dus a trois causes princi-
pales : I'aptitude et le goAt tres prononce des habitants pour
les travaux des champs, V association intime de V agriculture et
de Vindustrie, enfiu la liberte et I'independance dont ont joui
les populations." — Hco. Rur. p. 19.

* " La culture, ainsi poussee jusqu'au point ou elle devient du
jardinage, exige, on le comprend sans peine, un capital d'ex-
ploitation relativement considerable." — Eco. Rur.

The way in which garden cultivation is promoted by the
neighbourhood of a large town, and the consequent facilities
for obtaining manure, cannot be better illustrated than by
the subjoined statement of a gentleman who resides in Bed-
fordshire.

" I enclose you a set of questions I sent to my steward, with
his answers."

Questions. Answer.

About how many acres in
all, under garden cultivation ?

What ia the largest held hy
one occupier ? 300 acres.

What is the smallest held

by one occupier ? 10 acres. f

Highest rent ? £7, including rates.

Average rent ? £4.

f " I know some of my own tenants, whoso rent my
" steward himself receives, who hold three or four acres; but
" I fancy he does not consider them gardens, unless they grow
" cucumbers and onion seed."

4000 acres, at a rough guess.

170
inainirlno- at a cost of iVoiu .£1(1. to £18. to the

Any leases, aiul for liow Not any that I know of.
many years ?

Any covenants ?— and wliat? ^''one.

Largest value per acre for £oO to ^GO.f
any one crop ?

Average do. ? ^^0 some years, but not the

last five or six years.J

Largest quantity of manure GO loads,

per acre you ever knew ap-
plied to au acre ?

"What is the average of Not 1 owner in 20 tenants,
owners of the small lot to oc-
cupiers ?

" Every fresh Railway opens out a new field for the supply^
" and what is still more disadvantageous, creates a fresh de-
" mand for manure, thereby decreasing, or tending to lessen,
*' the price of the produce, and increasing (or tending to
" increase), the price of manure. Without London manure,
" the whole system is impossible."

It will be observed, that in this case, " la petite culture" is
entirely dependent upon the manure brought down by rail, that
proximity to a railway station on a line communicating with
a large town, is almost as advantageous as proximity to the
town itself, and that the extension of railways, and of the
advantages they confer, has a tendency to diminish the profits
of this system of agriculture in particular localities, and to

t At present perhaps £60 may be the largest ; but not
very long ago, I have heard of ,s6120 worth of onion seed per
acre.

X The causes of the falling off in the value of garden pro-
duce are —

1. The potato disease.

2. The greatly increased area now under cultivation for this
particular produce.

3. The great inci'ease in the number of railways radiating
from the metropolis.

171
acre,* stolen crops, f together witlitlic cultivation of

diffuse them over a larger area. It is to be noted, that as
many as seven lines of railway and two canals radiate from
Ghent, which is the central point of la petite culture in Bel-
gium.

" Toutes les villes sent reliees au reseau ferre, et il est tel
chef-lieu de province, comme Gand, par example, oil viennent
aboutir sept voies differentes." — Eco. Bur. 260.

" Aux environs d'Anvers, la terre tres maigre; viais le voi-
sinage de cette grande cite commercial e a permis de communiquer
au sol une extreme fertilite et de lui appUquer a peu les procedes
de la culture maraichere. Pres de Maliues, on rencontre des
prairies maguifiques arrosees par les eaux de la Senne et de la
Dyle, et des terres cultivees comme celles des Flandres; elles
se vendent a des prix encore plus eleves, c'est a dire au del^
de 5,000 francs I'hectare." — Eco. Bur. 142.

" La terre arable ordinaire vaut done de 4 a 6,000 fr. I'hectare ;
mais aussitot qu'elle est a proximite des centres industriels
oil on pent la louer en parcelles pour les menages d'ouvriers,
elle alterent une valeur de 8, ^ 10,000 fr. I'hectare."

Eco. Bur. 157.

* " Les inscriptions tumulaires de I'epoque Eomaine attes-
tant meme qu'alors deja les habitants des rives de I'Escant
allaiont cherchcr en Angleterre de la marne pour amander leurs
terres, preuve certaine d'une culture avancee." — Eco. Bur. 11.

" Aussi peut-on porter a, une moyenue de 80 a 100 francs par
hectare la somme qu'il consacre a I'achat des engrais que livrc
le commerce et des tourteaux necessaires a la consommatiou
de ses etables." — Eco. Bur. 44.

" Se procurer des engrais, telle est la grande preoccupation
du cultivateur. II n'ewsaie pas de se derober a cette coilteuso
neccssite, car il n'ignore point qu'autrement il perdrait le loyor
qu'il doit payer ct la valeur des labours qu'il a executes."

Eco. Bur. 43.

" Les recoltes d'hiver resolvent d'ordinaire au moment des

f " Les cultures derobces comprenncnt le navet et las pergulo,
qu'on met apros le colza, — h; liii, le seiglc ct Iuh pommes de

172

])lants used in tlic adjacent manufactories,* are the
keystones of Belgian agriculture. In a great number

scmailles de vingt a trente voitures de fumier d'etable par hec-
tare, valant de 100 a 150 francs, et an priutemps de 150 a 300
hectolitres de purin, estimes de GO a 75 francs." — Eco. Rur. 44.
" De nous jours, ragriculteur flamaud a voue aussi une sorte
de culte a I'auxiliaire indispensable de ses travaux, a I'engrais
qu'il appelle dans energique langage le dieu de Vagriculture.
L'engrais joue dans I'economie rurale de la Flandre ua role
predominant." — Eco. Bur. 44.

de terre precoces, — la carotte, qu'on seme au printemps dans
les recoltes sur pied et qu'on sarcle avec soin apres que la
moisson est faite, — le trefle incarnat et le eeigle a couper, qui,
apres avoir occupe la terre pendant I'hiver, la laisse libre pour
lea semailles d'avril, — le cbou cavalier, qui continue a se deve-
lopper, meme pendant la saison froide, et dont la tige enorme,
haute de six pieds, donne en abondance des feuilles excellentes
pour les vaches laitieres. Les cultivateurs attachent une grande
importance a ces recoltes." — Eco. Rurale, p. 4<7,

* " La culture de la betterave a sucre j a surtout beaucoup
contribue en donnant k I'art agricole une impulsion comparable
a celle qu'imprima le colza vers la fin du siecle dernier."

Eco. Rurale, p. 155.

" Le tabac est cultive en grand dans certains cantons notam-
ment aux environs de Cominines et de Wervicq, ou il acquiert
une odeur penetrante appreciee j usque sur I'autre bord de
I'Atlantique. Le produit en est beaucoup plus grand qu'en
France, meme dans les meilleurs departements."

Eco. Rurale, p. 87.

" De m^me que le houblon remplace ici la vigne, ainsi la
chicoree tient lieu de cafe, et la betterave de canne a sucre."

Eco. Rurale, p. 90.

" Ce n'est done qu'en cultivant du lin ou du colza, da tabac
ou de la chicoree, que le fermier parvient a satisfaire aux en-
gagements qu'il a contractes envers le proprietaire."

Eco. Rurale, p. 39.

" Le lin jouait jadis dans reconomie du pays, quoiqu'en des

173

of instances where the plots of land are very dhninii-
tive the farm is only auxiliary to its occupier's trade,
just as the little holdings in Antrim or Down are
auxiliary to the hand-loom weaving of Ulster.*

conditions plus humbles, le meme r61e que la soie dans celle de
ritalie. II etait pour le cultivateur une source de produits a
la fois agrieoles et industrials, car tout le travail qu'exigeait la
coufectioQ des cei^bres toiles deFlaudre se faisait aux cbamps."

Eco. Rurale,p. 86,

" Cependant le rouissage, le teilbige et le tissage distribuent
encore parmi les populations rurales une somme de salaires tres
iinportante." — Eco. Itit,rale,p. 8G.

" Dans ses moments perdus, I'ouvrier retourne a la beche co
coin de terre qu'il s'estime heureux d'avoir obtenu meme aux
conditions les plus dures." — Eco. Hurale, p. 52.

" Les exploitations iuferieures a 1 hectare se rencontrent tout
aussi frequemment ici que dans les Flandres memos. C'est que
non seulement les ouvriers agricoles, mais mime la plupart des
travaiUeurs employes dans les mines ou dans Vindustrie veulent
avoir leur lopin de terre pour y recolter une grande partie des
aliments necessaires a la consommation de leur menage."

Eco. Hurale, p. IGl.

* Infinitesimal sub-divisions are rendered possible in Swit-
zerland by exactly analogous circumstances.

" Besides these, however, there is a more numerous body of
smaller proprietors, whose territorial possessions consist only
of a field or two, altogether not larger than an ordinary
garden, and much too small for the maintenance of the family
to which they belong. Here there may seem to be an instance
of excessive subdivision. Eut the owners of these px^tches of
land are almost invarially manufacturers rather than husband-
men : they constitute indeed the hulk of the maiiufacturing
population of a country lohich has hut two superiors in manu-
facturing importance. Most of the cotton and silk goods of
Switzerland are produced in the rural districts of Zurich,
Basle, St. Gall, Appenzel, and Argovia ; and even of those
famous Swiss watches so mucli admiivd for their delicacy ond

174

And, lastly, l)oth in respect of climate, in the forc-
ing power of the sun, (without Avhich stolen crops

beaut}', as many como from clu'ilets among the mountains of
Neuchatcl as from the workshops of Geneva.

" This affords a clue to tlie true explanation of the minute
partition which has taken place.

" But aUhouijh retaining the na)?ie and all the privileges of
peasants, they gain their living principally as manufacturers^''

Thornton'' s Peasant Proprietors, pp. 87 and 88.

" In most parts of the country, particularly in the baronies of
Oneillaud, Armagh, and Lower Orior, the condition of the
peasantry is better than in any of the inland counties with
which I am acquainted." — Edward Tickell, Esq., Assistant
Barrister, Dev. Coin, Digest, p. 370.

" Are they weavers in those districts which you speak of
as being better ? — There is a great number of weavers iu those
districts. I never saw a more comfortable-looking set of £10.
freeholders than appeared before me at the registry, from those
portions of the county ; they were holding farms from about
twelve to twenty English acres of very good land ; great num-
bers of them had orchards on their farms, and they had the ap-
pearance of a set of English yeomen."

Edward Tickell, Esq., Assistant Barrister, Digest, p. 371.

John Lindsay, Esq., Magistrate and Chairman, Board of
Guardians,
" The small tenantry formerly kept three or four looms going
in their houses ; and there might be some sons, or what they
call dieters, coming in, and they employed them to weave ; but
the weaving fell, and that reduced their circumstances. The
small tenantry of eight or ten acres, would eat all that grew

upon their farms, and earn their rent by their trade."

*****

" An occupier of three acres, with a trade or occasional occu-
pation as a labourer, I consider (next to those having above
twenty-five acres) as most likely to do well."

Bichard C. Broion Clayton, Esq., (land proprietor),

Digest, p. 413.

175

are very precarious), and in variety of plants for
wliicli a ready sale can be obtained, Belgium lias ad-
vantages in which parts of Great Britain and nearly
all Ireland are deficient. To expect, therefore, that
because holdings of three, four or five acres can be
cultivated with advantage around a cluster of large
Belgian towns,* and amid the densest population in
Europe, of which the agricultural class forms less
than one half, a similar system can be introduced into
Ireland, with its rainy, sunless climate,"]' its sparse

* East and "West Flanders together comprise a smaller area
than the County of Cork, and contain the following towns : —
Grammont, 8,500; Eccloo, 8,500; Menin, 9,000; Eenaix,
11,000; Lockcren, 17,000 ; Ostende, 16,000; Bruges, 48,000 ;
Tliorout, 8,000 ; Poperinghe, 10,500 ; Tpres, 16,500 ; Courtray,
22,000 ; Ghent, 108,900 ; Alost, 18,000 ; Dendermoude, 8,500 ;
St. Nicolas, 21,000 ; the urban population of Flanders being
little short of 400,000, — nearly three times as large as the
urban population of the County of Cork ; which in addition
to its city of 80,000 inhabitants, can only boast of two towns
with a population of 9000, another two with a population of
6000, and three or four with a population of 3000. In con-
nection with our present argument, I might A-ery fairly include
in the urban population of Flanders, the adjacent town of
Antwerp, with its 100,000 inhabitants.

t *' Belgium seems to possess a perfect climate for promoting
rapid vegetation : plenty of moisture and a hot sun."

" Bien que la quantite de pluie qui tombe ne soit pas tres
considerable, 800 millimetres par an ; mais il plcut tres souveut
(un jour sur deux)." — Eco. Hiirale, p. 10.

"There are countries where oats will ripen, but not wheat,
such as the North of Scotland ; others where wheat can bo
grown, but from excess of moiHturc and want of sunshine
affords but a precarious crop ; as in parts of Ireland."

Miirs FoUt. Econ. p. 127.

As tlie excessive wetness of the Irish climate may not bo

17G

urban population, it;^ restricted markets, and its
limited manufactures,* seems as unreasonable as to
aro-ue tliat because it pays Mr. Early Pease, of
r)rompton, to employ a press of hands and £50. of
manure per acre in raising asparagus for Covent-

tlioroiighly understood, I subjoin a table of the rainfall ob-
served at Dublin during the last eight years, from which it
will be seen that, on an average, seven inches of rain fell
in that locality during the months of harvest. But Dublin is
on the east coast, and the rainfall of Dublin is no more a guide
to the climate of Kerry, Galway, Limerick, Mayo, or Donegal,
than the climate of London and Edinburgh is to that of
Cornwall or the Hebrides. In 1S61 rain fell even in the
least rainy part of Ireland on 218 days, and in 1863 on
221 days.

Inches of Rain which fell in July, August, and September, as
registered at Ordnance Survey Office, Phoenix Park.

Dry Years.

Wet Years.

Year.

Indies of Rain

Below average.

Above average.

1855

6-5

•0

1850

7-6

—

•5

1857

4-7

2-4

—

1858

7-2

—

•1

1859

49

2-2

—

1860

8-8

—

1-7

1861

110

—

3-9

1862

6-7

•4

—

* Here again M. de Laveleye, speaking of the rise in the
value of land, which he says has nearly doubled in thirty years,
enlarges on the intimate connection between the agricultural
and the manufacturing prosperity of Belgium : —

" D'innombrables usines de toute espece, disseminees dans
toute la contrec, favorisent ainsi I'essor du travail et I'accroisse-
ment de la population: elles multiplient les sources de prosperite

177

garden market,^ a similar expciiJiture auel a simi-
lar method, of cultivation should he adopted in the
valleys of Wales and the straths of the Highlands.

The chief lesson which we may learn from Flem-
ish husbandry is tliis, — tliat a very high rate of
production is compatible with low wages, rack-
rents, and exceptionally short leases ; and that
diminutive tenancies, under certain favourable con-
ditions, may be profitable to the proprietor while
they are disadvantageous to the tenant."]"

The example of Belgium is salutary, therefore,
so far as it implies thrift, industry, skill, and great
attention to manuring, but of questionable author-
ity with respect to its short tenures and minute

et tendent a donner au sol line valeur que n'aurait pu creer
seul le progres agricole, quelquereel qu'il ait ete d'ailleurs."

De Laveleye's Eco. Eurale, p. 158.

* " S'il fallait estimer tout I'avoir realisable d'liii ferniier, il
faudrait le porter au nioius a 700 francs, et a 1,000 fiancs par
hectare pour une ferme tres bien garnic." — Eco. Buralc, p. 49.

I Even if we take the average size of Belgian farms for
our standard, we shall see that consolidation in Ireland has
not enlarged our holdings to any unreasonable degree ; the
mean size in Belgium varying from 1\ acres to 11 acres ;
whereas in Ireland two-filtlis of the acreage under tilhige is sub-
divided into holdings averaging less than teji acres in extent,
and of the total number of farms, more than half are less th:ui
15 acres, and of the remainder, two-fifths are below 30 acres.

" AuHsi reteudue moyenne de chaque expli)italiou, que M. de
Lavergne porte pour I'Angletcrre a GO hectares, toinbe t-clle
en Belgique a 4;i hectares, si on con!])te tout le doniaine pio-
duttif, et ineme a 3 hectares si on defalque les bois et Ics
terres incultes; c'est la reellenieut de la petite culdiri'."

Eco. Bur. 1! t;j.

178

subdivisions* and I maintain the correctness of my
original proposition, — tliat if a certain proportion of

* M. de Lavcleye ia evidently of opinion, that unless
where the land is cultivated by the owner, the minute sub-
division of the soil under a system of petite culture, and the
intense competition it engenders, is productive of great misery
to the agricultural class. In this view I cordially agree.

" A la verite, il parait que, dans certaines provinces fran-
<jaise3, notamraent en Alsace et en Lorraine, on se plaint de
I'exces de la division du sol, qui compeche un assolement ra-
tionnel de s'etablir, et qui arrete I'extension des cultures
fourrag^res." — Eco. Rur. 53.

" Ce n'est pas a dire que la subdivision des exploitations soit
un ideal a proposer aux societes modernes, car elle exige de
rhomme uq redoublement de travail et d'efforts pen compa-
tible avec le developpement de ses facultes intellectuelles ;
raais au sein de I'organisation actuelle, et en Flandre, on pent
affirmer qu'elle u'a eu jusqu'a ce jour que des resultats avan-
tageux, au moins pour la production et pour la rente."

Eco. Rur. 55.

The pleasure M. de Laveleye evidently takes in describing
those parts of the kingdom, which though less productive are
not cultivated under the pressure of such intense competition,
is very remarkable.

Speaking of the Eastern District of Belgium, he says : —

" On ne rencontre que rarement ici les temperaments lym-
phatiques, dus a une alimentation exclusivement vegetale. Le
paysan a le teint anime et chaud, la chair ferme, I'oeil vif et la
jambe nerveuse ; il est toujours bien vetu et bien chausse, et
s'il eleve un pore, ce n'est pas pour le vendre afin de payer
sa rente, mais pour en manger le lard avec ses pommes de
terre. La main-d'oeuvre se paie cher : on n'obtient guere un
journalier a moins de 1 franc 75 cent, ou 2 francs, et encore a
ce prix ne pourrait-on reunir un grand norabre d'ouvriers. En
raeme temps que le salaire est eleve, les denrees sont a bon
compte ; il y a done double avantage pour celui qui doit vendre
son travail et acheter sa nourriture. Avec sou doux climat.

179

the tenants of Ireland who are strugglhig to make a
living- off their seven or eight acre holdings could be
enabled to apply their energies to more promising

ses gracieuses collines et ses beaux rochers, la zone du Bas-
Luxembourg est sans contredit I'une de celles qu'on visitera
en Belgique avec le plus de plaisir. La Seinoy, dans ses
capricieux et innombrables meandres, I'arrose tout entiere et
baigne les murs des pittoresques petites villas de Chiny et de
Bouillon. Le sol, sans etre trop morcele, est divise entre un
nombre considerable de parts, presque toutes exploitees directe-
ment par les proprittaires. Chacun pour ainsi dire cultive
son propre champ et peut s'asseoir a I'ombre de son noyer.
II en resulte pour tous une sorte d'aisance riistique qui derive
non de la possession de grauds capitaux, mais de rabondance
de toutes les denrees. Une reelle egalite regue dans les con-
ditions sociales : nul n'est assezricbepourattendrearopulence
et a I'oisivete, nul non plus n'est assez pauvre pour connaitre
les extremites de la mitere. C'est ainsi que dans ce pays
agreste, ou les beautes de la nature s'unissent pour former de
charmants paysages, a cellos qui traliissent la culture et les
soins de I'homme, une population lionnete et laborieuse pent
subsister et meme augmenter son bien-etre en perfection uaut
ses precedes agricoles, sans renoncer a une division du travail
et de la propriete qui favorise une equitable repartition
des produits. Aussi conseillerions-nous au voyageuragronouie
qui voudrait connaitre les divcrses regions rurales do la Jk'l-
gique de terminer ses excursions par la visite de cet heureux
district, afin que, sous I'empire de la deruiere impression, il
conserve un plus agreable souvenir de sa tourn6o."

Eco.Jiur. 213.
" Les habitants de ce district, n'ayant k executer aucun des
rudes travaux qu'exige ailleurs la culture de la terro, menont
une vie facile as?ez semblable a cello dea tribus pasloraK-s.
lis jouissent d'une certaine aisance, pnrce que la concurrence
n'a pas encore sureleve les fcrmagcs, et iKs sont vfitus avec i)lua
de soin et de proprete que dans les cantons voisina."

Fco. JRur. ISO.

N 2

180

imrsuits, and so incivase the size of the forms occu-
\nv(\ l)v the remjiiiidcr, it M'ould be for tlie benefit
of both.

I will conclude this short reconsideration of the
subject by quoting a passage from Judge Long-
field's address to the Statistical Society of Dublin :
— " ]\Iere agriculture, even in its most improved
sfate^ will not afford sufficient employment to the
population of Ireland, unless it is very considerably
reduced."* When, m a previous chapter, I ex-
pressed a far less sweeping opinion, I was unaware
of this strong coiToboration of its correctness.!

* " But mere agriculture, even iu its most improved state, will
not afford sufficient employment to the population of Ireland
nnleffs it is reduced very considerably ; and iu order to keep the
people in comfort, or indeed to keep them in the country, it is
necessary to find some means of preventing them from being
entirely dependent upon that one branch of industry for their
support." — Jud()e Longiield/s Speech to the Statistical Society,
1SG5.

t "The population of Ireland, in fact, reduced though it be, is
still far beyond what the country can support as a mere grazing
district of England. It may not, perhaps, be strictly true that, if
the present number of inhabitants are to be maintained at home,
it can only be either on the old vicious system of cottierism, or
as small proprietors growing their own food. The lands which
will remain under tillage would, no doubt, if sufficient security
for outlay were given, admit of a more extensive employment
of labourers by the small capitalist farmers ; and this, in the
opinion of some competent judges, might enable the country to
support the present number of its population in actual existence.
But no one will pretend that this resource is sufficient to main-
tain them in any condition in which it is fit that the gi'eat body
of the peasantry of a country should exist. Accordingly the
emigration, which for a time had fallen off, has, under the addi-

181

I now come to the tliii'd point in om* inquiry —
viz., whether it is fair to refer the evictions in Ire-
land to the injustice of the landlords rather than to
the neglect of their legitimate obligations on the
part of the tenants. AYhat has been already said
almost answers this question, while the fact that
two-thirds of the registered ejectments are for non-
payment of rent speaks for itself. But as it is the
fashion to talk of the act of eviction as if it were a
crime, I would ask your readers to analyze the
nature of the operation.

First, let us define the respective rights of land-
lord and tenant. A landlord is an owner of land ;
that is to say, he has either bought it himself, or
inherited it from those who have bought it. In
either case, the land he possesses represents a spe-
cific amount of capital, accumulated either by his
own industry or by that of his forefathers, for which
he is content to receive interest at a rate seldom
exceeding 2^ or 3 per cent. I may here observe that
considerable prominence has been given of late to

tlonal stimulus of bad seasons, revived in all its strength. It;
is calculated that within the year ISGl not less than 100,000
emigrants left the Irish shores. As far as regards the emi-
grants themselves and their poslerity, or the rjcneral interests of
the human race, it would be folly to regret this result. The
children of the immigrant Irish receive the education of Ame-
ricans, and enter, more rapidly and completely than would have
been possible in the country of tlieir descent, into the benefits
of a higher state of civilization."

MilVs PuUt. Econ.p. ll.'), Vol. T.

182

the fact tliat In tlic time of Elizabeth, Cromwell,
atul AVilliaiii, extensive confiscations of property
took place in Ireland, and it has been more than
hinted that such a circumstance might justify the
I'cpetition of an analogous process. But, however
strongly this argument may appeal to the con-
science of the small minority who are able to trace
their present proprietorship to an historical source,
it will hardly commend itself to those whose pos-
sessions represent the mercantile industr}^ of some
distant ancestor, improved by centuries of heredi-
taiy thrift, or the proceeds of their own exertions
invested in land on the faith of a Parliamentary
title. AYhether vague suggestions, — which (as far
as they mean anything) would imply the uprooting
of the whole of the population of Ulster, and the
transference of nearly all the landed property of
Ireland, from those whose legal title to it is indispu-
table to a thousand competitors whose claims would
rest on distinctions of race* and relio:ion, — are
calculated to atti'act capital to the country or pro-
mote a feeling of security, it is needless to inquire.

* On a map of Ireland, executed in Queen Elizabeth's reign,
wliicli has been discovered by Mr. Froude, at Vienna, the poa-
Bcssions of the contemporary chieftains are delineated. Occu-
pying a prominent place in the centre of the island, is a rich
district described as the country of the O'Sheridans. As a
native representative of what appears to have been, at all
events at one time, an opulent hou.se, I might be tempted to
urge the expulsion of its present alien owners from the rich
heritage of my ancestors.

183

Such barren speculations cannot alter tlie fact tliat
at present the owner of landed property in Ireland
holds it in exactly the same sense, and under the
same conditions, as the owner of property in Eng-
land.* He can sell his interest in it, he can let it,

* "Men are ever ready enough to believe that their misfortunes
are caused by others rather than by themselves ; and the long-
chei'ished belief in the existence of a grievance is always hard
to dispel. The Irish tenantry have been taught to believe that
their position as to their legal rights is far worse than that of
the tenant class in England ; that the law which in England
protects, in Ireland oppresses, the tenant ; that while in Eng-
land he is safe from capricious eviction, in Ireland he is daily
liable to it ; that whilst the Irish landlord is a rack-renting
tyrant, his English brother is a mild, humane, disinterested,
easy-going man, satisfied with a very moderate rent for his
land, and ever burning with anxiety to build barns, byres, and
dwelling-houses, at his own expense, and solely for the benefit
of his much-loved tenant. Now no one, knowing the two
countries, requires to be told that these representations are at
least very highly coloured. It is well known that, though the
landlord in England may build the farmhouses and offices ia
the first instance, and may sometimes (according to the custom
of the district where his property lies) aid in keeping them in
repair, while in Ireland the landlord has hitherto usually left
these things to be done by the tenant, yet the English proprietor
receives an ample equivalent in the much higher rent that his
farms produce than that at which land of the same intrinsic
value is generally let in Ireland. Nothing can be more falla-
cious than the idea that the power of evicting an improving
tenant in Ireland is greater than it is in England, or that tiio
English tenant class are in practice perfi ctly free frtm tlio
capricious exercise of it by tlicir landlords. A very cursory
reference to tlie evidence taken beiore the Agricultural Customs
Committee of the House of Commons in 1818 will sudico to
show that tenants' grievances are not peculiar to Ireland."

Home unl Forc'ujn Jievieiv, April 1801.

184

lie can cultivate it himself, as lie may please, so
lono- as he does jiot infringe existing contracts or
the laws of his country.

A tenant, on the other hand, is a person who
does not possess land, but who hires the use of it.
He embarks his capital in another man's iield, much
in the same way as a trader embarks his mendian-
dise in another man's ship. Experience teaches him
that by expending a certain amount of labour and
capital in the cultivation of the soil he is able within
a limited period to get back from it not only the
original capital he had expended, but also a profit-
able rate of interest upon that capital.* What rate
that interest may reach will depend on his own skill
and discretion, just as the trader's profits will de-
pend on the judgment with which he sorts his cargo
or selects his port. In either case, the amount of
hire paid for the use of the ship or for the use of

The writer of the foregoing passage is by no means inclined to
Bide Avith the landloi'd; any one who reads the article will see
that his opinion is that of an impartial witness.

* "Thus, then, the inherent qualities of the soil are the dis-
tinct property of the landlord."

" The labour and capital which a tenant may emjdoy to call
those qualities into activity, are the equally dittinet property
of the tenant. And various are the previous considerations
upon commencing a tenancy which must enter into any
eciuitable calculation, having for its object the apportionment
of the produce between these two claimants, whilst their
interests are connected, or the fixing what shall be the final
balance due to either when they b(^j)arate."

Dig. Jhv. Com. Summnri/, p. O.

tlie land will be determined by competition, and
will affect tlie balance of gain or loss on both trans-
actions. If ships are few and land is scarce, freight
and rent will rise, and the rise of each will in a
great measure be regulated by the disproportion of
ships to goods and of farmers to farms. But the
rate of freight or the amount of rent are not the
only circumstances which will affect the profits of
either speculator. In the case of the trader, all
will depend on his goods being landed at the port
he intended, whilst the most promising expectations
of the agriculturist may be ruined unless he retain
possession of the land he occupies for a definite
period. A clear understanding, therefore, ought to
exist in both cases between the parties interested,
as to the course of the ship and the duration of tlie
tenancy. The shipowner may want to send his
vessel to one port and the trader his goods to an-
other, just as the proprietor of an estate may wish to
let his land for one term and the tenant to hire it for
another. The definitive arrangement will depend
upon the respective necessities of the contracting
parties and the balance of competition. On the pre-
vious supposition tliat ships are few and land scarce,
the advantage of the bargain will remain with
the owner of the ship and tlie possessor of the
field — the one consenting to call at the desired
port, unforeseen contingencies permitting, the
other agreeing to let his land on siicli conditions
as may Ijc mo.st .suitaldc to Iiis iilti'i-ioi- views.

186

Both arrangements may be tliouglit by the im-
partial observer unfavourable to the two interests
affected bv it — the one to commerce, the other
to agriculture — but inasmuch as each was a
voluntary contract between persons who must be
supposed capable of managing their own affairs,
any legislative interference to amend the bargain
might occasion greater mischief. For instance, a
law requiring the ship to call at certain ports, or
the landlord to let his land for what he might con-
sider a longer term than was desirable, would be a
grievance to both shipowner and landowner ; they
would probably protect themselves either by re-
fusing to carry the goods and to let the field, or
by raising the rate of their freight and rent. This
result would suit neither merchant nor farmer.
Parliament might again intervene, and not only
lay down the plan of the voyage and the duration
of the tenure, but might impose a specified scale
of freights and rents, and declare the shipowner
incapable of freighting his own ship, and the land-
lord of tilling his own land. But so violent an
interference with the rights of property would be
unjust, impracticable, and obviously productive
of gi-eater evils than those it was intended to
remedy.

If the foregoing illustration be apposite, it
follows that the tenant's interest in the farm he
hires is quite as limited in its character as the
trader's interest in the ship he charters. The

187

voyage concluded, the lease expired, both ship and
field revert to their respective owners.

It is hardly reasonable to deny the analogy on
the ground that the ship is a manufactured article,
but the earth is the gift of God. The land I have
bought is probably itself as much a manufactured
article as the ship : and the iron or wood of which
the ship is built is as much the gift of God as the
land : the labour or enterprise by which the land
lias been rendered valuable is as clearly represented
by the money I gave for it, as the industry and
ingenuity exercised on its construction is repre-
sented by the price the owner has paid for the ship.
It is true the country of which my estate is part
belongs to the nation, and consequently my pro-
perty in that estate is over-ridden by the imperial
rights of the commonwealth. But this fact cannot
invest the individual who may happen to hire my
land, when once his tenancy is terminated either hy
lapse of time or hy the violation of Ms contract^ with
any peculiar rights in excess of those which may
be inherent in tlie community at large.

Of course, in the case of land, the desirable
duration of a tenant's occupancy may vary with
circumstances, from one year to a hundred; it
might equally suit liim to take, and me to let,
a comer of my park for a single crop, or a bit
of pasture for a few months grazing, or a tract
of heather under a reclamation lease of sixty
years. But if the ])nnciplc o^ the arrangement is to

188

be defintMl it niMv be stated as an axiom that, un-
less otlierwise provided for by special agreement, a
tenant's equitable claim to the occupation of his
farm extends to such a period as shall enable him
to put back into his pocket the capital he has
expended on its improvement, together with a fair
amount of interest upon that capital ; * for it is
evident, first, that were the profits of agricultural
enterprise to be artificially hoisted to a rate of

* It is sometimes objected that land having been made
valuable by the exertions of the former generations of tenants,
the additional fertility thus created ought to devolve like an apos-
tolic succession on the actual occupants. But if the persons
referred to conducted their business properly, they have been
already remunerated by their annual surplus of profit. The in-
creased value permanently acquired by the land through their
exertions, was a subsidiary accident which they neither intended,
nor could prevent. It was in expectation of such a result the
land was let to them. In pursuit of their own interests they
happened to disengage the latent virtues of the soil, which
were the property of the former owner, and which, after they
had been developed, the subsequent purchaser of the estate
acquired.

For a tenant, therefore, to claim a share in the increased
value of the land in addition to his fair profits, would be as
imreasonable as for the labourer to claim a share in the tenant's
profits in addition to his own wages, on the plea that those
profits resulted from the increased fertility communicated to
the land by his manual toil. The argument is as cogent in the
one case as in the other. Moreover, as a matter of fact, though
the labour of former tenants may frequently have improved the
land, the operations of the actual tenant have as often deterio-
rated it : and virgin soil that was worth a great deal before a
spade had touched it, may become completely exhausted by
bad cultivation.

189

interest beyond the amount appropriate to such
investments, the consequent stimuhis to competition
woukl immediately reduce them to their normal
level ; and, secondly, that to endow the present
chance occupiers of farms with an indefeasible
tenure would be tantamount to the imposition of a
disability on the rest of the non-occupying popula-
tion to hold land. The tenant's claim to occupa-
tion being necessarily, then, of a terminable
character, he has no right to complain if his land-
lord finds its advisable, on the exinration of his
term^ to confer on another advantages similar to
those he has hitherto enjoved. Many consider-
ations indispose both parties to change their rela-
tionship. Ancient associations, habits of friendly
intercourse, the fellowship which unites old cus-
tomers, may preserve the bond for generations ; but
when once it becomes the imperative interest of
either to cancel it, the endeavour of any third
party, such as the State, to force the maintenance of
a connexion, which in its very nature is one of volun-
tary obligation, will tend to precipitate the rupture.
It is admitted by the witnesses on the other side
that an industrious tenant is seldom, if ever, turned
off an estate in Ireland ; but it is a mistake to
imagine that non-payment of rent is the only
circumstance which can justify evictions. Any
one acquainted with the management of land is
aware that an idle or unskilful farmer, even though
he pav his rent, may do lils landlord's property

190

more harm tluin iin industrious tenant wlio is oc-
casionally in arrear. Few tilings are more liaLle
to deterioration than land, and the value of a field
may be as completely annihilated* for a certain
number of years as that of a house off which you
take the roof. One of the landlord's most impor-
tant duties is that of insuring the consummate
cultivation of his estate, and to hold him up to
obloquy because he makes a point of weeding his
property of men whose want of energy or skill, or
capital, renders them incapable of doing their duty
by their farms, and replacing them by more suit-
able tenants, is hardly reasonable.

Again, the failure of the potatoes, the repeal of
the Corn Laws, and the application of steam and
machinery to husbandry have converted a primitive
art into a complicated science. f If the Irish

* I quote the subjoined statement for the sake of the pic-
turesque way in which the annihilation of the fertile proper-
ties of the soil is described : —

James Carnegie, Esq., Land Agent.

" In reference to the consolidation of farms, I may state that
in 182;i I found a ploughland on an estate within three miles
of Macroom, in the possession of a number of miserable cot-
tiers ; seeing that the property could not be improved by them,
and that they had dragged the life and soul out of the ground, I
recommended the landlord to take it away from them, and to
give each of them his house, and from five to six acres of
ground, during his life at a nominal rent. This was done, and
the land taken up and improved, and let in larger farms to
solvent tenants." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 463.

f "The number of persons fitted to direct and superintend
any industrial enterprise, or even to execute any process which
cuuuot be reduced almost to an afiair of memory and routine,

191

acrriculturist is to hold lils own witli the foreiofn
producer, it can only be by high farming, a large
expenditure of capital, and great economy of labour
— conditions of industry almost incompatible with
the maintenance of unreasonably small farms.
There has consequently arisen a desire on the part
of both landlord and occupier to increase existing
holdings, and when such a feeling prevails in the
minds of the two parties chiefly interested, the
tendency will not be aiTcsted by legislation.

Fifteen years' experience in the management of
property in Ireland has convinced me that the
farmer of 20 acres at a fair rent makes a larger
profit, educates his children better, accumulates
more capital, and is more contented than the holder
of eight or nine acres at the same rent, and that, at
least, up to 30 or 40 acres, the advantage continues
in an ascending ratio. Many advocates of the
small farm* system would carry it higher, and
almost every tenant on my estate is probably of
their opinion. I am by no means disposed to

is always far short of the demand ; as is evident from the enor-
mous difference between the salaries paid to sucli persons, and
the Avages of ordinary labour. The deficiency of practical
good sense, which renders the majority of the labouring class
such bad calculators — which makes, for instance, their domes-
tic economy so improvident, lax, and irregular — must disqualify
them for any but a low grade of intelligent labour, and render
their industry far less productive than with equal energy it
otherwise might be." — Mill's Folit. Econ. p. 13 i.

* 1 have placed in the General Appeudi.x a few observations
on the respective merit^i of small and large farms. — Sre Grneral
Appendix, p. 833.

192

c^Ml^;i(U'^ the lOnglish system oi' large farms applic-
able to Ireland ;* on the contrary, 1 believe we shall
eventually settle down to an average size of farm^
as exceptional ly suitable as is the g'uage of our
railways ; but if a landlord wishes to furnish his
estate with farm buildings of his own erection,"}" and
to better the position of his industrious tenants, by
rendering the size of their farms proportionate to

* " There is, we are sorry to say, a growing disposition in
(Englisli) Land Agents to aboli.sh small farms altogether. The
sizes that farms ought to be, howevei', are not to be arbitrarily
determined. The whole question depends on circumstances, com-
prehending the qualifications of tenantry, the nature of the soil
and climate, also the best system of farming which 18 possible
in the circumstances. Not only are small farms profitable in
a national point of view, but they serve as steps in the ladder
by which men of small means and industrious habits may raise
themselves in the social scale; and such men succeed wonder-
fully bv dint of hard labour and rigid economy." — IlacdonahVs
instate Management, p. 251.

I " With this constant and irresistible tendency to subdivide
land, it often happens that the landlord, at the expiration of a
lease, finds thirty or forty tenants, and as many mud cabins,
instead of the one tenant to whom the farm was originally let.
What is a landlord under these circumstances to do ? Either
he must surrender to the evil, which will inevitably go on in-
creasing ; or he must set about clearing his estate, in order lo
consolidate the holdings."

"If an Irish landlord wishes to improve his properly, he finJs
that he cannot venture to lay out capital upon it, without in-
creasing the size of the holdings. He cannot erect farm-
buildings on plots of a few acres ; the construction and repair
of farm-buildings by the landlord implies the existence of large
farms, and a respectable tenantry. A landlord has no liold on
a cottier tenautry : tliey are not responsible persons, nor can
they be trusted with valuable property." — /S/r G. C. Lewis on
Iriih Disturbances, p. 320.

193

their capital and energies, no law should impede his
action, even though the operation involve the occa-
sional conversion of a struggling tenant into a well-
paid labourer or prosperous emigi'ant.* Far from

* I subjoin some evidence from the Devon Commission on
the respective prospects of the large and small farmer, i.e. the
man of five or six acres, and the occupier of 25 or 30 acres.

" The best opinion, however, appears to be, that the condition
of those large farmers, who adopt the improvements in agricul-
ture suggested by the progress of science, is advancing ; but
that those who neglect those improvements are stationary, or
declining in circumstances."

*' It must be observed, that many witnesses apply the term of
large farmers to the occupiers of twenty, thirty, or forty acres."

" The opinion, that the condition of the small farmers is in
general very wretched, is supported by a great weight of
evidence. It appears that in most parts of Ireland their sole
food 'was the potato, accompanied with milk, salt, or salt
herrings when procurable. Many witnesses asserted that the
condition of this class was even lower than that of the
labourers ; but it must be remembered that the occupiers of
two, three, or "four acres, are frequently included under the
title of "small farmers." — Dig. Dev. Govt. p. 364.

" It appears that where agricultural knowledge is diffused
amongst this class, their condition is improving ; that the pro-
gress of temperance has been very useful, but that in general
they are gradually sinking into deeper misery. The subdivision
of farms, which seems to be frequently practised in defiance of
the proprietors, is one powerful cause of this degradation."

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 364.

Thomas Davison, Esq., Agent.

" As to the condition of the farming population, is it
improving or otherwise ? — The condition of this class, speaking
of large farmers, is always superior to the small tenantry. The
large farmer must necessarily have a capital to carry on his

0

11)4

coiisideriiio- tlic latter alternative a hardship, I have
invariably counselled emigration to any healthy

business — his plans to ensure success must be carried on upon
Bysteiu ; hence, the superior tillage generally upon the larger
as compared with the smaller farms. The small tenantry are
generally mthout capital. When a bad year arises, the whole
produce of the farm barely suffices foi' the maintenance of the
family ; how then, or from what other source, is rent to be met
or provided for ?" — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 369.

Hev. James "Porter, Presbyterian Minister.

" With respect to the condition of the farming population,
do you consider the large farmers improving or otherwise ? —
When I speak of large farmers, you will perceive I mean
persons possessing fifty acres ; our largest farms arc thirty-five
acres on the average. Those are better off at present than the
very small tenants ; and my reasons for saying so are these,
that they have more substance, and more capital in their
hands."

" With respect to the smaller tenantry, what should you
say? — They are miserably oif ; those are the persons I have
described as falling into the hands of usurers, as to meal."

" What is the average size of the farms of those persons ?
— Three acres, some of them, and some would hold still less."

Big. Dev. Com. p. 372.

James Sinclair, Esq., Land Proprietor >
" With respect to the condition of the farming population,
do you consider that the condition of the larger farmers is
improving, or the reverse ? — I should be inclined to think they
are very much improved."

" With respect to the means of the smaller class of
tenantry, do you think they are improving or stationary ? — I
think that the very small tenantry have not improved. I think
any man who can sell a good deal of produce off his land is in
a better state than he used to be." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 380.

Mr. Robert M^Crea, Fanner.
" With respect to the condition of the farming population,

195

single young man among my tenants in whom I
was specially interested, and whose embarrassments
at home compromised his future. In doing so I
recommended the course I myself should have
adopted under similar circumstances, and in no
instance has the step been regretted. At this
moment several of the most prosperous farmers on

are the large farmers, iu your opinion, getting better in the
world ? — There is an appearance of more comfort with them.
There is a taste for a better style of living and appearing in
public, but I fear that their circumstances are not better by
any means. There is more industry and a closer attention to
business, which have enabled them so far to keep up former
appearances. Increasing education gives them a taste for a
better style of living, but their circumstances are by no means
better."

" Are the small tenantry getting better in their means ? —
I think that the very small tenantry are not ; they are if any
thing worse, and but a little better off than the labourers upon
their farms." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 380.

David Wilson, Esq., Land Proprietor.
" With respect to the condition of the farming population,
do you consider that the large farmers are improving in their
circumstances ? — The condition of graziers and large farmers,
I should say, is decidedly improved. * * * * The small
tenantry are to a very little extent improved — in many instances
not at all bo." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 381.

Mr. Benjamin Cox, Farmer.
*' With respect to the condition of the farming population,
are the larger class of farmers getting better in the world? —
Of this class there are few in the district ; their condition is
rather comfortable."

"Are the small tenantry getting better oft"? — For the most
part their condition is very low, and not getting better."

Diff. Dev. Com. p. 381.

o 2

11>G

mv estate are men who went out in tlieir youth to
Australia and to America, and have returned in
the prime of life with an ample supply of capital,
to renew with myself on a still more permanent
basis the connexion which had subsisted for many
generations between our respective ancestors.

It may be justly urged — and I have sufficiently
explained myself on this subject in a previous pub-
lication— that the moral character of an act of evic-
tion will greatly depend on the complete termina-
tion of the tenant's legitimate interest in his
farm ; but my argument presupposes this essential
condition ; and when it is remembered that accord-
ing to Judge Long-field's dictum '' no improvement
on a small farm will pay," and that the dete-
rioration of the land, if justly estimated, would be
found to outweigh, in most cases of e\dction, the
counter-claim of the tenant for compensation, it
is improbable that many instances have occurred
in which this condition has not been fulfilled.*

* " But there is no small portion of the land of Ireland in the
hands of tenants to whom a promise of compensation for bona
fide improvements would be useless. They have neither skill,
capital, or energy to undertake such tasks. Their only hope
is to live, that is, to sustain life upon the land, and divide it
among their children. That a farmer ought to possess some
capital, and be able to i)ay some rent, is a proposition that has
never entered into his head, and he is never ashamed to tell
his landlord that he is not worth a single penny, never sup-
posing that the natural inference is?, that he is unfit to be a
farmer." — Judge LongiieWs Add. to the Stat. Society.

197

Therefore, while I heartily admit that a heavy
obligation rests upon the landlord to exercise such
extreme rights with great moderation, and with a
charity far in excess of his legal responsibilities,
in the face of the foregoing considerations, I
camiot believe it would be either just or wise to
curtail them.

In fact, the transition which is affecting the agri-
cultural world of Ireland resembles the revolution
which overturned the manufacturing system of Eng-
land on the introduction of the power-loom. In
each case an improvement of method threw a large
proportion of the population of either country out
of their accustomed groove, and great suffering and
discontent ensued ; but, for Parliament or public
opinion to compel the agricultural interest of Ire-
land to maintain an unprofitable or exploded
system of husbandry, for the purpose of preventing
emijxration, Avould be as unreasonable as an edict
to preclude the mill-owner of Manchester from
adopting such mechanical improvements as econo-
mize manual labour, or from working half-time
durinjx a cotton famine.

That a moral duty rests on the ])romoters of every
industry, whether commercial or agricultural, to
mitigate the distress incident to those periods of
transition which periodically disturb all brandies of
employment cannot be too strongly insisted upon ;
but there can be no such essential difference in tiie
relations between a landlord and his tenants, and

108

an employer of wages and liis workmen, on the
expiration of their respective contracts^ as should
render such obligations more imperative on the one
than on the other. Indeed, if a distinction were to
be drawn, it would tell rather in the landlord's
favour, inasmuch as the wealth acciiiing to him
from the exertions of his tenants chiefly represents
a low rate of interest on capital already accumu-
lated without their co-operation ; whereas, in the
case of the manufacturer, a gTcat portion of his capi-
tal, and of its rapidly increasing profits, has been
created by the toil of those whom he finds it con-
venient to dismiss at a week's notice.

But, whatever the natm-e of the moral duties oi
landlord or master, under such circumstances, it is
clear they cannot become the subject of legal enact-
ment ; and if any proof were needed of the ripeness
of the working classes for a large extension of the
franchise, it might be found in the economical
sagacity and keen moral sense which have enabled
them to distinguish the limits witliin which Parlia-
ment can be justly required to arbitrate in such
matters between themselves and their employers.

I now turn to the two concluding points in our
inquiry, viz. — Ist, the extent to which the present
discontent is to be attributed to laws affectino- the

o

tenure of land ; and 2nd, the degree to which any
change in those laws would modify that discontent.
I have no disposition to deny the existence of a
certain amount of disaffection m the minds of a large

190

section of the Irish race ;'■' but, in the first place, in
defining its extent I think we may safely be guided
by the statements of the Catholic Prelates of Ire-
land, who have authoritatively pronounced it to

* " The total number of persons arrested up to the end of
November, 1866, was 752. Of these, 314 were tradesmen,
artisans, and millworkers. Many of these might be shop-
keepers, but as they were entered merely as " tailor" and
" shoemaker," they were classified among the tradesmen. There
were 52 shopkeepers, 25 publicans, 45 clerks aud commercial
assistants, 30 shop assistants and shopkeepers' sous, only 35
farmers and 20 farmers' sons (three of whom were students) ;
the remainder consisted of national schoolmasters, persons who
had been in the American army, labourers, &c. (An Hon.
Member — " How many national schoolmasters ?") Not less
than 29 (a laugh), and I am sorry for it. (Hear.) But I
repeat that, of the 752 arrested up to November, under the
Lord-Lieutenant's warrant, only 35 were persons in the occu-
pation of land. (Hear.) That is sufficient to show the House
the particular class of persons who are engaged in this conspi-
racy, and the House will learn with satisfaction that the most
important and numerous class of persons of these districts,
who are in possession of almost all the wealth and industry of
the country, have abstained from taking any part in this
movement." — JExtract frovi the Report of Lord Naas' Speech on
the Continuance of Suspension Habeas Corpus Act, February 21,
1867.

In opening the Queen's County Assizes Chief-Justice
Monahan alluded to the same subject, remarking in conclu-
sion : —

^' No respectable farmer has taken any party in this conspiracy.
It is confined exclusively to foreign emissaries, idlers, and tho
worthless characters about the towns ; and it is needless to
observe how utterly unable they have been and always must
be, to resist the constituted authorities." — March 13.

200

be confined to tlie least ref^pectable portion of the
community ; and, in the next, we nuist entirely dis-
sociate it from the more subtle feeling of uneasiness
"which is said to pervade the minds of the tenant
farmers of the south and west. What I see reason to
dispute, is that the hostility manifested towards the
Government of England by the Irish in Amei-ica,
in the great manufacturing towns of England and
of Scotland, and by the non-occupying population
of Ireland itself, has been occasioned by laws
aftecting the tenure of land, or is likely to be modi-
fied by any change in them.

Fixity of tenure would not have materially im-
peded the exodus after the potato famine, nor have
affected the action of the landlords, in so far as
they may have contributed to it ; for even that
fantastic desideratum — as advocated by Mr. Butt —
presupposes good husbandry and the payment of
rent ; two conditions of which the great majority
of the small occupiers who either left of their own
accord or were evicted dui'ing these last five-and-
twenty years were from the circumstances of the
case incapable 5 so, even admitting that much of
the ill-feeling of which Fenianism is the exponent
is to be traced to the resentment of those who emi-
grated, it is clear that so long as tlie landlord is to
be left with any control or proprietorship at all
over his land neither his conduct nor their opinion
of it would have been materially modified. The

201

same observation holds good even in a greater
degi'ee with respect to any law which miglit have
regulated compensation, as the improvements on a
cottier tenancy would have seldom been of an
appreciable amount.* As a matter of fact, I believe
that few of the actual occupiers of land are tainted
with Fenianism. Scarcely any farmers have been
implicated in that conspiracy, though, perhaps,
some of their relatives (in other Avords, persons
with a much more modified interest in land
than themselves) may have been entrapped. The
tenant of a piece of land, even under the alleged
disadvantageous conditions of his existence, has
much more to lose than to gain by the over-
throw of the existing order of things. The adult
male population of Ireland is about 1,900,000.
Of these 441,000 are the occupants of farms.|

* The same view has been taken by the writer of the Ecview
I have alread}' quoted.

" Now the best friends of the Irish tenant must allow that
there are fewer of the small land-holders who (in the sense
tliat any tenant-right bill could recognise) have hitherto been
improving tenants than there are of the reverse. Anj' legisla-
tion, tlierefore, that merely gave the tenant a property in hia
honafide improvements could be a boon, at the present moment
only to the minority of the tenant class. The larger number
of the cottiers and small farmers, not having made any im-
provements, would be unaffected by the protecting law, and
would be as liable as ever to unrecompensed eviction."

Home and Forciyn Review, April, 18G1, p. 353.

f It lias been tlie habit of some authorities (irsl io talk of the
000,000 tenant farmurs of Ireland, and then having nuiltipiied

202

In the event of a, revolution the non-agTiciiltuml
majority could alone hope to benefit by it. As
political disturbances are unfavourable to the de-
velopment of manufjictures and the importation
of capital, the population of Ireland would become
more dependent upon the land than they are at
present. It is true the landlord's rent would be at
the disposal of the community ; but, as it is but a
fourth of the produce, its confiscation would only
make room for about 100,000 new occupiers, with-
out improving the condition of the present ones.
But there will remain above a million of more or
less necessitous persons to be accommodated, among
whom, therefore, large sections of the present hold-
ings Avould have to be divided, and filibustering
pati'iots from America* might prove as exacting as

that figure by five to describe the total of the occupying popu-
lation as amounting to 3,000,000, i.e. to a third more than its
real amount.

The error has arisen from mistaking detached holdings
occupied by the same individual, for distinct tenancies in-
habited by different farmers. As there are 680,000 agricultural
labourers in Ireland, most of them vpith families, it is evident
such a calculation would prove the rural population to exceed
the total population of the island. Had I adopted this version
of the case, it would indeed have brought out an extravagant
disproportion between the amount of labour absorbed in the
cultivation of laud in Ireland, as compared with other coun-
tries.

* A tenant in the South of Ireland lately received a letter
from America, warning him at his peril to break up some pas-
ture, as the writer intended on his arrival to appropriate the
farm, of which it formed a part, himself Were an American-

203

Cromwell's troopers. But, though the farming
classes of Ireland regard Fenianism with hostility
and terror, it cannot be denied that in many dis-
tricts they are restless and dissatisfied with their
own position. The degree of this discontent is
dependent upon different circumstances. Nowhere
in Great Britain does there exist a more orderly
or contented body of men than the tenantry of
Ulster ; and I believe that, so far from regarding
what are called " the tenant-right agitators"^ with
favour, they rather shi'ink from the risk of redu-
cing the gracious customs which are now volini-
tarily maintained between them and their landlords
into the definite and inelastic phraseology of the
most liberal Tenants' Compensation Bill wliich
could be devised.*

Irish invasion ever to take place, the traditional claim wliich
might be set up by the sons of a former generation of emi-
grants to portions of existing holdings might prove very em-
barrassing to tbeir present occupants.

* Evidence of Jolm Hancock, Esq., Agent.

" Although tenant right exists, as I will hereafter explain, it
exists by custom and not by law ; and many landlords and
others dcein it injurious, and are opposed to it. The tenants
therefore, naturally look upon it as uncertain in amount. They
also fear tJie introduction of any laio on the subject,'^ ^c. Sfc.

Big.Dev. Com. p. 2G1.

No one will dispute the autbority of the above witness on
such a subject. Most Ulster landlords would be only too glad
to refer all their disputes witli their tenantry to a Court of
Equity. The Ulster tenant is quite aware that an equitable
arbitration would generally give liim less thaji he now gets
from his landlord's liberality.

111 the south and west, matters are, I fear, very
difterent ; Lut even there f^rcat diversity of senti-
ment exists ; tlie aspirations of the peasantry being
apt to take a local colouring, varying with the in-
fluences which have been brought to bear upon
them, — differing on different estates and in different
counties, in some districts their utmost pretensions
being most reasonable, while in others they are such
as no legislation could satisfy ; nor, unhappily,
does it always follow that those tenants are the
most contented wlio are treated with the greatest
indulgence. But, though embodied in a hundred
different modes of expression, the disquietude of the
Irish occupier may be referred to three distinct
conditions of thought: — First, a fear of any change
in his position acting on a mind possessed with a
blind, unreasoning hankering after a bit of land;
the traditional failing of a people to whom for cen-
turies land has been the only means of support,
and wdiich leaves them the moment they are sur-
rounded by other associations. Secondly, a vague
jealousy springing from his incapacity to understand
the law^s Avhich regulate investments of capital in
civilized countries, which makes the tenant orrudjre
any expenditure on his farm that Avill be of ulterior
benefit to his landlord, though it might in the mean-
time repay himself, capital and interest, twenty-
fold. And thirdly, the legitimate anxiety of a
thoughtful man, whose prospects are kept in per-
petual hazard by his landlord's unwillingness or
inability to grant an appro})riatc lease. Of these

205

three separate causes of discord between tlie land-
lords and tlieir tenants, I believe the two first to be
by far the most prolific of ill-feeling, and at the
same time the most difficult to remove.

In a subsequent chapter I purpose to consider
the various plans which have been proposed for
the amelioration of this condition of affairs.

206

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207

* As the authority by which these persons are entered
under the head of Agricultural Labourers, may be ques-
tioned, I subjoin a memorandum on the point by Mr.
Donnelly the Registrar- General of Ireland, to whose ad-
mirable official Statistics, unrivalled probably in their accu-
racy, extent, and the universal confidence they command, I
in common with every one else have been so much indebted.

" Almost the entire number of persons classified in the
Census as ' labourers' may be considered as Agricidtural
Labourers. — Some of them were no doubt employed in
towns and cities, at the date of the Census : — the number
of whom may be approximately ascertained from the
numbers in the Occupation Tables for the following towns
given as labourers in the Census, under the head " un-
classified,'* viz. :^-

Drogheda

566

Dublin

12,686

Kilkenny

669

Cork

6,954

Limerick

2,145

Waterford

1,140

Belfast

5,250

Galway

983

30,393

The number of labourers under the head of

"Unclassified," in 1801, was . . 346,816

From which deduct as being employed in
towns — not on agricultural labour, as
per preceding statement . . 30,393

208

This will leave tlic foregoing number
(ilk),8U)), who may be considered as
having been employed as farming la-
bourers, and servants

31M23

To which, if there be added those actually
returned on the Census Papers, as farm
labourers and servants . . 374,425

There will thus be a general total of agri-
cultural labourers of . . . 690,848

COEEESPONDIKG TaBLE FOE ENGLAND AND WaXES,

Census 1861.

Farmers and Graziers

Sons, grandsons, nephews, and brothers of farmers

living on the farm .
Agricultural labourers
Farm servants — indoor .
Herds and Shepherds
Drovers ......

226,957

92,721
914,301
158,401

25,569
3,125

Total . 1,421,064

There were also 300,000 labourers entered in the English
Census as unclassified, — but this number would amount to a
very small per centage on the total population of England and
Wales, and I am informed by the Eegistrar General of Eng-
land, tbat no appreciable proportion of them can be included
in the cultivating population of Britain.

209

Table showing the Number of Male Cultivators employed in
Belgium aud Flanders, (see p. 162.)

Belgium.

E. and W.

Flanders.

Proprietaires cultivateurs, et fermiers, eco-
nomes, et direct eurs de rural es

300,473

111,824

Bergers, nourrisseurs, patres .

4,811

736

Journaliers et ouvriers agricoles, domes-
tiques, etc. ......

388,342

127.131

693,026

239,691

Lenglh of Selgian Leases.

" Le3 baux ne se contractent generalement que pour un
terme de trois annees, et Ton trouve encore un tres-grand
nombre de proprietaires qui louent pour trois, six, et neuf
ans." — Report : Belgian Census, 1856.

210

CHAPTER V.

Those various plans which have heen proposed
ior the settlement of what is called ^ the Irish land
question ' may be grouped under four distinct me-
thods of procedure, w^hich I shall consider in turn.

First in order comes the scheme, (advocated by
Mr. Brig-ht,) of enabling- the peasantry of Ireland
to buy up, with money advanced by Government,
the estates of British noblemen happening' to be
owners of property in both countries, at a price 10
per cent, in excess of their value. Now, it would
ill become an Irishman to allude to such a proposal
in any terms but those of respect and g'ratitude ;
and I hail the proposition as a g-enuine proof of the
author's goodwill towards us. jN'or do I dissent
from Mr. Bright in regretting that so much of
the land in Ireland should be possessed bj" those
whose permanent home is never likely to be in that
country, althouo'h the selection of names by which
his well meant suggestion was disfigured happened
t-o be unfortunate. Had he contented himself with
expressing a hope that it might be found convenient
to some of the gentlemen circumstanced as he
described, to allow their Irish property to descend

2U

iu the line of tlieir second sons,* I sliould Iiave
cordiall}' ag'reed witli him, especinlh' as the fact of
estates beino- now in the course of sale at the rate of
£1^000,000 a year in the Landed Estates Court
renders his offer of a premium unnecessar3\'|'

With reg'ard to the eventual result of Mr.
Brig-ht's scheme on the happiness of the people I
do not feel so certain. In the first place, the prac-
tical difficulties in the way of its execution would
be enormous: — unless land is let much lower than
Mr. Brig-ht would probably care to admit, there are
not many tenants who could afford to pay, in addi-
tion to their usual oblig'ations, 5 or G per cent, for a
number of 3Tars on whatever sum the fee simple of
their holding's raig-ht be \\orth ; and, in the next
— until the operation was completed. Government
would find itself charg-ed with the responsibi-
lities of a land ag'ency of a most onerous character,
over property scattered in innumerable small subdi-
visions up and down the country'. Occasions would
arise when the increased rent would cease to be
forthcoming*, and, as trustees for the tax-payer, the
State would have to proceed ag"ainst the defaulting*

* When the above was written, I did not know that Mr.
O'Connell had made a similar 6ug2:estion.

" T would give him readily the choice of bestowing his Irish
estate upon his second son."— Z>. O'Connell, Esq., M.P., Dig.
Lev. Com. p. 1093.

t Tiie amount of property whicli lias passed througli the
Landed Estates Court has been between £2'),000,()00 and
je30,000,000, reprepenting an income of at loa^^t £2,000,0C0.

J' '2

OIO

tenant with inflexible rio-our, — to resume posses-
sion of" his holding', — ])robably much deteriorated by
necessitous husbandry, — and either to confiscate the
paid-up portion of" the purchase-money, which would
be considered a gross injustice b}- the person evicted,
or to return it to him, which aaouW be an equally
sensible loss to the Exchequer. But, supposing* the
creation of these small proprietorships happily
effected, is it so certain that the g'eneral condition of
the country would be improved ? What g'uarantee
have we ag-ainst these several infinitesimal estates
acquiring" the character of the already existing per-
petuities ? * It is the fashion to argue that the
relation of landlord and tenant, as it exists in Eng*-
' land, cannot be comprehended by the g'enius of the
Irish people. But it is the only relation the Irish
peasant does (at least so long' as he remains in Ireland)
thoroug'hly appreciate. The labourer's dream is to
become a tenant ; the tenant's g'reatest ambition is
to enjoy the dignity of a landlord.f What he cannot

* Mr. Mill, with his usual sagacity, has detected the difficulties
Avhich might arise out of the iudiscriminate conversion of tlie
present tenantry into peasant-proprietors.

" A large proportion also of the present holdings are probahly
still too small to try the proprietary system under the greatest
advantages ; nor are the tenants always the persons one would
desire to select as the first occupants of peasant-properties." —
Hill's Polit. Econ.p. 411.

I " Tliere is a very great desire with nearly all of them to
become landlords, and sublet the land." — Judge LongfieliVs
i:vidence, Q. 524.

213

be made to realize is, that an independent labourer
is a more respectable personag*e than a strug'g'ling-
farmer, and a prosperous husbandman than a rack-
renting- squireen.* It is true, were J\Ir. Bright's

* A very acute observer, the agent of an estate in the Xorth of
Ireland, though himself a native of the South, thus signalizes
the dangers which are already becoming apparent from the
minute division of property novr promoted by sales in the
Encumbered Estates Court.

" I have several times mentioned to you the evils likely
to arise from the sales in the Landed Estates Courts. Under
the original Encumbered Estates Court, properties were
brought to sale in large lots, suitable only for the purses of
moneyed men, and, accordingly they were purchased at such
a price as enabled the buyer to let the lands at fair rents to the
tenants. After a time the demand for land in small lots became
so great, owing to many of the farming class returning with
money from the gold diggings, &c. &c., that persons having
the carriage of sales, at once decided on making the ' lots to
suit purchasers,' and in almost every instance the landlord
class of gentry were, and still are, beaten out of the market.
The large prices given by the class I have mentioned, being such
as to reduce the interest on the outlay in several instances

which I could mention below two per cent The

buyer is not of the standing in life to care for the comforts of
those under him ; his income is small — much smaller owing

to tlie high price he gave for the lot The reason

I mention middle men is that I see daily a class of men becom-
ing landlords, in consequence of the sale of small lots in the
Landed Estates Court, who are in every respect similar to those
men."

Professor Cairnes has made the same observation.

" There is, however, a partinl counter-current, of which I
have not seen any public notice. A class of men, not very
numerous, but sufficiently so to do much mischief, have, through
the Landed Estates Court, got into possession of land in Ireland,

::i4

sclieiiie to be put in operation, it would bt3 perfectly
justifiable for tlie state, while in promoting- these
])urchases with public money, to impose string-ent
conditions against subletting ; but such precautions
would be found practically inoperative, or only to
be enforced by a code of primogeniture, entail, and
limited oa\ nership, such as would keenly shock the
advocates of the change.* Supposing', however, the

who, of all classes, are least likely to recognise the duties of a
landlord's position. These are small traders in towns, who by
dint of sheer parsimony, frequently combined with money-lend
ing at usurious rates, have succeeded, in the course of a long
life, iu scraping together as much money as will enable them
to buy fifty or a hundred acres of laud. These people never
think of turning farmers, but, proud of their position as land-
lords, proceed to turn it to the utmost account." — Milts Polit.
Econ. p. 413.

The result of the evidence given before the Devon Commis-
aion on this important subject is thus summarized in the digest.
" It seems to be the general impression of the witnesses that
the estates of large proprietors are better managed than those
of small; some, however, are of the contrary opinion." — Dig.
Dev. Com. p. 1028.

I, myself, have no doubt upon the subject. Tlie tenantry
on the larger estates in Ireland are for the most part in a better
po.sition than those on the very small estates, not that the larger
proprietors are better men than their humbler neighbours, but
that they can alford to be more liberal and are less tempted by
their own necessities to deal hardly with defaulters.

* It is very important that this tendency inherent in the Irish
peasant to quarter his children and his grandchildren, his
daughters and his sons-in-law upon his farm, either by a suc-
cessive series of subdivisions ur by pecuniary charges under his
will, should not be lost sight of, and when sur|)rise is expressed
at the alleged umvillingucbs ou the part of the landlords to

215

system worked no worse in Ireland than in France,
the state of ag-riculture in France^ with so many

grant leases, it must be reineiiibered that it has been found
very diflBcult to check this disastrous practice when once a lease
has been issued. This point is clearly set forth in the follow-
ing extract from the Digest of the evidence given before the
Devon Commission : —

" Though from the above-mentioned causes, the practice of
subletting is now much less prevalent than it formerly was, it
appears that the practice of subdividing forms as a provision
for the children of tenants still continues to a very great
extent, notwithstanding the most active exertions of proprie-
tors and agents.

" The evil is one difficult, or almost impossible to prevent.
The parent possessed of a farm looks upon it as a means of
providing for his family after his decease, and, consequently,
rarely induces them to adopt any other than agricultural pur-
suits, or makes any other provision for them than the miserable
segment of a farm, whicli he can carve for each out of hia
liolding, itself perhaps below the smallest size which can give
profitable occupation to a family. Each son, as he is married,
is installed in his portion of the ground, and in some cases,
even the sons-in-law receive as the dowries of their brides some
share of the farm. In vain does the landlord or agent threaten
the tenant ; in vain is the erection of new houses prohibited,
or the supply of turf limited. The tenant relies on the
sympathy of his class to prevent ejectment, and on his own
ingenuity to defeat the other impediments to his favourite
mode of providing for his family.

"The fear of this subdivision, and its ruinous consequences,
appear, from the testimony of many, to be the principal cau.ses
preventing the grant of lenses, as the power of tlie lindlord to
resist them, though always insufficient, is considered to be much
diminished where the tenant holds by lease, no matter how
strii:gent the covenants against subdivisioii may be, it being
stilted that the difficulty of enforcing the covenanis in Ii-.'ikcs
is in general very great.

"It appears that subdivision i.s occasionnlly caused h\ llip

216

advantag-es of climate and with such variety of re-
source, is not a re-assuring- precedent.* At this

tenant selling a part of his farm, in order to raise money for
some temporary purpose.

" Some strange cases are detailed in the evidence of the ex-
tent to which lands have become subdivided by the operation
of the above-mentioned practices. Amongst these, the state-
ments of Lord Glengall, Mr. Kincaid, and Mr. "Williamson,
seem particularly worthy of attention. The last of these
mentions 3S7 Irish acres, of which but 167 acres are arable,
held by 110 tenants."— Diff. Dev. Com. p. 419.

" The provision made by farmers for their daughters is stated
to be in many cases very much larger than their capital war-
rants. It appears too that on the death of a tenant, he fre-
quently either bequeaths his farm to be divided among bis
children, or disposes of it to one son, but charged with sums
of money payable to the other children, often utterly out of
proportion to the value of the farm. It is asserted that this
practice, by subdividing the farms into portions too small for
the support of the occupiers, or by depriving the tenant of the

* I have no personal acquaintance with the state of agri-
culture in France, but making every allowance for the im-
provement which has undoubtedly taken place of late years in
French farming, {See App., p. 276) it is still a considerable way
behind England and Belgium, and w^hatever progress is being
made is rather in spite than in consequence of the extreme com-
minution of the soil. Even Mr. Mill admits the tendency to
subdivisioi\ in France has been too great, though the cultiva-
tion of the vine is so peculiarly adapted to " la petite culture."
Native authors visit it with more serious reprobation.

" ] know that ten years' produce per acre in France, as a
whole (though not in its most improved districts) averages
much less than in England." — llill's Polit. Econ.\). 189.

" The inferiority of French cultivation (which, taking the
-■ountry as a Avhole, must be allowed to be real, though much
eiaggerated) is probably more owing to the lower general
average of industrial skill and energy in that country-, than to

217

moment I believe there are several hundred thou-
sand small freeholders in that country too indig-ent

capital necessary for agricultural operations has a very injurious
effect."— Diff. Dev. Com. p. 365.

" The incumbrances for portioning off younger children
at the death of parents frequently leave the successors to the
farms without capital." — Ibid. p. 194.

Evidence of Rev. Jds. Porter, Preshyterian Minister.
" How do the farmers in general provide for their families
in the event of their death ? — In all the districts, a little farmer,
when he dies, let his rent be what it may, is in the habit of
dividing his substance amongst his children. He divides his
farm between the two eldest, and gives something to his
daughters and younger sons according to his circumstances ;
but they are beginning to see that these small divisions are
injurious to them ; and as education is blessing the country,
that feeling is spreading." — Ibid. p. 373.

Roh. M'Crea, Farmer.
" By what means are the children usually provided for at
the death of their parents ? — For the most part the fiirm is

any special cause ; and even if partly the effect of minute sub-
division, it does not prove that small farming is disadvan-
tageous, but only (what is undoubtedly the fact) that farms in
France are very frequently too small, and, what is worse,
broken up into an almost incredible number of patches or
parcelles, most inconveniently dispersed and parted from one
another." — Ibid. p. 18.

" Undue subdivision, and excessive smallness of holdino-g,
are undoubtedly a prevalent evil in some countries of peasant
proprietors, and particularly in parts of Germany and France."

" The governments of Bavaria and Nassau have thought it
necessary to impose a legal limit to subdivision, and the Prus-
sian Government unsuccessfully proposed the same measure to
the Estates of its llhenish Provinces."

" Wherever the small properties are divided among too many
proprietors, I believe it to be true that the large i)ropcrties

218

to contribute their penny or lialfpenny a year to
the taxation of the country.* An excessive pro-
given to tlie cltlest soil, and he is charged with the support or
provision for the rest." — Dig. Dev. Com. jj. 381.
John Li/nc/i, Esq., Solicitor.

" In the case of a man having a leasehold interest dying,
liow is that interest arranged ; do disputes frequently arise
among the surviving members of the family ? — It is a source of
continual dispute between them, unless he settles it by deed or
will. If he dies intestate they are all mixed up together.
One says, ' I wish to improve this ;' another says for obstinacy,
' You shall not.' One will have a pig feeding here, and the
consequence is, that all improvement is impossible."

" In your opinion, is the question of a succession to a
leasehold interest a very fruitful source of litigation in this
country ? — No question at all about it.

" Is it the habit among the people in this country, holding
small leasehold interests, to make charges upon them for the
females of the family ? — Tes. It is a most extraordinary
thing. I have often said, ' One would suppose you had Lord
Kenmare's estate to dispose of.' They have a miserable

also are parcelled out among too many farmers, and that the
cause is the same in both cases, a backward state of capital,
skill, and agricultural enterprise." — Ibid. p. 363.

At the time Mr. Mill made this observation, he calculated
that the average size of these small farms in Prance might be
taken at 8| acres, and a large proportion at 15 acres ; at the
present moment about 20 per cent, of the farms of Ireland are
below 5 acres, and more than 50 per cent, only average 10 acres.

It is right I should append to the above quotations the modi-

* On the 1st of January, 1851, there were 7,846,000 proprie-
tors in Prance, and 126,000,000 separate holdings (parcelles).
It is stated by M. About that of these 7,846,000 proprietors,
3,000,000 were so indigent that they were unable to pay the
Land Tax, although in 600,000 cases its amount did not come
to a hr.lf-penny a year.

219

portion of aruble land lies fallow ; the g-ross pro-
duce per acre is much less than it is in Belgium

patch of land, and they have four or five children, and they will
say, * To A so miu-h is given ; to B so much is given ; to C so
much ; and to D so much is given.' And it is a common prac-
tice vi-ith them, after they have got liusbauds for their daugh-
ters, and have got rid of their children in that way, to dispose
of it to another party in the same way, who is ignorant of the
previous disposition. Then between these parties, the rightful
owner, in the first place, and these other parties, there is an
eternal scene of litigation taking place." - Ibid. p. 382.

Itoh. O'Brien, Ei^q^., Agent and Land Proprietor.

" This class (small farmers) also embarrass themselves very
much in giving marriage portions to their daughters, consisting
often of some money, some stock, and genei-ally a promissory-
note for a part of it. . . .

" By what means are children provided for at the death
of their parents ? — The case of children is one of the most
difficult of solution, and a constant source of controversy
between landlords and tenants, as amongst the small farmers

fying remarks which Mr. Mill has added in his last edition
to the chapter from which they are taken.

" Impressed with the conviction that, of all faults which can
be committed by a scientific writer on political and social sub-
jects, exaggeration, and assertion beyond the evidence, most
require to be guarded against, 1 limited myself in the early
editions of this work to the foregoing very moderate state-
ments. I little knew how much stronger my language nn'glit
have been without exceeding the truth, and how much the
actual progress of French agriculture surpassed anything which
I had at that time sufiicient grounds to affirm." — Ibid. p. 19].

As, however, the subdivision of holdings and parcellcs in
France has considerably increased between the dates of tlio
two editions, I do Jiot ajjprehend that Mr. ]\F ill lias changed
the opinion he hiul jireviously expressed on this lattrr point.

" La revolution de 9:5, en morcelant Ics hirn.'^ nationaux.a fait
unc chose agrcable ati pcnjilc ct memo utile pour un certain

220

luid England •* a lnrg;e number of their Liliputian
estates are gTievously encumbered ; f of some the

the custom of the country being for the parents to settle off
their children as tliey grow up, so that the youngest generally
is the one to inherit the house, or rather the eldest unsettled,
or perliaps the widow. . . . The general custom, where they
can venture to do so, is, either to divide the land share and share
alike amongst their children. . . . reserving for the old widow
the house (as the son is required to build a house for himself),
and an acre or so of land ; this, at the time, is generally stated to
return to the son, but in course of time, it is given at her death
by the widow to one of the daugliters ; and as the stipulation
is that the acre should be rent free, there are constant com-
plaints and quarrels on the subject, and it generally ends by
the landlord being obliged to make a new agreement, and take
with each as separate tenants, or else to eject the whole to get
rid of the intruders." — Dig. Dev. Cotn. p. 382.
Daniel O'Connell, Esq., M.P.
" Take what precautions the landlord will, the lessee will and
must contrive to have more occupiers on the land than the
landlord would wish. If you prohibit him from having addi-

temps. II est bon qu'il y a beaucoup de proprietaires. Mais
personne n'avait prevu I'effet desastreux que ces deux causes
associees devaient produire en un demi-siecle. Le paysan, ivre
de propriete, a fait pour la terre toutes les folies qu'un amant
fait pour sa maitresse. Tout le monde a voula aclieter, presque
personne n'a voula vendre. Si un hectare tombait aux mains
de dix heritiers, chacun d'eux pretendait garder et cultiver ses

* " La repartition des cultures dans les provinces beiges tient
le milieu entre celle que pratique I'Angleterre et celle qui est
suivie en France : elle vaut mieux que I'assolement franyais,
on les cultures ameliorantes, y compris une enorme proportion
de jacheres qui ne produieent rien, occupent seulement le tiers
du sol." — Eco. Bur. 224.

t An admirable paper on the effects of the subdivision of
land in France has been written by Mr. J. G. T. Sinclair, to
which, I trust, he will give a wider circulation.

221

orig-inal purchase money has not been paid;* while
Mr. Michelet has declared the position of the

tional houses, and have a clause to take down those additional
houses, they will live in one house ; the daughter will marry,
and the son-in-law will be brought in, and the son will marry
and bring in his wife." — Big. Dev. Com. p. 254.
Rich. Byrne, Esq., Vice Chairman of the Board of Guardians.
" Is the charge left upon the farm for the unprovided daughters
and sons, by the father, generally very disproportionate to the
value of the farm ? — Yes, where he makes a will, it is ; but
•where he fortunes them out during his life, he generally gives
much larger fortunes than he ought, considering the value of
his land, to give. I have known an instance of a man holding
four acres of ground, getting three daughters married, to each
of whom he gave £20 fortune; and another man holding fourteen
acres got three of his daughters married, to each of whom he
gave £25 fortune : and those were both tenants holding at will."
Ibid. p. 386.

Mr. Thomas Bradford, Farmer.
" How do the tenantry generally provide for their children

dix acres. Celui qui avait entre les mains un petit capital
disponible, ne s'en servait pas pour ameliorer sa terre, mais
pour en acquerir une nouvelle. La concurrence des acheteurs
a produit une telle hausse que le revenu net est tombe en
plus d'un endroit au-dessous de 2 pour 100. Et plus d'un
malheureux, aveugle par la passion, empruntait a des taux
usurairos de quoi payer le prix de son champ ! C'etait la ruine
organisee ; la ruine des hommes et de sol." * * *
" Changeons le point de vue. Suivcz-moi en Alsace, dans uno

* " Many of the so-called peasant proprietors of France have
not completed the purchase of their properly, and arc more
properly tenants at a fixed rent."

Thornto7i's Peasant Proprietors, p. 157.

The total amount of the encumbrances on land in France is
not excessive ; but tlu; burden does not seem to be evenly
distributed: all the evidence points to a congestion of debt on
the very small properties.

sniiiU I'VtMicli proprietor to be so iiitoleraljle, that

left at tlieir lU-atli? Tlie farnier generally leaves the farm to
the boys, and leaves sums of money to the girls, if he has
money ; and sometimes he leaves money to be paid by the sons,
which the sons are never able to pay."

R. F. Saunders, Esq., Land Proprietor and Magistrate.
" Children arc most frequently provided for at the death of
tlieir parents by the father ' making his fortune on his death-
bed.' That is the common expression. He leaves the farm to
his eldest son, and charges it with more tlinn it is worth
(without leaving any assets to pay those charges), as provision
for the remainder of his family. Litigation ensues, and the
farm is lost in the end. I have known many farmers who have
charged a property lease with a great deal more than the farm
is worth, and which never has made any thing during his life-
time. Sometimes he subdivides his farm, and during his life-
time passes bills to the husband of his daughter, and distresses
himself to pay them." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 588.

Thos. Davidson, Agent.
" In what manner are people generally provided for at

commune de deux cents feux, peuplee d' environ mille individus
des deux sexes, grands et petits, tours cultivateurs. lis posse-
dent, entre eux tous, cinque cents hectares en bonne terre,
c'est-a-dire un demi-hectare par t&te. L'hectare vaut la de
quatre a cinque mille francs. Done ces gens sont riches en
comparaison de bien d'autres. En fait, rien de plus mal vetu,
mal loge, mal nourri ; rien de plus miserable et de plus igno-
rant qu'eux. Xe les accuser pas de parcsse on d'ivrognerie,
vous auriez tort ; ils travaillent toute I'annee et ne boiveut
guere que de I'eau. Mais leurs proprietes sont si bien divisees
qu'ils ne sauraient avoir ni pre ni herbnge, et partant ni che-
vaux ni boeufs." — Le Progres, par E. About.

Of the present condition of the agricultural population we
have an account by M. Thiers, in his speech in the French
Ciiamber, on Saturday, the 10th of March, 1866 : — " Si cenx
qui m'interrompent avaient lu la multitude des ecrits que j'ai
sous la main, ecrits non pas signc.^ pas des ecrivains s'occupant

00.3

the only hope of siilvutioii for the ngTiciiltural

the death of their parents ? — AYe proliibit them dividing the
land as much as we can ; but they leave them sums to be paid
and some articles of furniture or cattle. Supposing a man to
have four or five sons or daughters ; one son is selected for the
tenant, to whom he gives the farm, and very often charges him
with a provision to some extent, for the younger branches of
the family ; and I have found sums charged upon them often
more than I thought the laud would bear/' — Ibid. p. 369.

PJiilip Meade, Esq., Land Proprietor.

" In what way are the children of the small tenantry pro-
vided for at the death of their parents ? — Their wish is to
give their farms amongst their families, and when that is
prevented, the son wlio gets the farm endeavours to pay certain
portions to other members of his family, particularly to his
sisters, varying in my neighbourhood from ten to a hundred
pounds.

" What proportion should yon say these fortunes ia

de ces sujets au point de vue theorique, mais signes par des agri-
culteurs respectables, habitants detoutes les parties dela France
tres connus dans leur pays, ayant des situations qui les mettent
au-dessus du soup§on, et qui, en outre, ont vos opinions bien plus
que les miennes, entendez vous ! si vous aviez la ces ecrits, vous
verriez a quel point de souffrance I'agriculture est parvenue."

The motion on which tliis speech was made contained the
following propositions: —

" L'agriculture eprouve dans cc moment des soufiranccs
cruelles.

" Nous avions voulu donner uu temoignage de sympathie
aux populations agricoles si laboricuses, si modestcs, et si
devouc'S au Gouvernement et a rEmpereur ; nons avions voulu
surtout que leur plaintes arrivasscnt jusqu'au pied du trone."

I also subjoin what M. de Laveleyc has said incidentally on
the subject of French agriculture :- —

"En France, avec un territoire seize fois ])lus grand, le pro-
duit n'est que dix fois plus considerable." — Eco. liu. p. 229.

" Le revenu net du domainc agricole beige etait en 18 lU de

224

interest of Frniieo lies in the repudiation of all
niorto-ao-es.*

o o

general bore to the rent of tlie farm ? — It is incredibly lai'ge.
T know an instance of a farm of thirteen acres Irisli, or twenty-
two acres English, paying a rent of 30;?. the Irish or 18*. the
etatute acre, where the farmer has given to each of his family
on being married, £100."

" Does not the larger provision, made by farmers at their
death, for unprovided children, leave a large amount of debt
upon the farm ? — Tes, and it is a very great cause of litigation
at the quarter sessions. It is also the cause of the bad farming
of the land, and the complaints generally made throughout the
kingdom ; for these parties generally endeavour to get a reduc-
tion from their landlord to pay their father's debts. Those must
be paid, and it is only from the landlord they can expect any
indulgence ; they can expect none from the other parties." —
Dig. Dev. Com. p. 3G9.

That the desire to subdivide the laud is still pretty rife
may be seen from the following observations made upon the

155 millions, ce qui fait par hectare pi-oductif une moyenne
de 75 francs, et de 59 francs si on prend la surface totale du
pays. Pour la meme epoque, M. de Lavergne d'estimait la
rente moyenne par hectare qu'a 30 francs pour la France, a
40 hectares pour le lioyaume Uni, et a 60 francs pour I'Angle-
terre consideree isolement. Ea comparant ces chiffres, il ne
faut pas oublier qu'en Belgique, on se contente, pour les im-
meubles, des interets moindre qu'en Angleterre c'est a dire
que la terre s'y vend plus cher relativement au revenu qu'elle
donne."— -Eco. Ru. pp. 230-231.

" Lastatisque offieielle de 1846 portait la production moyenne
annuelle de grains de tout espcce, soit 7 hectolitres par chaque
hectare de la superficie total du pays ici, a son tour, la Belgique
I'emporte notablement sur I'Angleterre et plus encore sur la
France, car un calcul semblable ne donne pour la premiere que
5 et pour la seconde que 3 hectolitres a I'hectare." — Ibid. p. 225.

* An able writer on this subject thus reviews the present

225

If, then, competition, g-enerated by a veiy minute
subdivision of landed property, has i)i'oduced these

subject at a Farmers' Club, in Cork. A body of gentlemen
who it appears are engaged in framing a bill to regulate the
tenure of land.

" Mr. Keller said that no arguments could convince him of
the justice of preventing a father giving a portion of his farm,
if he had one, to his son. It ivoidd be preposterous and tcnjust
to prevent him. He held suppose, 300 acres, and saw his boys
growing up around him, and helping to cultivate the land, yet
he was not to have the power to settle any of them on a part of
it, even though it was of sufficient extent to admit of ten
divisions.

Mr. i)i7Zsaid, subletting did not include devising of interest,
or the handing over of a portion from one to another. The
object of the clause was to prevent a man taking a farm at say
its real value from his landlord and turn the holder, con-
stituting himself a middleman or second landlord, and sub-
letting it to some unfortunate person at a higher rate, pocket-
ing the difference.

Mr. Carroll said, suppose a farm of 500 acres had on it build-
state of agriculture in France as exemplified by the most recent
statistics.

" Some curious statistics have come out in connection with
the inquiry into the state of French agriculture, although the
report of the coramissioncrs has not yet been drawn up.
There is a dearth of capital, of labour, and intelligence, and the
division of property is asserted to be a great impediment to im-
provement. The agriculturists say that the population does not
increase because agriculture makes no j)rogross, and that France
could not feed more people than at present. Since 1821 the
French importation of corn has exceeded the exportation by
more than thirty-five million hectolitres (twenty-two gallons
each), and within the last twenty years the price of cattle has
doubled, though the importation exceeds tiu; exportation.
These two facts show how little progress has been made, as
France well cultivated would not be fomcd to import corn, nor

220

results in France, v>heve the rural population
scarcely' increases, and where there exists a larg-e
nianufacturino- industry to absorb the surplus labour
of tlie agTicultural districts, its effect in Ireland
niig-ht be yet more disastrous. Therefore, thoug'h
heartily symjiathizino- with Mr. Brig-ht in his desire
to see a yeoman class established in Ireland, and
admitting- that to man}- individual cases the objec-
tions I have indicated would not apply, I am afraid
the comprehensive scheme by which he proposes to

ings suitable to sucli a large holding, which if divided into five
smnll holdings of 100 acres each, buildings should be erected on
each of those sub-portions, and the large buildings originally
necessary would become dilapidated and waste. If the sons and
daughters of the farmer in such a case would all hold together
they could farm the land in one piece. (Oh, and great laughter.)

Mr. Keller. Aye, and live together in the same garrison.

Mr. Forresi. I will ask you one question. If you, Mr.
Carroll, as a merchant owned the largest establishment in this
city, and that you were an old man and had two sons, would
you not think it a great hardship if you were prevented giving
one or both of them a share in the concern ?

Mr. Carroll. I would do as I liked to be sure. (Laughter.)

Mr. Forrest. And why prevent another man doing as he
likes ?" Cork Advertiser, Jan. 1867.

would the price of cattle be double what it was twenty years
ago if their number had increased as it should have done. The
division of land is a great drawback to all draining, irrigation,
and innovation, as the small holder can lay out but little money
and can afford to risk none. Two-thirds of France is in small
farms, and it is estimated that the proprietors work their farms
with a capital of under £4 per acre, whereas more than double
that sum is necessary."

227

attain that object, is not sufficiently promising- to
justify us in running- the risk it would entail ; never-
theless, if lie can persuade the British taxpayer to
ag'ree, I should certainty offer no opposition to the
experiment.*

We now come to a series of proposals of a very
different complexion^ proposals which involve the
transfer of a larg*e amount of proprietary rig-hts
from the landlord to the tenant. Now I do not deny
the rig'ht of the state to deal in a very peremptory
manner with private property of all kinds, and
especially with landed propert}^ ; but, in assuming-
this rig-ht, it must be made clear that its exercise
will be of indisputable benefit to the community at
larg'e, and the individual to whose prejudice it is
enforced must be compensated at the public expense

* The opiuiou of M. de Lavergue, liimsolf an advocate of " la
petite culture," and thoroughly master of this subject, may bo
worth considering. If it is objected that M. de Lavergne is a
foreigner, I would venture to reply that he is probably better
acquainted with the agricultural condition of Ireland than most
Englishmen.

" Pour la petite propriete proprement dite, dont beaucoiip
d'excellents esprits, entre autres M. Stuart Mill dans ses
nouveaux Principes d'economic politique, avaient reclame I'in-
troduction, elle meparait beaucoup moins desirable en pre'senco
de pareils faits. Probablement I'lrlande arrivera quelque jour
a la petite propriete, c'est sa tendance naturelle ; mais, pour la
moment, sa population rurale est trop pauvrc : elle a besoin de
gagner dans la culture de quoi devenir proprictaire : il ii'est j)as
de son interet d'y ponsor auparavaut."

JEssai sur V Economic Rurale d'Anr/lctcrrc, <.fc. p. 420,
p((r M. L. do Lavcrqne. Paris, iSO;}.

'<l 2

208

to the full amount of the injur}' he sustains.* The
safety of a nation may dejiend upon the security of
an arsenal^ and that of the arsenal on the conversion
of a hovel into a redoubt : yet the engineer in com-
mand dare no more remove a brick from the ob-
noxious premises without the sanction of an Act of
Parliament, and an elaborate valuation, than he
dare blow up St. Paul's.

]3ut considerations such as these, the authors of
the various schemes "for dealing- vig'orously with the
Irish landlords" deem beneath their notice.

* Even Mr. Mill, tliougb inspired witli no very indulgent
feelings towards tlie landlords of Ireland, admits this principle.

'" The claim of the landowners to the land is altogether subordi-
nate to the general policy of the state. The principle of property
gives them no right to the land, but only a right to compensa-
tion for whatever portion of their interest in the land it may
be the policy of the state to deprive them of. To that, their
claim is indefeasible. It is due to landowners, and to owners
of any property whatever, recognised as such by the state, that
they should not be dispossessed of it without receiving its
pecuniary value, or an annual income equal to what they
derived from it. This is due on the general principles on
which property rests. If the land was bought with the pro-
duce of the labour and abstinence of themselves or their ances-
tors, compensation is due to them on that ground ; even if
otherwise, it is still due ou the ground of prescription. When
the property is of a kind to which peculiar affections attach
themselves, the compensation ought to exceed a hare pecuniary
equivalent. The legislature, which if it pleased might convert
the whole body of landlords into fundholders or pensioners,
might, « fortiori, commute the average receipts of Irish laud-
lords into a fixed rent charge, and raise the tenants into pro-
prietors ; supposing always that the full market value of the
land was tendered to the landlords, in case they preferred that to
accepting the conditions proposed." — Mill, Folit. Econ.-^. 289.

229

The most notable plan is one lately promulgated by
Mr. Butt, a g-entleman of eminence in his profession.
As his plan is typical of a large series of others^ it
may be well to examine it. It is embodied in the
form of a projected Act of Parliament^ which declares
that after the said Act every tenant who chooses to
claim its protection shall be entitled to a lease of
63 years at a rent one-third below the full or competi-
tion value. Thus^ b}' a single stroke of the pen, the
whole of the landed property of Ireland is to be
withdrawn from the control and enjoyment of those
v/ho have either purchased or inherited it, and is to
remain for two entire generations at the disposal of
the -540,000 persons Avho may happen at the time of
the passing of the Act to be in the occupntion of its
several sub-divisions. This, too, without reference to
their individual qualifications, and in the teeth of the
condemnation passed b}' the tenants' best friends on
even a 21 years' lease, if granted for a holding of less
than 15 acres, within which category more than one-
third of the farms of Ireland still remain.

Let us now look more narrowly into the operation
of this plan, and, as every Irishman will probably
judge of it as it affects himself, let me be excused
for taking' the same narrow view. I possess a strip
of some three or four hundred acres, bordering the
Lough of Belfast, peculiarly suitable for villas. I
have been offered from 15/. to 20/. an acre for a
portion of this land (most of which I have inherited
from an ancestor who made his fortune as a mercluuit,
and part of which I have recently j)urchased with

0(30

the proceeds of the sale of some Eng-hsh property).
A railway aloiio- the shore still further increases
its attractions, and at a particular point there is a
sandy bay which — as the site of a bathing' villag-e — •
may eventually become a favourite resort for the
inhabitants of Belfast. For various reasons I have
hitherto deferred leasing* any of the land^ and it is at
present in the occupation of agricultural tenants, all
of whom have been for many years in the enjoyment
of beneficial leases, which have either expired or will
shorth' do so. We v.ill suppose that Mr. Butt's Bill
passes; the accidental occupants of this propert}' be-
come tenants for another additional term of 63 3^ears;
I am unexpectedl}" precluded from applying' my land
to its most remunerative use ; and a project which
would have diffused the wealth of a rich community
over a larg'e agricultural area is indefinite!}' post-
poned— unless, indeed, I choose to buy back mj own
property, at a price, probabl}^, not much lower than
the original value of the fee simple, from tenants who
have neither legal nor equitable claims ag'ainst me.*
Moreover itis toberem.emberedthat the circumstances
I have detailed are not exceptional, but prevail more
or less in the vicinit}^ of ever}^ larg*e town 3 that
there is no district which may not, at one time or
another, be affected b}' analog-ous influences, and
that it is its very susceptibility of a rise in price that

* Tliis instance is rendered tlie more striking by the fact
that I am paying £9 an acre per annum, i.e-, its market
price, as building ground, for part of the land for which my
agricultural tenants are only paying me 8O5. By Mr. Butt's
Bill, both arrangements would be made equally permanent.

contributes an important element to the value of
landed property, and reconciles the purchaser to the
low rate of interest proximately derived from it.*

But let us reg-ard Mr. Butt's proposal from
another point of view. Probabh', if asked for a
justification of his measures, he would alleg-e the
rio-ht of the tenant to the enjo3'ment of his "improve-
ments," and on that head perhaps my ideas are as
liberal as his own. But how about the improvements
which have not been made by the tenant, or
which have been boug-ht up by the landlord, or which
though effected by the tenant have been executed
under express contracts, and in consideration of
reduced rents or long- leases ?| By what canon of
justice does he expropriate these? Surely, if a
tenant have an equitable claim for compensation, or
to extension of occupancy in lieu of compensation, for
money he imprudently risked on the prospective
chance of his landlord's liberality, the landlord him-
self has a rig'ht to be continued in possession of that
to which his equitable claim is as g'ood, and his
legal rig-ht so much better ?

But it will be said, "the improvements on farms
in Ireland are invariably made by the tenants." In
a a'reat number of instances this is the case. But

* " In such a measure, there would not have been any injus-
tice, provided the Landlords were coinpeii.sated for tlio present
value of the chances of increase which they were prospectively
required to forego." — Mill, Polit. Econ. p. 410.

f A large proportion of the farm steadings on my own estate
have been erected in accordance with tl)e provisions of the
beneficial leases, under which the farms were held.

232

the reverse is far more frequent tlian I was aware.
Judg'e Long'field has stated that ahnost all the larg-er
drainag'e works, and a considerable proportion even
of the minor improvements, have been executed by
the proprietors. We know from official returns that
within i8 years more than 1,800,000/. of borrowed
money has been sunk b}^ them in draining* and build-
ing- alone. This sum is no test however of what they
have expended besides out of their incomes. The
Devon Commission reported that on 22 estates
(many of them the larg-est in the country), the build-
ing's had been erected at the sole expense of the
landlord. But this statement does not imply that
there were not other properties on which the same
rule prevailed. Only a certain number of estates
were broug-ht under their notice. M}' own property
for instance was not visited, neither were those of
man}' of my neighbours. Yet in my neig'hbourhood
great exertions have been made b}' the landlords,
and I am informed that on numerous estates in
various parts of the country sums varying' from
30,000/. to 40,000/. have been expended on farm-
steadino-s and cottao-es durinof the last 50 years.*

* Even within the knowledge of the limited number of wit-
nesses examined by the Devon Commission five and twenty
years ago, the following scale of allowances for draining and
other operations, were made by the landlords. It is to be
observed, that the acreage over which these arrangements ex-
tended must have been considerable.

Xo. of instances.
" Allowances made by landlords to tenants, | of expense, 2
„ „ \ of expense, 21

„ „ I of expense, 1

23.3

I myself have spent 10^000/. in buying' np the
improvements of m}' tenants^ besides what I have sunk

No. of instances.

Allowances made by landlords to tenants, i of expense, 2

„ „ i of expense, 1

„ „ £S an acre, 1

„ „ £2 an acre, 4

„ „ .361 an acre, 1
„ „ 2^^/. a perch,

and under, 7
„ „ Sd. or 4:d. a

perch, 7
„ „ 7d. a perch,

and upwards, 1

„ „ year's rent, 1

„ „ 2 years' rent 1
„ „ not precisely

specified 84
Effected at landlord's expense, or tenant allowed whole

cost of . . . .19

Money advanced to tenants at interest, or a per cen-

tage charged on landlord's outlay . . 7

Di//. Dev. Com. p. 8G.
1 subjoin some individual instances : —

IT. Leslie Prentice, Esq.

" What i:j the arrangement entered into upon that subject ?
— The arrangement made by Lord Caledon is an allowance of
£2 per Irish acre for all lands drained on his estate, according
to the directions of the person appointed for that purpose.

" Does he charge any interest or per centage upon the
suras so paid ? — No, nothing whatever ; he gives it as his own
contribution towards a permanent improvement on his pro-
perty, to all tenants holding determinable leases or at will."

Ibid. p. 98.
John Barr^ Beresford.

" Upon what principle does he make the allowance for drain-
ing ? — lie advances the money at live per cent., and all they pay
him is that five per cent. But most v\' the work is done by
themselves, .so that the money i.-^ advanced to Lhcm." — ILj}. 103.

23-1

ill Gxecutino- new ones. Mail}' of 1113- iieig'Iibours are
doing- the saiiie^ and ever}' year our efibrts in this

Fitzlierbert Filgate.

" AVith respect to the draluing, each tenant gets 2hl a perch,
for each percli of the parallul drains on the Deanston system
and Ul a perch for the main drains." — lb. p. 101.

Edio. Golding.

" I offered 2id for the running perch for parallel drains, id
for the main drains." — lb. p. 105.

D. J. G'Neil, Farmer and Fhysician.
" The tenant who cannot afford to drain is supplied with ^50.
or 3GIOO. and is required to pay at the rate of £5. per annum
till it is paid, and no interest is charged." — lb. p. 111.

JVm. Monsell, Land Proprietor.
" It varies from Sd to 5d, according to the nature of the sub-
soil."—JJ. p. 112.

Wm. Monsell, Land Froprietor.

"The landlords allow for cutting the drains." — lb. p. 112.
UTr. James Kelly, Agriculturist to Longford Farming Society.

"Describe to us what you do upon Lord Longford's or Mr.
Harman King's property? — On Lord Longford's property I get
the tenants to drain the wet lands ; (Lord Longford pays half
the expense.) I have made drains in spring last, on two or three
townlands." — lb. p. 113.

Mr. Geo. Cecil JVray, Farmer.

" Mountain farms are also on many properties given to the
younger sons free from rent for the first five or six years."

Lb. p. ^7 1.
James Carnegie, Esq. Land Agent.

" In 1835, a large tract of land, containing about 3000 acres of
inland and mountain, which was held by a middleman, and by
him under-let to a number of miserable tenants, came into the
hands of the head landlord by the expiration of the lease. I
went over it all, accompanied by an excellent judge of land ; we
divided it into regular farms, ten of which I set to men of skill
and capital, and I removed the under-tenants to the mountains,

235

direction are likely to extend, unless, indeed, Mr.
Butt's ing-enious device for proving* the superior dis-
cretion of keeping' our mone}' in our pockets should
suddenly put a stop to the process.

Having- g-lanced at the probable wrong- to the
landlord, let us estimate the deg^ree to which the
tenant would be benefited. Leases are undoubtedly
favourable to ao-riculture, and an advantag-e to the
tenant. But as to the terms of tenure, there is a
g"reat diversity of opinion. Judg'e Long*field con-
demns long- leases, and I quite agree with him ; nor
was the state of Ireland 40 years ag-o a very satis-
factory proof of their efficiency. In Belgium three,
five, and nine years are the accepted terms 5* in

and gave them from twenty to fifty acres each, rent free, for
seven years. The ground set, independently of those small
holdings, pays considerably more rent than was paid to the mid-
dleman, and I believe there ia not in this county an estate so
improved within the same period of time." — lb. p. 463.

" Advances had been made to as many as 2000 owners ; the
number of loans had been made, 4210; the largest loan made
was £7000, and the smallest £100 ; there had been 2092 loans
under ^'500. ; and the total amount advanced since 1847 had
been £1,806,000, the whole of which had been expended in the
permanent improvement of land."

Lord Naas" Speech. Times, Feb. 19, 1 807.

" The practice, however, of proprietors giving to their tenants
some assistance in the erection of the farm house and buildings,
has of late years been introduced on many estates, and appears
to be extending. There are twenty-one proprietors of whom it
is recorded on the evidence, that the whole cost for farm build-
ings is supplied by them for their tenants."

Diy. Dev. Com. Swnmari/, ]). 127.

* " Lcs baux nc BC contractent gencralcmcnl (]uc pour uu

230

Scotland, 13 and 10; in Eng-lnnd, 21.* By what
statistical caiiou does Mr. Butt arbitrarily extend

tcrino de trois annees, et Ton trouve encore un tres grand
nombrc de proprietaires qui, assirnilant leurs terres a una maison,
louent pour trois, six et ncuf ans. On comprend qu'avec de
pareillcs conditions, il est difficile aux fermitos de fairc des
ameliorations, dont ils ne sout pas certains de profiter."

Statistique de la Belgique, Recensement General, p. xlix.

* John Hancock, E. Agent, Armagh.

" The tenure, in my opinion, best suited to this district, is
that of twenty-one years, certain. It is sufficiently long to
aftbrd a man fair remuneratioa for capital laid out on his farm,
and yet not so long but that every man expects to outlive it."

Ibid. p. 261.

" Leases for short periods are better than none. All leases
should endure such a number of years as would be a multiple
of the years of the rotation which best suits the soil, — the four-
shift should then be 12 years, the five 15, the six 18, and so on."
Macdonald' s Estate management, p. 199.

" A tenure of from 16 to 20 or 25 years, is the best for reci-
procating the interests of landlord and tenant. The latter can
pay a higher rent, and can use his own money on improvement
with the firm hope of reaping benefit. He reclaims, encloses,
drains, manures, limes, and does all that is pleasing and remu-
nerative."—iZ-iV/. p. 202.

" The Scotch nineteen years' lease appears to insure a good
improving tenantry, and a large increase of rental at the end
of the term."— Jiic/. p. 210.

" We readily admit that, whilst advocating leases of fifteen or
twenty years' duration, we disapprove of the long leases granted
in the last century for sixty-one years or three lives, to which
must be ascribed, in a great measure, the backwardness of
agriculture in a country (Scotland) possessing so many natural
advantages. Such preposterously long leases encourage idleness
and neglect of the most common and necessary irajDrovements.
Leases of too long duration are worse than none, both for the
landlord and tenant." — Ibid. p. 216.

237

them to 63? We have ah'ead}' seen the fervent
advocates of the leasing- system deprecate the ex-
tension of leases to such small areas as 15 acres ;
others of even greater experience, and no less friendly
to the tenant, have raised the minimum to 30, 40, 50
acres.* Even Mr. Brig'ht takes a man paying 50Z.
of rent as his typical yeoman. In the face of these
opinions Avhy should any one seek to stereotype a
condition of affairs confessedly detrimental to the
interests of ag"ricultu re? One of the greatest bene-
fits to Ireland has resulted from the leg'al machinery
invented to transfer the estates of incumbered pro-
prietors to the hands of persons with sufficient capital
to improve them. Surely the same policy oug-ht to
be pursued in facilitating- the transference of farms
from the impoverished ag-riculturist to the man of
energ-y and capital.^ Yet Mr. Butt, like the male-
volent fairy in the tale of the " Sleeping- Beauty,'^
would curse us with the doom of rig-id immobility
for the greater portion of a century, without the
prospect of that mag-ic ^^after-g-low" of renewed life
and vig-our which completes the story.

Ag-ain, thoug-h this is his intention, the means he
adopts would lead to another result. AVith a fiital
ingenuity, he contrives to make it the imperative
interest of the landlords to g'et rid of their tenants,
and at the same time furnishes them \\ ith ample
facilities for the process. He plucks the lion's beard
with one hand, and whets his fang's and talons with
the other. If the landlord is ju-ecludcd b}- law from

238

letting' his land except on disadvantag-eous terms^
he will naturally prefer to keep it in his own hands.
Bad husbandry and non-payment of rent constitute,
even according- to Mr. Butt, just occasions of
eviction.* By the inflexible application of these
]M'inciples there is no propert}' in Ireland which would
not be cleared of a large proportion of its occupants
in ten years, and the immediate effect of his beneficent
efforts would be universal discontent and an enor-
mous stimulus to emigration, counterbalanced per-
haps b}" a rapid improvement in cultivation and a
brevet promotion for some hundreds of thousands of
agricultural labourers at the expense of a correspon-
ding number of tenant farmers.

With reg-ard to the minor principle involved in
Mr. Butt's plan of fixing- the rent of land by a
Government oflScer, I need not trouble ni}^ readers.
A moment's reflection will show how impossible it
would be for any one but those immediately inter-

* " The interest in the soil thus conferred upon him he should
retain only so long as he proves himself a punctual and improv-
ing tenant. Non-payment of the rent should be followed by
forfeiture of his interest. I propose to make the ejectment for
non-payment of rent an absolute one. At present the eviction
is subject to redemption by the tenant at any time within six
months. This privilege I propose to abolish, and to make the
eviction absolute at once.

" I propose to bind the tenant to proper cultivation of the
farm, and to the maintenance of all improvements ; and, in the
event of his failing in either of these conditions he incurs, in
like manner, the forfeiture of the interest which the statute
confers upon him." — Fixity of Tenure, hy C. Isaac Butt,x>- 5.

,939

ested to arrive at a correct estimate of what particular
areas could afford to pay. At this moment there are
three standards of land valuation in Ireland^ — there is
the competition, or tenant's rent^ which is g'enerally in
excess of what his limited skill and capital would
enable him to produce ; there is the ag-ent's rent^
which is regulated by what his experience tells him
the tenant is able to pay without embarrassment; and
there is the theoretical rent, which the land oug'ht to
pay if properly cultivated.* This latter rent would

* Supposing that land which, if properly cultivated, would
bear a rent of 40« per acre, and for which the tenants
themselves would offer 30* at an auction, (which, for the sake
of argument, we will admit their want of skill and capital
would render them incompetent to pay,) — were valued by the
Government officers at 20s, what would be the effect ? Why
that at the first devolution of the tenancy, the outgoing
tenant or his representative would exact from the in-comer a
fine exactly equivalent to so many years purchase of the differ-
ence between the restricted rent of 20s an acre, and the com-
petition rent of dOs : the effect of the transaction being that the
new tenant would be charged with a double rent for all time
to come, and that the landlord would have been defrauded of
what so far as it represents any value at all, is a portion of the
fee simple of his estate. It is useless to object that the vigilance
of the landlord could prevent so nefarious a transaction. The
landlord in the first place is almost powerless to restrain these
surreptitious arrangements, as any one who knows the north
of Ireland is aware, and in the next place, he would have no
particular interest in doing so. The sagacious legislation we
are considering will have reduced the landlord to the position
of a mere mortgagee on what was once his property. Nothing
that ho can do, will either enhance or diminish its value. All
personal relations between his tenantry and himself would be at
an end, and his functions as a proprietor would bo conlincd to

240

])robal)ly fnr exceed even the competition rent, yet
no other one conkl be equitably adopted in any com-
pulsory valuation.* Judg-e Long-field has effectually

issuing instructions to his solicitor to evict the moment his rent
was a shilling in arrear. \yhether the result would diminish
or encourage landlords to live on their estates, I leave to the
consideration of those who may be inclined to pursue the in-
vestigatiou further.

* Of the difficulties in the way of such subtle valuations, the
subjoined extracts will give an idea.

" It seems hard to discover any sound general principle
adopted by the ordinary valuators for rent ; some merely
'jump at their conclusions,' others seem to imagine that a
certain uniform proportion of the gross produce ought to be
set apart as rent, and this proportion has been variously esti-
mated by difierent witnesses as one-fifth, one fourth, one-third,
and two-fifths." -Z)/y. Bcv. Com. p. 705.

" The general tendency of the evidence given by professional
valuators, as shown by the above analysis, goes to prove that a
lamentable deficiency exists in this very important profession,
and that there is no sound, uniform principle adopted by the
members of that profession to regulate the practice pursued
by them.

*' GThe most general opinion amongst them appears to be, that
some uniform proportion of the gross produce may be set apart
for rent, when a full consideration of the subject must prove
that no uniform proportion can possibly be fixed, but that every
variety in the quality of the land, and in the circumstances
attending its position, c\iltivation, and taxation, must neces-
sarily modify the share or proportion of the gross produce
which the cultivator can afibrd to pay to the proprietor for its
xise.

" Eich and well-circumstanced meadow and first qualities of
pasture, for example, might be well worth a rent equal to two-
thirds or more of the gross produce, while very inferior ill-
circumstanced tracts are to be found that would not pay for
the labour requisite to till them, and therefore could not

241

illustrated the impracticability and injustice of any
such system, based, as it is, upon a principle in direct

produce any rent ; aud between these two extremes it is clear
that every intermediate degree is to be found." — Ihid. p. 70S.

" It is somewhat discouraging to find by the evidence of the
Ex- Professor of Political Economy, now Professor of Common
Law in the Dublin University, that he is hopeless as to the
power of reducing the right theory on this subject to successful
practice."

" He appears to adopt Loudon's desponding opinion, that it is
impossible in practice, to apply the true theory of estimating,
from the value of the produce and cost of production, what may
be the value of the land."

He does " not think that any man who ever lived, having all
the data given to him, could, with any certainty, determine it.
He would still be unable to form a judgment of the aggregate
value of the produce of the land." — Ihid. p. 709 et seq.

" Several witnesses have suggested as a remedy, that some
control should be exercised over the proprietor in determining
the amount of rent payable to him for his land. It is, however,
more than questionable whether even this interference with
property would accomplish any of the good which those wit-
nesses anticipate. What they complain of is only one out of
many indications of other extensive evils ; the chief of these
are, first, the omission to make the numerous resources which
the country offers available for the employment of the indus-
trious classes. This causes an extravagant competition for the
inadequate supply of land off'ered for their use as the only
chance of obtaining a livelihood for their families. The second,
their deplorable ignorance and incapacity in the management
of the land of which they thus become possessed. — Ibid. p. 756.

Appendix to Address hy Judge Long field to Stat. Society.

" The following cases are fair specimens of tlie discrepancies
which are to be foimd in difierent valuations made of tho
same property."

" Since I wrote the above, the estate of John Campbell Jones
was offered for sale, and the following are the difTcrences be-

R

242

:mta^'Oiiism to the coiulitions which usuall}' reg"ulate
the relations betwixt man and man, and therefore
I need not dwell upon it long-er.*

tween tbo valuations made by a Civil Engineer, and by the
Ordnance valuation of the same lots : —

KILLIEWINOxVN.

Engineer . . . £120 0 0

Tenement valuation . 57 0 0

No. 5.

Valuator . . . . aCS 10 0

Tenement valuation . . . 2 5 0

BATHCLINE.

Valuator . . . . £29 17 7

Tenement valuation . . . 8 0 0

rOX Am) CALF ISLAND.

Valuator

Tenement valuation

Valuator
Tenement valuation

Valuator
Tenement valuation

LOT 9.

LOT 10.

£40 0 0

3 0 0

^eio 0 0

1 G 0

£8 4 3

14 0

In tbe estate of Eutledge the following are two of the valua-
tions : —

CBEGGANEOE.

Valuator .... ^53 1 7

Tenement valuation . . . 17 10 0

BALLTKIT.

Valuator .... £226 13 7

Tenement valuation . . . 131 12 0

Although the valuations which I have stated differ so much,

I believe that they were all honestly made by careful and skilful

professional valuators. I have given those examples, not as

* " And, first, as to fixity of tenure, — that is to say, a law that
every occupying tenant, no matter what his contract may be,

243

Before, however, clismissing- from our attention
these barren schemes for fixit}^ of tenure, comiwlsor}-

being the most remarkable that could be found, but because
they were the most striking cases that came before me within
a few days after I made the above remarks. I believe that iu
those cases both the valuations which I have contrasted were
intended to be fair, and were made by skilful valuators.

" It may be asked, is there no mode of valuing a farm ? must
the tenant make a mere guess at what he is to offer ? Xo ;
the landlord and the intending tenant have means of knowing
the value of the land which no other person is likely to possess
and to employ. They both may know the past history of the
farm, and of all the farms in the neighbourhood ; what rent was
paid for them, in what manner they were cultivated, and
whether the tenants appeared to thrive on them, or the con-
trary. Ko man. has such an interest in discovering the exact
value as the person who proposes to become a tenant, and as
his object is to make a profit by his occupation as farmer, it is
not to be supposed that he will give more for the land than be
can pay, reserving a reasonable profit to himself."

Report of Stat. Soe.

" Some of the ablest and most competent witnesses have
proved that the land in Ireland is low rented in comparison
with similar qualities of land in England, Scotland, Belgium,
«S:c., although absolutely high rented iu reference to the produce
derived and the capabilities of the occupiers."

Dii/. Dev. Com. Summary, p. 75G.

In the neighbourhood of Cork, an English farmer has just
taken a farm of 1G9 acres, valued at £180 per annum in the
Government valuation, at a rent of £300 per annum.

shall be entitled to hold his laud for ever, if he is willing to pay
the rent. It is not creditable to the country that a sclicine at
once so impracticable and so unjust should fiiul so many advo-
cates. It really is not a mutfcr concerning landlords and
tenants as a class ; it is simply a proposal to confiscate the
property of the present landlords in favour of the jirosent
tenants " — Addreas to Slot Soci/. J)ij Judge Lonfifirld.

\i 2

244

leases of greater or less duration, and arbitrary rents,
I would ask their authors and advocates whether it
is altogether wise to persist in conjuring- up before
the imagination of ill-educated and impulsive men
delusive expectations which can never be realized,
and which, if reahzed, would only work their
ruin.* It is an easy task to persuade even the best-

" Tlie present tenants converted into landlords by the fixity
of tenure, would know well how to grind the future tenants
that should come within their power. Oppressive grinding
landlords, and dishonest insolvent tenants would then become
not the exception but the rule." — Judge Tiongfield^s Address to
the Statis. Society.

" Nothing can be more unjust than for the law to interfere,
and alter the contract so as to increase the value of the tenant's
interest at the expense of the landlord. It would rob the
landlords for the sole benefit of the individuals who might
happen at the moment to be occupiers of land. But to the
tenants of Ireland, considered as a class, of which the individuals
are frequently changed, it would be of no service." — Ibid.

" There would be no reciprocity in fixity of tenure. Even
now, when there is a lease, there is no power to prevent a
tenant who does not find his holding profitable from selling his
stock and emigrating. But even if there could be reciprocity,
it would introduce a new inconvenience, that a man wishing to
occupy some land for a short period should be unable to get it
except on the terms of his taking a lease for ever." — Ibid.

* Mr. Thornton observes with respect to Mr. O'Connell's pro-
posal to make a 21 years' lease compulsory : —

" The late Mr. O'Connell, by whom this expedient was recom-
mended, acknowledged it to be a violent remedy ; but a more
serious objection is, that it would probably have little eflfect
upon the disease. The value of leases depends entirely on
their provisions ; and the Legislature, although it might require
them to be granted, could not pretend to regulate the demands
for rent, or the other conditions to be imposed upon tenants."
Thornton's Peasant Froprietors, p. 214, et seq.

245

balanced minds that what appears to be for their in-
terest, is ri^ht ; but to blunt the moral perceptions of
ig-norant men^ to put evil for ^ood, and good for
evil, to sow dissension between those who should be
friends, and to inaug-urate a hopeless agitation in a
country whose only chance of happiness is in peace
and quiet — seems to me too sinister a mission to
be excused by the perverted benevolence which
inspires it.*

* See Judge Longfield'a Evidence. Q. 247. I do not think
this claim for compensation has been the result of agitation at
all ; the clamorous men who call for fixity of tenure care com-
paratively little about this. I think they would rather keep
the grievance they complain of.

" Even at present the hope, however delusive, of the estab-
lishment of a tenant right by law has an injurious effect. It
not only diverts men's attention from more practicable means of
improving the condition of the people, but it increases the
desire to obtain, and to retain possession of land, no matter
how incapable the possessor may be of cultivating the property.
There is a hope that the temporary possession will be converted
by law into a valuable estate. In some districts the agitation
on the subject has fixed it like a principle not to be controverted
in the peasant's mind, that the possession of land, however
acquired, is a property whicli it is unjust to take from him with-
out paying him ample compensation. Tbe relation between
landlord and tenant is made the constant subject of violent
declamation, but the peasant hears only one side of the question.
His imaginary rights are assumed as if they were too clear to
require argument. Aud indeed this is necessary, for they will
not bear argument." — Address of Judge Lomjfield to Slat. Soc.

It may not be uninstructive to subjoin the late Mr. O'Con-
nell's opinion of fixity of tenure.

" A more absurd and unjust plan he never heard of ; it did
" not do anything for the labourer of the conntry, it trans-

246

I now come to a very different g-roup of propo-
sitions— propositions advocated by persons of g-ravity
and authority, having* for their object, not the
coniiscation of property, nor the curtaihnent of
indefeasible rio'hts ; but the restoration to a more
healtliy condition of those relations between the
owner anrl the occupier of land, which peculiar cir-
cumstances have invested with an abnormal cha-
racter. If I cannot accept them as a resolution of
our difficulties, it is not that I deny the existence of
the evils they are intended to remedy, or that I
fiil to S3'mpathize with the motives which have led
to their suofo'estion.

The object proposed is the establishment of a
conviction in the mind of every tenant in Ireland
that if he invests his ca})ital in the proper culti-
vation of his farm, either his occupation shall be
sufficiently prolong-ed to enable him to reaj3 the
full reward of his industry, or, if abruptly ter-
minated by the caprice of his landlord, he shall
receive a corresponding* recompense in money.
The claim embodied in the foreg-oing- formula is
obviously founded on the principles of natural jus-
tice. When a landlord hands over his field to the
husbandman, e^en if there be no written ao-reement,
a tacit understanding" is implied that the man who

" ferred tlie fee-simple from the preseut proprietor to the
" present occupier of large farms ; it was in fact creating a
" smaller monopoly tlian the former one, but equally mis-
" chicvous in its nature."

247

sows shall reap ; a contrary supposition would be
adverse to public polic}^ Consequently, a law of
emblements prevails in every civilized country.
But^ as the ulterior considerations of the barg-ain
are susceptible of every variety of arraug-ementj
they have been left by the common consent of man-
kind to be regulated by contract, in whatever manner
may suit the convenience of the parties interested.
It is urg'ed, however, that in Ireland the dependence
of the population upon agTiculture is so complete
that competition has destro^^ed the tenant's freedom
of action. He has been driven into a barg-ain so
inequitable as would justify the state in substituting-
for the conditions he himself is eag-er to accept such
an extension of the principle out of which has
orig'inated the law of emblements as shall secure to
him the fruits of his investments, — whether in the
larg-er operations of husbandry, or in the erection
of the farm building-s they require. But it is to
be observed that this plea of the helpless position of
the tenant, whatever force it mig-ht have had, is no
long-er valid, inasmuch as the alternative of adequate
wag-es is open to him ,* that the reckless acquisition

* " Some rcasou must be given for making laud an exccptiou
to the ordinary rules of commex'ce, and fixing the price by law,
instead of letting it be arranged by mutual agreement between
the buyer and the seller, the landlord and the tenant. Tlio
reason formerly assigned was that the possession of land was a
question of life or death to the tenant, tliat he had no other
resource to preserve himself and his jiiinily from wlarvation, and
that therefore ho was obliged to subimt to any terms which an

248

of land, to whicli often he cannot do justice^ is the
result of n passion to be discourag-ed rather than

avaricious landlord might impose. That the parties to the con-
tract stood on such unequal ground, as to make it necessary for
the law to interfere to protect the weaker party. It could
not be pretended that this argument ever was applicable except
to the case of small pauper tenants. It never could have had
any bearing on the case of those tenants who hold ihc greatest
part of Ireland, viz : men who have capital of two or three hun-
dred pounds, and who are farmers, not from necessity, but
from choice : because they find the occupation of a farmer more
profitable, or more suitable to their taste or education, than
any other employment. The introduction of poor laws, and
the increased demand for labour, now put it out of any man's
power to say that he is obliged to offer an exorbitant rent for
a farm in order to preserve himself from destitution.

" It should always be borne in mind that it is essentially a dis-
honest act for a man to enter into a contract which he does not
believe that he will be able to fulfil. The man who has obtained
possession of a farm by promising a rent that he cannot aiFord
to pay, has committed a dishonest act, and an act injurious to
society. He has done a wrong to the landlord from whom he
has obtained possession of the land under false pretences, and
has done wrong to the competitors for the farm whom he has
outbid. The dishonesty may be palliated by the strength of
the temptation to which he has yielded, but it cannot be alto-
gether justified, and it certainly should not be made the subject
of approbation or reward. Granting even that he has no re-
source to keep him from the workhouse, except by promising
what he cannot perform, has he any claim to a higher standard
of maintenance than his neighbour, who may be actually in the
poor-house on account of the sturdy honesty which prevents
h:m from promising what ho cannot afford to pay. There is
no peculiar merit in the man who has got a farm under false
pretences, and if he is entitled to a better support than a com-
mon pauper, merely because he is called a farmer, no matter by
what means he obtained the farm, it is not easy to see why
this support should be given to him not by the entire neigh-

G49

stimulated ; and that the same considerations which
would justify the State in reg-ulating* the incidental
conditions of occupancy, would also entitle it to fix
the remuneration of labour; it is doubtful, there-
fore, whether any circumstances would render it
advisable for Government to depart from the rule
which experience has taug-ht us to be best in the
long" run— viz., to leave the rig-hts of contract be-
tween individuals as free as possible.

This conclusion acquires g-reater force, when we
consider how objectionable are the means which even
the most sag-acious minds have sug-g-ested for the
application of a contrary principle — such, for in-
stance, as the extension to the tenant of a leg'al
rig'ht, first, to make what he may call an "im-
provement " ag-ainst the express wish of his land-
lord, and then to claim compensation for it. Now
the very essence of the law of emblements is, that
the operation for which compensation is claimed
should be of indisputable advantag-e to the landlord's
property. Ploug'hing", seeding-, and manuring- fulfil
these conditions. But the best method of con-
ducting- the more complex operations of husbandry?

bourhood, but by the landlord whom ho baa defrauded. If
land is to be set at a price not fixed by contract, the fairest
means of carrying out such a measure would be for the pre-
sent occupiers to give up possession, and then to divide the
land among all the inhabitants equally. Undoubtedly the per-
son who obtains possession of land by false promises ought not
to gain any advantage over his more honest competitors." —
Address of Judge Lonrffield to Stat. Society.

i>50

not even excliuling* draining*,* and certainly including-
the erection of fanu-building's, is often a matter of
dispute between hig-li authorities ', and a tenant may
embark in an expenditure which, thoug'h not exactly
disadvantag-eous to his farm, may be ver}^ detrimen-
tal to the estate of which his farm is part. Judg-e

* 111 all drainage operations, however, the great point to insure
is, that they be skilfully planned and efficiently executed. The
subject is a science of itself. It requires no slight amount of
geological isometrical knowledge to determine exactly the
system best suited to each quality and lie of soil, and to save
expense as much as possible by exactly proportioning the work
to the requirements of the land. Nothing can be more rash
than leaving drainage operations to be planned by persons con-
versant, perhaps, with the general run of agricultural jDrocesses,
but quite destitute of the engineering science required for the
one in question. Kor can anything be more penny wise and
pound foolish than, after the plans of an engineer have been
obtained, to entrust their carrying out to ordinary labourers,
by whom, ten to one, they will be bungled.

The farmer ought always to submit his land to the inspec-
tion of an educated and experienced draining engineer. It is
of great importance, too, that the plan of operations be as
general as possible. Partial drainage frequently entails r/reatly
increased expense and trouble, tvhich icoitld have been saved if
the worJc had been originally undertaken tijjon a comprehensive
and satisfactory scale." — Macdonald' s Estate Management, p. 75.

" The w^orking drawing should be finished, the levels fixed, and
the specifications made out before a spade is inserted in the
ground. The advantages of this method are found frequently
in a considerable saving of expense, always in the completeness
and efficiency of the works, and in the facility with which the
farmer is afterwards able, in the event of any of the drains
going Avrong, to consult his plans and lay his hand in a
moment upon the channel which requires being cleaned out or
cut into." — Ibid. p. 7G.

251

Long'field himself tells us that " no improvement on
a small form will pay," consequently such improve-
ments, if the}"- are made at all, should be made at
the tenant's own risk, and not at the risk of the
person who objects to them.* It is urg'ed that the
quality of the intended improvement mig-ht be
decided by some impartial tribunal ; but should the
owner of a property be convinced that a particular
operation would damage rather than benefit his
estate — would interfere "vvith his own schemes of
improvement, would load, for instance, with useless
ag-ricultural erections, lands he contemplated devoting*
to building- purposes— it would be unjust to allow
an assistant barrister (even thoug-h instructed by a
comitatus of experts) to override his decision. This
would be felt so keenly — that, should a tenant be
found commencing' an ^^improvement" against which
his landlord had protested, he would invariably
receive notice to quit. I fear, therefore, we must

* " Q. G91. You were asked this question by Mr. Cardwell, at
Question No. 89, " Do you think, speaking generally, that the
smaller the holding the greater the prospect of agricultural
improvement ?" Your reply was, " No ; a small holding can
scarcely be improved." Do you mean that such holdings aro
so highly improved already that they aro incapable of further
improvement? — A. No, I do not, but that many improvements
require a certain space to make them pay and be available and
require a certain intelligence to direct them ; and it is not
reasonable to suppose, that a small farmer, a poor man, will
have the intelligence and the capital to improve the land ; and
even if he had, the improvement over a small space would not
pay."

252

reject this priuciplej as both unjust aud impracti-
cable.*

* A tenant of my own once took advantage of my agent's ill-
ness, to run up on his farm, •which happened to be near the
Bca, a very unsightly lodging-house. From this erection, he
has dei-ived considerable profit, and considered by itself', it has
therefore added to the rental of my estate, and might be called
an *' improvement." When, however, the time comes for
leasing the adjoining land in building lots, the first thing I
shall have to do, will be to take down the structure in question, —
as an ill-builfc whitewashed barrack in the midst of a cluster of
handsome villas, would detract from the letting value of the
property. If, therefore, I had been compelled to grant him com-
pensation on the ground that his expenditure had added to the
rental of the estate, I should have suffered an injustice. As
it happened, though I was annoyed by what had been done, I
allowed the house to stand, rather than injure my tenant, and,
by this time, he has repaid himself, I hope, for his outlay ; but
the intelligent reader will see that, had it been possible for him
to raise a legal claim for compensation against me for what he
had done, I should not have shown him the same indulgence.
It will be urged that abuses of this particular description will
not be permitted under any bill. But such an instance exempli-
fies how possible it is for an improvement to add something to
the rental of an estate, at the same time that it deteriorates the
property. Analogous cases might arise in a hundred ways.
A tenant occupying a small farm sub-divided into innumerable
little fields desires to drain. His landlord might suggest that
half his fences should be obliterated, and the fields squared up
before such an operation is commenced. The tenant takes a
different view, drains according to his own plan, and claims
compensation. It is quite possible that even though badly
executed, the operation has slightly improved the land ; but
the moment the farm passed into the hands of a really capable
tenant, the preliminary alteration of the fences, originally sug-
gested by the landlord, would take place, and all the draining
would have to be done over again.

253

We now come to the proposal made by the late
Government — a proposal dictated by an anxious
desire to make as larg*e a concession as possible to
the equitable claims of the tenant, and which — with
a moderation that did them honour — was accepted,
I believe, by the most disting-uished of the Liberal
members for Ireland, as a settlement of the ques-
tion. The essence of the arrang-ement was, to leave
the rig-ht of contract perfectly free j but to substi-
tute, where no contract existed, a presumption that,
within certain limits, any improvement made by the
tenant was his property. That such a declaration on
the part of the law is no interference with the rig'ht
of property, cannot be disputed, and it is in some
such compromise, if in any, a solution of the Irish
land question is to be found.

The wisdom of Parliament would, probably,
have simplified the details of the measure. In my
own opinion, the safeg*uards introduced for the pro-
tection of the landlord, only confused the principle
of the bill. Instead of limitino- the tenant's claim
for compensation, on account of an uncovenanted
improvement, to a maximum of £5 per acre, it
would be better to leave him entirely unrestricted
in his expenditure. Instead of declaring- his

A distinguished Agriculturist in Kerry has furnished me
with the following instance of over-fencing : — " On an area of
137 statute acres, there are 2,500 perches of fences. Taking
each fence witli a gripe at either side to be about 12 feet wide,
it would follow that of the 137 acres, 13 are occupied by
banks."

254

ownersliip in tlint iinprovemeiit to be nnniliilated
at the expiration of an arbitrary period, tlie
law sliould presume it to endure as long' as the
beneficial ejects of its operation lasted. Instead
of attempting- to reg-ulate the relations of the
two parties by the ambig"uous provisions of a fic-
titious lease, it would be simpler to reverse the
existing- presumption of law, that whatever is
affixed to the soil belongs to the landlord, and to
declare instead, that any hond Jide improvement,
executed by a tenant, outside of a written con-
tract, is the property of the tenant, for which,
on surrendering- possession of his farm, A\'hether of
his own accord or under compulsion, he shall be
entitled to receive compensation from his landlord
to the amount of the additional value annually
accruing from it, to be assessed by arbitration,
or recovered in a court of law. It may be
objected that such a method of procedure involves
an inequitable principle of compensation, and preju-
dices the interests of the landlord. That I admit.
I have already stated that a tenant's equitable claim
to compensation should be reg-ulated by the original
cost of the improvement, and the rate of interest
due to such investments,* but in declaring- apre-

* Judge LoDgfield is very explicit on this point. See his
Evidence: —

Q. 854. I understand the way in which you estimate im-
provements is to consider the value they confer upon the
land?

255

sumption in the absence of a contract, the law does
not pretend to lay down a canon of equity, and the
chang'e would be only unfair to the landlord to the

A. IS'o. "What the improvements cost and their present
value.

Q. 855. Not the value conferred upon the land ?

A. Certainly not, * * * * because every penny beyond the
natural interest for the money really proceeds from the land
itself, and not from the improvement.

See also Mr. Curling's Evidence to the same effect.

A. 3962. Fourthly, I fully agree with Lord Dufferiu, that
if, in the increased letting value of his holding, the tenant is
given a duration of beneficial occupancy, sufficient to compensate
him for his original outlay, with compound interest at 5 per
cent., or proportionate pecuniary payment if evicted in the
meantime ; it is the utmost that he can fairly claim, and that
any additional rental value incidental to such improvements
may justly be considered as the contribution of the landlord in
the latent capabilities of the land in the partnership which has
existed between them.

The Eoman law, which is the foundation of the agricul-
tural law of Europe, declared " that when the tenants had
derived profits from the improvements {meliorationes) sufficient
to cover the principal sum, and interest of the money laid out
upon them, no compensation was to be held due." — See a Par-
liamentary Paper on the Eoman Agricultural Law, Gth July,
1853.

See also the Report of Mr. Pusey's Committee, paragraphs
10, 11 :—

Par. 10. That its amount {i.e. the amount of compensation)
is found by valuers, who ascertain the cost of the several im-
provements, spread that cost over a certain number of years,
within which each kind of improvement respectively is supposed
to repay itself, and then deduct from that number, the timo
during which the tenant has enjoyed the benefit of the improve-
ment.

Par. 11. That this system is highly beneficial, &c. &c.

250

same decree and in the same sense as the converse
is now unfair to the tenant.

Under the existing' statute, if a yearty occupier
of a farm expends £oOO in the erection of a house,
the law jjresumes tlie building" to belong- to the
owner of the soil, and he might claim possession the
da}- after it Mas built. For the law to declare
its value to be the property of the tenant as long*
as that value endures would be even a less ex-
travag-ant presumption. It was never contem-
plated; however, that a naked presumption of this
kind should reg-ulate the ultimate arrang-ement ;
but as, in the absence of any specific ag-reement on
the subject, it was necessary to attribute the property
to some one, it was naturally assigned to the person
with whose estate it had become irrevocably incor-
porated, in the expectation that the orig-inal pre-
sumption created by the law would be expressly
confirmed, modified, or reversed by a subsequent
aoTeement fi'amed in accordance with the interests
of the contracting" parties. Unhappily, in Ireland
this expectation has been frustrated. Those very per-
sons to whom the unmitigated application of this legal
presumption would be most injurious, have been too
careless, — too confiding, — too dependant — to adopt
the countervailing precautions which, in other coun-
tries, the prudence of mankind has rendered universal.
As a consequence, the untempered presumption of
the law acts occasionally in Ireland with a severity
it was never intended should attach to it. Let us
then change that presumption, and impose upon

2o7

those who are iu a better position to do so, the
obhg-ation of protecting- themsehes from whatever
consequences its unqualified application would en-
tail;— since the tenants will not insist upon defining-
their rig-hts b}^ specific ag-reements, let us make it
the interest of the landlords to do so, and as it is
the g-eneral practice in Ireland for the tenant to
execute a considerable proportion of the improve-
ments, let us bring* the presumption of the la\v more
into harmony with the actual practice of the country.
By this means, a constant statutor}- bias would be
brouo-ht to bear in favour of the tenant ; he would
obtain immunit}' from the consequences of his own
carelessness, and he \AOuld invariably profit by the
carelessness of his landlord ; while, at the same time,
the latter would have it in his power to correct the
partiality of the law by the provisions of an equitable
contract.*

* But the landlord and the tenant are not the only persons
interested. The position of the mortgagee, and the remainder-
man has to be considered. As the law now stands the limited
owner cannot charge the succession with a sixpence on account
of any improvement, however remunerative, nor can the owner
in fee interpolate a new charge of prior obligation amongst
those already in existence. To invest a tenant with a power
denied to the landlord would be absurd. Yet under the
foregoing arrangements it might happen, that an injudicious
expenditure on the part of a tenant might be credilod by au
incompetent valuator with a beneficial character which did not
belong to it ; in which event the new charge against the estate to
which the sj-called improvement had given rise, would be in
excess of the annual addition to the rental supposed to accrue
from it. .Some time might elapse before the discrepancy became

S

258

But if tliis much is conceded to tlie peculiar
position to whicli subdivision, competition, and an in-

Tipparent, but from the moment it existed, the security of the
Miiortgagec would be deteriorated to a corresponding extent.
Though a hardship would be entailed upon the landlord by
such a miscarriage of justice, it is a risk from which it is not
necessary for the legislature to protect him, as lie might have
secured himself agains^t any such contingency by a written
contract. But the mortgagee and the remainder man occupy a
different position ; they cannot control the management of the
property, and it is not desirable that their interests should be
compromised by the carelessness of a proprietor, the blunders
of a tenant, or the incompetence of a valuator.

Although therefore there may be no necessity to limit the
tenant's claim to compensation as against the landlord, it would
be necessary to provide against any injury which might accrue
either to the mortgagee, or to the remainder man, out of an
operation which must be, to a certain degree, of a speculative
character. Tiii.s, however, I do not think it would be difficult
to accomplish.

That even Government officials are not infallible with
regard to the results to be obtained from works of reclamation
and so called agricultural improvements, the following instance
strongly illustrates : —

" On V0U3 citera un exemple plus memorable encore, celui
de la societe de bienfaisance fondee en 1818 avec le concours
du gouvemement hollandais. Elle acheta, 1,000 hectares dans
les communes de Wortel, Merxplas et Eyckevorsel, et apres
avoir depense en quatorze ans plus de 5 millions de francs, elle
ne parvint a conquerir a la culture, d'une maniere definitive,
que 125 hectares. En 1847, sous les auspices du gouvernement
beige, une nouvelle tentative de colonisation fiit faite, cette fois
au moyen de petites (ermes de 5 hectares, dont 1 hectare deja
fume et emblave, 1 hectare de prairie irriguee, et 3 hectares de
bruyeres. Ces petites fermes, situees dans la commune de
Lommell, etaient louees a des families de cultivateurs pour uu
toime de trente ans, avec des conditions, si favorables, qu'en

259

ordinate desire to possess land has reduced the Irish
tenant, it would be advisable, both in the interest of
the tenant himself and of the landlord, to accompany
the foreg'oing' alteration of the law by some sub-
sidiary provision for the registration of every im-
provement on which it is intended to found a claim
for compensation. The necessity for such a precau-
tion is self-evident. Without it no Court would pos-
sess trustworthy data for estimatino- the natiu'e and
cost of an alleg'ed improvement made ten or fifteen
years before the inquiry into its title to compensation
was instituted. Were such matters to be left to oral
evidence, and to the recollection of the individuals
interested, a satisfactory settlement could never
be attained.* A sing-le exemplification will suffice.

payant un leger ainortissement, les fcrmiers deineuraicnt pro-
prietaires a I'expiration du bail. Ces combinaisons semblaient
parfaites, et pourtant jusqu'a present le eucces n'a point tout a
fait repondu aux eyperauces qu'ou avait eoiigues. D'autres so-
cietes qui avaient ea vue non uue oeuvro do bienfaisauco a ac-
complir, mais une speculation a faire, n'ont paa ete ])]us heu-
reuses, a en juger du uioins par lea resultats acquis."

Similar miscalculatious, I am told, have occasionally been
made by the Board of Works in Ireland, with regard to draining
operations.

* Mr liobt. Pardon, land valuer, on Mr. GriffiUis^ land
valuation.

" After a lapse of time it ia difficult to determine the just
allowance to be made to the tenant for liis share of tlie
improvements upon the soil ; for there ia a great deal in the
tillage and drainage of land which does not appear, jind it is
diflficult to ascertain what has bci-n done, withr)ut knowing
the state which the land was formerly in." — Dir/.Dev. Com. IGG.

" I should think it more desirable, //" Uic amount to he laid

8 2

260

Perhaps there is no iniproveinent more common,
more deserving- of compensation, or requirino- a
longer term of occupancy to repay itself, than that
which consists in quarrying-, and in removing" or
burying- the rocks which crop up in a shallow and
ston}' soil ; yet the very perfection of the operation
destroj's all internal evidence of what has been done.
The tenant's claim will therefore have to rest on
testimony. But long- before an}- question of com-
pensation comes to be raised, the author of the im-
provement may have died, or he may have handed
over his interest in his farm to another man. The
estate itself may have been sold, and a new ag'ent
and a new landlord have come upon the scene. Yet
thoug-h all the parties priv\' to the orig-inal arrang-e-
ment have disappeared, the claim itself would be as
rife as ever. How is the matter to be adjudicated
in the absence of competent witnesses or trustworthy
data ? And it is to be remembered that the diffi-
culty of adjusting- bond fide claims of this descrip-
tion, is the true measure of the facilities which
would be afforded for establishing- unsubstantial and
fraudulent pretensions on venal evidence.

out in improvemetits teas determmed on before the improvements
took place ; it is difficult to determine it afterwards. It is fre-
quently impossible to please both parties. The teuant claims
more than the landlord will allow ; and it is difficult, after a
lapse of years, to determine what would be a just and proper
sum to allow the tenant. I state that as a general impression
which occurs to me." — lb. p. 166.

" If you see land worth £1. per acre, how could you say
what it was worth twenty years before." — lb. p. 166.

261

Ag-ain, if tenants are to be entitled to g'et back
from their landlord whatever they may choose to lay
out on their farms, it is essential that the latter should
have the means of acquainting- himself with the bill
which is being' run up ag'ainst him on various parts
of his estate. No one would allow the most trust-
worth}^ steward to embark in an unlimited expen-
diture on his home-farm without looking" occasionally
at his books ; still less would it be advisable to allow
a numerous tenantry to incur, on behalf of their
landlord, an unknown amount of responsibilities
which, however insig'nificant in each instance, would,
in the ao-o-reo-ate, amount to an enormous sum. In
some parts of Ireland as many as 4000 or 5000
tenants are located on a sing'le property; audit nuist
be recollected that frequently they have beconie thus
numerous, not throug'h the landlord's neg'lect, but by
the evasion of express covenants against sub-letting-.
Supposing- each tenant to spend £10 a year in some
alleged improvement, — the straightening' of a fence,
the repair of a g-able end, the erection of a pigstye
— at the end of five years the owner of such a pro-
pert}' might find himself confronted by a claim to
compensation amounting to £'200,000.* With this
contingency in prospect, but without any means of

* We have also to consider what would be the position of
the purchaser of a property with respect to these indefinite and
unrecorded liabilities. For the charges in the schedule of in-
cumbrances a due deduction of i)rice has been made in the
purchase money, but of these dllun- claims, and the law rxpenses
arising out of them, no one cnull protend to form an estimate.

nscertainino* the rate nt which the burden was nccu-
mulatiug-, the hiiidowiier would be in a position of
suc'li insecurity as would coni])el him either to reduce
his tenantry to more manageable proportions, or else
to emasculate their claims by imposing- a specific
ag'reement on each tenant to execute seriatim every
ag'ricultuial operation of which hisfiirm was suscep-
tible. It is argued that the very fact of warning*
the landlord of what was taking- place on his estate
would tend to discountenance a tenant's improve-
ments. Such an objection can hardly be seriously
urged. Under any circumstances an improvement
hatched like a conspiracy, and exploded like a mine
would probably lead to the improver being- hoisted
with his own petard.

Lastl}', it is the interest of the tenantry, even more
than that of their landlords, that the investment of
capital in improvements should be effected with care
and economy, and kept at a minimum, as the burden of
compensation invariably falls on the incoming- tenant.
This point was ver}' distinctly noted in the report of
Mr. Pusey's Parliamentary Committee ;* and it is
evident that, if a landlord is to pa}- a certain sum to
an outgoing* tenant for his improvements, he Avill
recoup himself, either by clapi)ing' an equivalent per-
centag-e on the rent of the new tenant, or by acceptino-
a fine equivalent in amount to the suai he has paid

* Panigraph 9.— Eeport by Mr. Pusey's Committee: — "In
practice, the compensation agreed to be paid by the landlord
to the outgoiug tenant is paid by the incoming one."

26;3

away. To stimulate an unnecessary expenditure on
any estate, whether in the shape of superfluous farm
building-s or other so-called improvements, is only to
embarrass the community located upon it with a
burden as irredeemable as a national debt. Yet
no surer way to encourag-e such extravag'ance can
be devised than to allow one set of men to disburse
without restraint or enquiry sums of money which
they expect another set of men will have to repay-
The possibility' of the claim being* eventually dis-
allowed would be too remote a conting-ency to in-
fluence their conduct, while the chance of the award
being" in excess of their expenditure would still
further neutralize their prudence.

Stripped, however, of the complicated provisions
which confused and indeed altered the original prin-
ciple it professed to enunciate, the Bill of the late
Government certainly contained the g-erm of what
might prove both a ])olitic and leg'itimate measure.
As to an}' further or more intimate interference by
the leg"islciture between landlord and tenant I am not
sang'uine. Some persons would prefer to create by
Act of Parliament a model lease, and then to render
the position of any landlord who mig-ht decline to
adopt it so untenable as to iuipose on him, if not a
leg-al oblig-ation, at all events an imperative necessity
to bring- the tenures on his estate into conformity with
its provisions. Now, no one has been a strong-er ad-
vocate for leases than myself. To refuse a lease to
a solvent industrious tenant, is, in my oi)ii)ion, little

2G4

short of a ci'iiiK'. Not only have I never refused a
lease myself, but I have done my best to persuade my
tenantry to apply for them. The prosperity of agri-
culture depends on security of tenure^ and the only
proper tenure is a liberal lease. Yet I cannot conceive
a measure more fraug'ht with disaster to ag'riculture,
more productive of discontent, more certain to inflict
suffering- on a larg'e proportion of the present tenant
farmers of the country, than that the Irish landlords
should be driven by nny such leg'islation as this
into an indiscriminate issue of leases for a terra
of years.

None but persons acquainted with the manag-e-
ment of Irish property, can have an adequate idea
of the variety of instances in which it may become
inexpedient to g-rant a lease. Ver}' frequently, par-
ticularly in the North of Ireland, the tenantry
unfortunate!}' prefer an indefinite understanding* to
a specific contract.* It is doubtful whether, even

* M. de Laveleye has very well described the reason for
their preference of an indefinite tenure. " En Angleterre, la
constitution de la propriete at de la culture amene des conse-
quences difterentcs. Le grand proprietaire, jouissaut d'un
reveuu considerable, n'est pas oblige pour vivre de pressurer
sans cesse ses fermiers. II s'etablit entre la famille du land-
lord et celles des tenanciers des relations . , . . , et qui em-
pechent le maitre de faire des conditions trop dures a ceux qui
dependent delui. Les sentiments affectueux propres au regime
patriarcal modifient et adoucissent la dure loi moderne ae I'offre
et de la demande. Les fermes sont geiieraleraeut tenures at ivill

on hvolontS L'absence du contrat ecrit, qui en Belgiqueest

consideree comme la pire des conditions, est au contraire prefere'0

265

in the South, leases for anything' but an unreason-
able period would be considered as a boon.* Yet to
force a lease on an unwilling- tenant is only a deg-ree
less objectionable than to evict him for refusing* to take
one. In many instances, the only reason for which

par les fermiers anglais. Ces appreciations opposees indiquent
seules deja la difference des deux regimes, car la tenure at will
serait pour le locataire aussi funeste en Belgique qu'elle est
avautageuse en Angleterre. Tandis qiien Belgique die pro-
voqueraif une hausse incessante du fermai/e, limitee maintenant
par le terme Tiahituel de neuf annees, en Anyleterre, elle favorise
le maintien de la mime rente parfois pendant plusieurs genera-
tions sticcessives.'' Curiously enough, he illustrates his mean-
ing by a reference to an estate in the north of Ireland. — Eco.
Bur. p. 235.

* *' Many witnesses stated that the occupiers have no wish
for leases at the resent rents, and that the cost of the stamps
and of the execution of leases has also much effect in removing
the desire to obtain them ; and many, without mentioning the
cause of the disregard of leases, assert tiiat frequently, where
proprietors are ready to grant, the occupiers do not manifest
any wish to receive them. In the northern counties, where tlie
custom of tenant-right prevails, the number of witnesses who
state this fact is very considerable." — Dig. Dec. Com. p. 225 ;
see also Mr. Hohertsori s Report, p. 345.

The Right Honourable the Earl of Mountcashel. — " Many
of them hold by lease, but a great number from year to year.
On my own estate, I do not think there ia a great inclination
on the part of the tenants to take leases ; latterly I have given
a great many, but I find a great number who are quite satisfied
without any. I cannot say whether that is the case upon other
estates — I doubt it; and it may l)n hore remarked, that ifc is a
very curious thing, though I reside here, I have mudi larger
estates in the north of Ireland, in the county of Antrim, and I
have been in the habit of acting in the same way towards my
northern tenants and towards my Bouthern, and my norfhoru
tenants do not wirth to take leases as '(■m- as I have loutid. There

200

a lease is desired, is to obtain a document on w hicli
money can be raised, or an extravag'ant charg-e for
younger children effected.* If, therefore, some of the
lauded j)roprietors of Ireland evince a disinclination
to grant leases, it is, in many instances, because
bitter experience has taug-ht them that previous
leases have generally proved to be, as Judge Long--
field has observed, " all in the tenant's favour" — that
a certain proportion of their actual tenants are in-
capable of fulfilling- the obligations of a contract —
that security of tenure, — in other \\ords, immunity
from all sense of responsibility, — instead of stiniu-
lating" the industry of the occupier, too often acts as
a premium on idleness,! and that the difficulties of
preventing the subdivision and subletting' of leased

are several under-tenants whose leases were out some years
ago, and I sent to my agent Mr, Joy, in the county of Antrim,
and desired hira to inform the tenants that I was ready to grant
leases, and he wrote back to inform me that they were content
to remain witliout leases." — Dig. Deo. Com. p. 257.

* Wm. Morris Reade, Esq., land propriety.

" Is there any anxiety for leases on the part of the ten-
ants at their present rents ? — As far as I can judge, they are
not at all anxious but for one reason — when tliey come to make
marriage contracts for their children, they are anxious to show
they have a liold upon all of the land, but upon other occasions
they are perfectly indifferent." — Dig. Dev. Com. j)- 279.

t -3/r. Jos. Lambert, farmer.
" "What extent of tenure would induce a man to make
these improvements ? — I see among the poor people having
land, that those who have leases are much less inclined to make
improvements than those who have not."— Jb. ^i. 191.

•2G7

lands^ are almost insurmountable.* The case of a
solvent and improving- tenant being refused a lease,
is, I suspect, much rarer than is supposed. f

The consequences of forcing- leases by Act of Par-
liament, are sufficiently obvious. Hitherto, one of
the chief accusations broug-ht ag-ainst the Irish pro-
prietor has been his indifference to the character and
the solvency of his tenant, and in order to correct
this indifference, it is proposed to abolish the priority
of his claim on the rent, and to reduce him to the
ranks of an ordinnrv creditor. If, therefore, under
these circumstances he is precluded from letthig- his
land, except under a thirty-one years' lease, an in-
exorable necessity- will be imposed upon him to ex-
clude from such a permanent arrang'ement those of
his existing- tenants w ho are in debt, or ^vllo are
likel}^ to fall into embarrassment during- the oblig-a-
tory term. Now perhaps the tenantry of no estate
in Ireland is more prosperous than my on n ; yet my
agent informs me, that unhuppil}', more than a third
of the farmers upon ni}' property are under heavy
pecuniary oblig-ations through the countr3',in addition
to those incurred to\\ards myself. At present their
creditors are awn re that to drive them from their

* " But tlie principal reason alleged by most of tlio proprie-
tors, is the difficulty of preventing subdivision wlierc a farm is
leased."^ — Ih. Summary, jj. 230.

I I do not think it can be denied, that leases are sonielinic.s
withlield from political motives; but for this abuse the ballot
would be the proper remedy : though England, with her tougher
moral fibre, may not need such a conirivancc. 1 have often
thought the ballot might prove advantageous in Ireland.

268

farms by the application of any premature pressure
would only reduce to a minimum their own chances
of recei\ ing* payment. My own inclination is to
g'ive them e^ery opportunity to extricate themselves
from their difficulties ; and thoug'h the position of
affairs is not satisfactory, nor can the ultimate
destiny of many of these persons be doubtful, a
reasonable amount of forbearance on ni}' part, may
save some, and gTeatly mitig'ate the hardship of their
situation to the rest.

If, however, I found myself suddenly called upon
by Pai'li anient to lease away my estate for a whole
g'eneration, matters would be brought to a crisis, and
in self defence I should be forced, (very much against
my will,) to exclude from the intended benefits of the
arrano-ement every sino-le individual circumstanced as
I have described. No landlord could be expected to
grant a lease to a bankrupt, or to enter into a contract
with a person incapable of fulfilling its obligations.*

But in addition to those of my tenants, who are
actually in debt, there are a certain nuaiber who
are so destitute of capital, — so unskilful, — occu-
piei's of such small and inconvenient patches, — so
near the verge of ruin, — as to be very unfit reci-
pients of a lease. However willing* I mig'ht be to

* " Tou know a very large number of occupiers of land
in Ireland, holding a very limited acreage, and of course you
would not give a person with 5 or 10 acres' holding a 21 years'
lease, would you ? — A. Generally speaking it would be no use,
because a 21 years' lease has general useful covenants in it, and
those men are not amenable to any covenants."

Judge LongfieW s Evidence.

269

continue them in their present lioldino-s until an oppor-
tunity shall occur of establishing* them as labourers,
or of enablino- their sons to emio-rate, or of convert-
ing' the old people into pensioners, a very different
arrangement ^vould be necessary if Parliament held
a pistol to ni}^ head, and left me no choice, but to
g'ive them 31 years' leases, or resume possession of
m}^ land. Now if these undesirable contino-encies
mig'ht arise on a prosperous estate in Ulster, it is
scarcel}^ necessar}'- to indicate Avhat would be the
consequences of such anomalous interference by
Parliament in the south and west of Ireland.

Take the case of the falling- in of an old 01
years' lease, on which, in spite of all covenants to
the contrary, a vast cong'eries of cottier tenants
have been collecting* for g*enerations. Perhaps the
size of the holding*s may not averag*e four acres
a piece : a g*reat deal of it may be held in rundale :
all of it is sure to be in the worst possible condi-
tion ; 3'et the only chance of introducing* a better
system, — of inducing* the people to ag*g*lomerate
their patches, — of making* arrang-ements for the
squaring* up of fields, and the re-distribution of the
area into a shape more suitable to existing* circum-
stances,— is that the landlord should have some power
of controlling* the ig'norant prejudices of those for
whose well-being' he has become suddenly responsi-
ble. Under any circumstances the task wW] rc(piire
patience — above all — time ; five, ten, fifteen ^ears,
perhaps a life-time, will be necessary if the operation
is to be performed with due reg-ard to the feeling's ol"

270

the people conceriuM]. I'ut if tlie landlord be peremp-
torily required to I'e-lease his land for another g'enera-
tion, any such benevolent reconstruction will be
impossible, and the only alternative left to him, will
be to re-stereotype the existing- chaos, or to convert
his estate into a tabula-rasa.*

In fact, the more the matter is considered the
greater are the difficulties which present themselves.
Unless g-reat care is taken we shall injure rather than
improve the position of our clients. As long- as a
numerous population is cursed with a morbid craving*
to possess land, so long- will the owner of land be
able to drive hard barg-ains in spite of Queen, Lords
and Commons, and any exceptional leg-islation we
ma}' devise will be more apt effectually to embar-
rass the judicious management of the liberal land-
owner, than it will control the injustice of the oppres-
sor, while the ultimate result of our well meant
endeavours may be to transfer the manag-ement of a
g-reat portion of ever}' estate in Ireland from the
hands of the land ag-ent into those of the solicitor.f

* " Upon some well-regulated estates, the property of intelli-
gent and liberal landlords, who are upon the best footing with
their tenants, no leases are given ; but we cannot forbear to
express our opinion, that as a general system it is more for the
interest of both landlord and tenant that leases of a moderate
length should be granted . We feel, however, thai this is one of
the points which must be left to the discretion of individuals, and
we cannot recommend any direct interfo'ence by the Legislature"
— S. Dig. Dev. 1122.

f " If, on the other hand, nothing more be meant than that
an ejected tenant should be entitled to compensation for sub-
stantial improvements, the advantages of a law to that effect

271

There is, indeed, one further sug-g-estion I am
disposed to hazard, which mig-ht go far to di-
minish discontent and stimulate production amongst
the ag"ricultural class. In considering- the question
of tenants' improvements it appears to me that a
satisfactory settlement for the past is even a g-reater
desideratum than the most favourable arrano-ement
for the future. The leg-al attainment of this object
has been g'iven up by ever^-one as impracticable ; yet
if the people of Eng-land are reall}' disposed to be as
liberal as Mr. Brig-lit's proposal implies, I see no
reason ^^'hy the same principle which has been
introduced by Parliament to facilitate the future
improvement of Ireland might not be adopted to
obliterate all misunderstanding* as to the past. No
later than last Session a million of money was voted
to enable the owners of propert}^ in Ireland to erect
farm buildings, and labourers' cottag'es,to drain and to
reclaim. If a similar loan were g-ranted on the same
terms, or if the present loan were made accessible
to those landlords M'ho mig'ht be willing* to buy up
the existing* improvements of their tenants, I have
no doubt advantag'e would be taken of the o})por-
tunity. Precautions could be adopted by the l>oard
of Works to ascertain that the improvements to be
purchased were sufficient security for the sum bor-
rowed. Though the landlord u ould be responsible
for the debt, the interest oji it \\ould be repaid,

would i)robal)ly be more than countcrbnlanced by ilio cndlesB
litigation to whirli it would give riHe." — Thorulons Peasant
Proprietors.

272

either in whole or in pjirt hv the tenant. The
tenant would he henehted hy receiving- a lump
sum, which, if judiciously invested in his farm,
would return him a proHt of 3, 4, or 5 per cent, in
excess of the yearly instalment for the discharg-e of
the interest. It mig-ht he even advisahle for the
Board of Works to make these loans conditional
on the occupier's receiving" a lease.

B}'" this simple expedient it would become the
landlord's interest, not only to recognise the mi?u-
mum claims of his tenant, (which in manj^ instances
I fear would become almost inappreciable beneath
the strict scrutiny of a Court of Equity,) but to deal
with them in a liberal spirit ; while both landlord
and tenant would have an inducement to refer all
matters in dispute between them to the arbitrament
of a Board, in whose decision it would be the policy of
each to acquiesce. A better understanding- Mould be
introduced between the two classes ; even evictions
would lose their most obnoxious characteristic; and,
above all, a larg-e sum of money now locked up in
homesteads and farm building-s would be immediatel}^
transmuted into capital applicable to the cultivation
of the soil.

It is impossible to la}^ too g-reat stress on this last
advantag-e. When people talk of Ic petite culture^ and
the reduplicated employment afforded by spade hus-
bandry, the}' quite forg-et that, except in very favoured
soils, low farming- reduces land to a caput mortuum.
All the labour in the world will not fertilize a

273

sandbank ; but convey to it the scourings of a great
city, and a minimum of labour will turn it into a
g-arden.* Let capital overfloAv her soil, — an analo-
g'ous transformation will take place in Ireland, — and
thoug-h her superficial area remain the same, the
stimulus to her powers of production would be equi-
valent to an accession of territorj' sufficient to support
thousands in affluence, where at present hundreds
find a difficulty in extracting a bare subsistence.

But it may be asked. Is this, then, all you have
to propose ? Have you no comprehensive remed}" to
prescribe for the perennial discontent of Ireland?
Can no styptic be discovered for the unprecedented
emigration from her shores? I answer that such
inquiries lie be^'ond the scope of this hasty dis-
sertation. I have never presumed to discuss the
state of Ireland at large : but many persons having-
expressed an opinion that Irish disaffection, and the
emigration from Ireland, were occasioned by the
conduct of the landlords towards their tenants, and
the iniquity of the laws affecting the tenure of land,
I have ventured to examine the grounds on which
those opinions are founded. The I'esult has tended

* "Ea definitive, il faut que le luboureur travaillc av€c energie ;
maia cela ne suffit pas, et cc nest meme pas le iwint priticipaf,
car il y a bieii cles contrees ou Vliomme se iue d retourncr hi
terre pour n'ohtenir que de maigrcs recolies. Ce qu'il faut
avant tout, c'cHt appreudre ;i connaitre, soit par la scicuco, aoit
par la pratique jouriialiore, Ics lois dc la nature ct co quo le 8(»l
reclame pour recompenscr, par de riches produits, Ics cfForta do
ccux (jui lo cultivcnt." — l^con. liuralr, 90.

274

to show not only tliat no alteration of tenure would
have an appreciable effect upon either, but that
even the amendments 1 have indicatedj however de-
sirable in themselves, could have no very immediate
effect on the evils we deplore. These evils are too
deepl}' seated, too intimately interwoven with the past,
to be cured by any ^mperical peddling" in the land-
laws of the countr3% To expect " a tenant's compen-
sation bill" to quell Fenianism, or to prevent those
Avho cannot ofet a livino- at home from crossino- the
Atlantic, would be as reasonable as to try to stifle a
conflagration on the first floor by stufiing- a blanket
down the kitchen chimne}", or to staunch the hoe-
morrhag-e from an artery by slipping- the key of the
house-door down your back. No nation can be made
industrious, provident, skilful, by Act of Parhament.
It is to time, to education, and, above all, to the
development of our industrial resources, that we
must look for the reiTivig'oration of our economical
constitution.

I have now finished my ung-racious task. To
many I shall have appeared to take the part of the
rich ag'ninst the poor, of the strong* against the weak,
but to those who are practically acquainted with the
subject it will be apparent that I have been arguing*
in the real interests of the latter, even more than in
those of the former. If I am anxious to prevent the
introduction of a vicious principle into the land-laws
of Ireland, it is because I am convinced that the evil
consequences of such mistaken legislation will fall

275

ag-ain, as it has done before, on the tenant, I'ather
than on the landlord. If I run counter to the instincts
of that g-reat Liberal party to whom Ireland owes so
much, and from which it has still so much to expect,
it is because I know its confidence has been abused.
My onty object has been to establish truth and to
advocate justice. The doctrine that Ireland is to be
saved by the sacrifice of the rig-hts of property is
a violation of both, — and its apjilication would only
ag-gravate our existing- difficulties.

T 2

ANSWERS TO QUEPvTES,

AS TO THE EATE OF WAGES, SUPPLY OF LABOITK,
AND CONVEKSION OF ARABLE INTO PASTURE, &c.

As some diversity of opinion seemed to exist as to the
real rate of agricultural wages in Ireland, as well as to
other matters of fact connected with our enquiry ,1 ven-
tured to distribute through different parts of the coun-
try, a series of questions on the points with respect to
which it was desirable to obtain information. Most of
these queries were forwarded through the obliging inter-
vention of an eminent Judge, of an officer of the Board
of Works, and of different Government Inspectors. The
answers emanate from gentlemen with whom I have no
personal acquaintance, but who were considered by those
who kindly distributed my questions the best authorities on
the subject, comprising Agents, County Surveyors, In-
spectors of Public Works, and Land Surveyoi'S.

Rate of Wages.
The first query related to the rate of agricultural wages :
subjoined are the answers I received.

1. One shillicg and fourpence a day. — Co. Autrim.

2. Seven shillings per week. — Co. Carlow.

3. The rate of wages in this district is from one shilling to
one shilling and sixpence per day. — Co. Cork.

4. Seven shillings to eight shillings ; best men, ten shillings.
— Co. Cork.

5. One shilling per day, throughout the year, wet and dry,
with some perquisites.— Co. Corli.

277

6. One shilling and sixpence per day on an average. In the
winter months labour can be had for from one shilling to
one shilling and threepence per day, but in the spring it rises
to two shillings. — Co. Galway.

7. The rate of wages varies according to the season, but I give
to my best men one shilling per day in all seasons. — Co. Galway.

8. Seven shillings a week. — Co. Kildare.

9. One shilling and twopence a day for constant labourers. —
Co. Kildare.

10. The average rate of wages for good labourers is seven
shillings per week in winter, and nine shillings in summer ; and
skilled labourers, such as quarrymen, two shillings over. — Co.
Kerry.

11. One shilling and threepence per day for labourers ; four
shillings per day for carpenters and masons. — Co. Kerry.

12. One shilling — in some few cases, fourteen pence. — Co.
Mayo.

13. At the rate of seven shillings and eight shillings per
week. — Co. Meath.

14. In Kerry, one shilling and fourpence, average one shilling
and twopence ; in King's Co., one shilling and fivepence,
average one shilling and threepence ; in Monaghan, one shilling
and fourpence, average one shilling and twopence — for winter
and summer all round. — Co. Monaghan.

15. One shilling per day. — Co. Roscommon.

16. The present rate of wages in this district, for agi'icultural
labourers, averages one shilling and twopence per day. I pay
in money, to my best men, seven shillings weekly ; tliey are
constantly employed at one work or another on tho farm,
gardens, or demesne. — Co. Tippcrary.

17. One shilling and twopence per day for best men. — Co.
Waterford.

18. Permanent wages for labourers, one ehilling a day; occa-
sional labourers, or those depending on the market, from one
shilling and twopence to one shilling and sixpence per day. —
Co. Waterford.

19. Seven sliillings a week, and a liouso. — Co. AVoxford.

20. I think one shilling per day is tho standard rate lor ordi-
nary men constantly employed, one shilling and twopence to best

278

men. Ouo shilling and sixpence is paid to casual labourers, and
farmers often add diet.

21. At present, nine shillings per week, or one shilling and
sixpence per day.

22. Eight shillings a week. — Co. Tipperary.

■ 23. To the ordinary labourers of my own staff I pay, through-
out the year, one shilling per diem. — Co. Limerick.

21'. Eleven shillings a week. — Co. Down (within five miles of
Belfast).

Of the foregoing twenty-four instances of the rate of wages
paid to agricultural labourers in various parts of Ireland, ten
state it to be from Is to Is 2d, Is 2d, and I5 Gd per day ;
ten state it to be from Is 2d to 1* 4<d, Is Gd, Is 8d, and 2* per day ;
one states it to be from Is 3^ per day ; two state it to be from
Is 4:d per day ; one states it to be from Is 6^ per day.

Rate of Wages for Unskillled Labour, employed on Rail-
ways, Quarries, Timber Felling, Draining, ^t.

1. One shilling and sixpence a day. — Co. Antrim.

2. Nine shillings per week. — Co. Carlow.

3. About one shilling and sixpence per day. — Co. Cork.

4. Cutting drains 4 feet deep, ninepence per 16|^ feet.' — Co.
Cork.

5. Erom one shilling and sixpence to one shilling and eight-
pence per day. — Co. Cork.

6. One shilling and threepence per day. — Co. Galway.

7. Erom a shilling to one shiUiug and sixpence. — Co. Gal-
way.

8. About ten shillings per week. — Co. Kildare.

9. I pay the same wages as for agricultural operations, but
generally do drainage, &c. by task, when men in summer can
earn one shilling and sixpence per day. — Co. Kildare.

10. One shilling and sixpence per day. — Co. Kerry.

11. Seven shillings to nine shillings per week, or one shilling
and two pence to one shilling and sixpence per day. — Co. Kerry,

12. The railway contractor pays nine shillings per week.
I do not think the wages differ in other respects. — Co. Mayo.

13. This work is generally done by task. — Co. Meath.

279

14. Same as to agricultiiral purposes. Quarrymen, if good
tnay command twopence per diem higher. — Co. Monaghan.

15. Variable according to circumstances — from one shilling
to two shillings per day. — Co. Roscommon.

16. I believe that nine shillings to twelve shillings per week
may be set down in answer to this query. Drainage is executed
very much by task at so much per week, and for this a class,
not 80 good as the first, earn eight to ten shillings per week.
I can't say what wages men felling timber receive ; there are
not any extensive woods in this district. I have heard that
one shilling and sixpence per day has been paid to men occa-
sionally so employed, and I would pay at that rate. — Co. Tip-
perary.

17. Men employed in this neighbourhood at draining, quarry-
ing, and felling timber earn about one shilling and sixpence
per day. — Co. "Waterford.

18. The work referred to in this query is mostly done by
ordinary labourers. No railway woi'k has been carried on here.
— Co. Waterford.

19. Eight shillings to eleven shillings a week. — Co. Wexford.

20. Of this class of works there are none doing in my neigh-
bourhood, except some drainages. These are usually performed
J>y task, or piece work, and I find that at the prices generally
sanctioned by the Board of Public Works, a healthy, willing
man can earn one shilling and sixpence or more, on an average,
per day. — Co. Limerick.

21. Ten shillings a week to labourers employed at railway cut-
tings. Two shillings and sixpence a day to quarrymen. Drain-
ing is generally done by contract. Nine shillings a week to
men felling timber.

22. One shilling and eightpence per day.

23. Nine shillings per week, when the work is not let by task
or the job.

Rate of Agricultural Wages at Harvest Time.

1. One and eightpence a day for extra hands.— Co. Antrim.

2. From two to three shillings per day. — Co. Carlow.

3. My own staff do most of my work, getting diet during
harvest. — Co. Cork.

280

4. Extra labourers iu liarvcst time commonly get from one
aud sixpence to two and sixpence per day. — Co, Cork.

5. Twelve shillings per week. — Co. Cork.

G. It averages about one and sixpence, but under some cir-
cumstances rises to two shillings. — Co. Galway,

7. As I give constant employment my wages vary but slightly,
but farmers give as high as two shillings a day, frequently
with feeding. — Co. Galway.

8. Constant labourers wages are raised from one and twopence
to one and sixpence a day during harvest. ^Farmers who do not
keep constant labourers pay two shillings, and sometimes two
and fourpence a day for a few days in harvest. — Co. Kildare.

9. Average 18« per week. — Co. Kildare.

10. Two shillings per day with diet, is about the average. —
Co. Kerry.

11. One and ninepence to two shillings per day. — Co. Kerry.

12. Generally one shilling and sixpence per day, and at
times one and eightpence. — Co. Mayo.

13. From one and eightpence to two and sixpence per day.
—Co. Meath.

14. Personally, or for my employers, I do not make much
difference between harvest and other times, but small farmers
pay as high as two shillings per diem, and even two and six-
pence and give diet besides, in the extreme middle of harvest. —
Co. Mouaghan.

15. One and sixpence per day. — Co. Eoscommon.

16. The rate of wages in harvest for men varied from 2s 6d to
3* Gd per day, and for women Is Qd to 2s per day. I paid
2« Qd to men and Is 8d to 2« to women for a short period last
autumn. — Co. Tipperary.

17. From Is 8d to 2« Gd with diet.— Co. Waterford.

18. Eeapers get from 1* Gd to 2* Gd a day, binders (women)
half the wages of the men ; mowers, 3* to 4« a day, or an aver-
age of 2s per acre ; binders, after the mowers, from Is to Is Gd
a day. — Co. "Waterford.

19. Two to Bs a day and diet. — Co. "Wexford.

20. To mowers for cutting either hay or grain crops, from 3s
to 35 Gd per day, sometimes diet added. To common labourers
from Is Gd to 2s, with diet. — Co. Limerick,

281

21. Twelve shillings a week for any additional labourers 1 aui
obliged to take in during harvest time.

22. Men mostly mow the corn in this locality at per day,
average 3s 4J, cutting three roods of fair growing corn. When
the men reap, 2s 4<d per day ; when the above men are dieted for
reaping, Is 8s per day. Mowing, with diet, 2s Gd per day.

• 23. Last harvest the wages varied from Is Gd to 2s Gd per day,
the farmers adding diet. — Co. Tipperary.

Supply of Labour.

The next qiaery related to a very important point, viz :
tlie supply of labour. Although the answers I received
indicate some diflFerence of opinion, it is very evident that
when proper wages are given, an ample supply of labour
can be obtained in most localities, even in summer : — in
winter there appears to be a redundancy of labour, and
no difficulty anywhere, or at any time, where a permanent
engagement is offered.

1 . There is a difficulty in procuring labourers at the above
rate of wages unless for a permanent engagement, ^vhich the
time of year does not affect. — Co. Antrim.

2. I do not find much difficulty in procuring labourers gene-
rally, keeping my own staff, but men are more easily li:id in
winter than in spring and hai'vest. — Co. Cork.

3. As a general rule there is not any difficulty in getting la-
bourers.— Co. Cork.

4. ISTot for ordinary work, but for drainage it is dearer than
in Scotland. — Co. Cork.

5. In lomter the supply of lahourers is alundant. Tliei'c is no
difficulty except during the scc<l sowing time in spring, hay-
making and harvest, but plenty of men can be had during thoso
times by giving an advance of wages. — Co. Carlow.

6. There is great difficulty in procuring labourers during tlio
spring and summer montliH, hut not in the winter. — Co.
Gal way.

7. The rliOicuKy is increased and increasing, more cnpccially

282

in the spring and summer months, when the younger class of
labourers go to England. — Co. Galway.

8. Great difficulty in procuring able bodied men, both in sum-
mer and winter. — Co. Kildare.

9. No difficulty at any season except for turf cutting in May,
and for a few weeks in harvest ; generally speaking there is
plenty of employment and men always to be got when required.
— Co. Kildare,

10. There is no difficulty in procuring labourers, but not so
great in the winter as in the summer. The wages are higher in
spring than at any other period. — Co. Kerry.

11. I find it impossible to procure labourers for public work
from the lOtli March to the Ist June, except at advanced
wages. From \st November to March there are enough to he had,
except in some thinly peopled districts. — Co. Kerry.

12. There is generally difficulty in procuring labourers in
country parts. The difficulty is greater in summer than winter.
— Co. Mayo.

13. There is no difficulty during the winter season. In sum-
mer there is a scarcity of labourers. — Co. Meath.

14. I have never found any difficulty in procuring labourers,
though the farmers sometimes complain in all three districts.
Wages are much higher to those who only give casual employ-
ment in spring and harvest than in mid winter or summer. The
cheapest time is mid winter. — Co. Monaghan.

15. Some difficulty in spring and harvest. — Co. Boscommon,

16. Eesiding near the town of Nenagh I have not any diffi-
culty in procuring labourers, they are not however as good a
class of men as those regularly employed. In winter many are
not employed more than four days in the week. In spring, sum-
mer, and autumn all are engaged at good wages. In the rural
districts the farmers in some places complain that they cannot
get labourers from there not being cottages. This in summer
and harvest is much increased, and they are obliged to resort to
the towns for male and female labour. — Co. Tipperary,

17. No great difficulty, less in winter than in summer. At
times there is a want of employment for able-bodied labourers.—
Co, AVaterford,

283

18. No difficulty in procuring labourers except at harvest
time. — Co. TVaterford.

19. There is great difficulty in summer, none in winter. —
Co. "Wexford.

20. I having a regular staff of my own, and but little land
now in tillage, do not experience much difficulty in procuring
labourers. Any, however, that does exist, is much more felt
in summer than in winter, the farmers giving very little employ-
ment during the latter season. — Co. Limerick.

21. Yes, out of the neighbourhood of towns and villages it is
difficult to get labourers, particularly females ; and the difficulty
is materially greater in summer than in winter.

22. Labourers can be procured at the above rate any season
of the year, difficulty only in harvest.

23. Yes, considerable difficulty, not so great in winter as in
summer. — Co. Tipperary.

(See also Mr. Eobertson's observations on this point, passim.)

Allowances to Labourers.

As a low rate of wages is often compensated by allow-
ances, I requested information on this head.
Subjoined are the answers I received : —

1. Men in charge of horses or cattle have free cottages on the
farm. — Co. Carlow.

2. Men getting 7s, get house free and a ton of coals. — Co.
Cork.

3. I give land for about half an acre of potato garden, for the
manure they collect, turn out tl)e manure, and plough the land
free of any charge ; cottages free of rent, and help to draw fuel.
—Co. Cork.

4. In some cases labourers get houses rent free, in addition to
wages of Is 2d a day or so. Working farmers frecpicntly clmrgo
for houses, and sometimes pay a portion of the wages by giving
their labourers some ground for potatoes, and pasture for a few
sheep. — Co. Cork.

5. In a few cases my labourers hohl a few acres of laud, the
rent of which is earned \^ork. — Co. Cxnlway.

S84

G. In most cases in tliis district where resident proprietors
employ labourers residing on their property, the rate of wages
is lower, and allowances ai'C made in the shape of lauds, fuel,
aud rent-free cottages. — Co. Galway.

7. None. — Co. Kildare.

8. No, not in ray own case, but the farmers pay in kind — part
in money and rest in food ; thus the wife and children at home
are not half fed. Some charge double price for a hovel and rood
of land ; thus the labourer is defrauded. — Co. Kildare.

9. None. — Co. Kerry.

10. Many farmers pay part wages by cabins and gardens rent
free, or rented at a charge allow^ed in account for labour. These
rents always excessive in the value. — Co. Kerry.

11. Yery seldom. — Co. Mayo.

12. A house, with an allowance of fuel, potatoes, milk, and
butter. — Co. Meath.

13. None in any case. — Co. Monaghan.

14. Not generally. In many instances the farmer gives the
use of a cottage and small garden to each of his labourers, at a
nominal rent. — Co. Eoscommon.

15. Several of my men have slated cottages which I built for
them. I also give some fuel (turf), and to some of the most
deserving a small quantity of ground, tilled aud manured, in
which they plant potatoes : this is along with my own tillage,
for the cottages have not any land attached, merely yards with
each. — Co. Tipperary.

16. There are some (but not a great many now) labourers
employed by the tenant farmers who bring them about 3* a
week, and give them a home and from a quarter to half an acre
of land, rent free.

17. The men I employ get Is 2d per day, with a cottage and a
quarter of an acre of land, rent free. — Co. Waterford.

18. Not as a general rule, but farm labourers in the country
houses and cottages at a moderate rent with a small garden.
— Co. Waterford.

19. Sometimes a cottage is given. — Co. "Wexford.

20. Free cottages and small gardens accompany the Is per day
from landlords I act for ; when more laud is given, a rent is
generally deducted from the Is per day.

285

21. Xone ; save occasionally gratuities in the shape of fuel,
etc., where circumstances indicate worthiness or necessity, occa-
sioned by illness or such visitation. — Co. Limerick.

22. Yes; rent-free cottages, and in many instances small
pieces of land for kitchen gardens.

23. None. — Co. Tipperary.

The Classes which have contributed to Emigration.

The next question I asked was as to whether Emigra-
tion was taking place, and of what classes it was com-
posed.

1. There has, chiefly among the small farming class. — Co.
Antrim.

2. Very great, consisting of miners, small landholders and
their families, labourers and household servants, male and
female, young, strong and healthy, and some few tradesmen. —
Co. Carlow.

3. Some has, principally the sons and daughters, female far-
mers and labourers. — Co. Cork.

4. Considerable emigration goes on in this district, mostly
farmer's sons and daughters and labourers. — Co. Cork.

5. Yes, labourers, artizans and farmer's sous. I receive rents
in 41 parishes, and do not know of an occupier of over five
acres of land emigrating for the last live years. — Co. Cork.

6. There has been considerable ; tlie class of persons emigrat-
ing are the younger members of families, tliose who from
youth, education, skill, and respectability, are most likely to
succeed as emigrants ; there arc lew cases \Yhcre aged people
emigrate. — Co. Galway.

7. There has been a steady and considerable eniigralion for
the last few years, and chiefly amongst the most abli.'-boiHed
men and women. — Co. Oalway.

8. Extensive emigration of our best class of labourers. —
Co. Kildare.

9. Very little, hardly ever a whole family, generally the
sons or daughters of small farmers. — Co. Kildare.

10. There has been an enormous emigration witliiji the last

286

tifteeu years from lliis district, chiefly consisting of what I
term potato-tenants. They were for the most part sent out
iu the first instance at the landlord's expense, when on the
point of starvation, and now annually send home considerable
sums of money to their friends, to induce them to join them
in America. — Co. Kerry.

11. The emigration is up to the full proportion from Kerry
as from the rest of Munster. The emigrants are nearly all of
the labouring class, who have been sent for from America. —
Co. Kerry.

12. Emigration has been considerable, chiefly of the junior
members of families and the best of the labouring classes. —
Co. Mayo.

13. The emigration has chiefly been of the labouring class,
and a few small tenant farmers. — Co. Meath.

14. From this estate an enormous emigratiou took place in
1850 and 51, all of the poorest class of persons, very small
farmers, and the wives and children of those who died in the
famine. All these emigrated entirely at the expense of the
landlord ; but no evictions took place to enforce or encourage
it, — Co. Kerry.

15. Yes ; principally the class of servants and labourers. —
Co. Koscommon.

16. The emigration from this neighbourhood has been great ;
Tcry much confined to the young, strong, healthy, males and
females of the farming class ; in many instances entire families
have gone. — Co. Tipperary.

17. There has been a moderate emigration, consisting chiefly
of the labouring class, and some of the sons and daughters of
the small farmers. — Co. Waterford.

18. Tes, very great, consisting of labourers and the yoimger
sons and daughters of small farmers. —Co. "Waterford.

19. Great numbers have emigrated of the most respectable
and enterprising of the farming class, nearly all Protestants. —
Co. Wexford.

20. Indeed, there has — very extensive emigration — a good
deal composed of the small farmer class, but chiefly and in by
far the greater proportion, the offspring of labourers and small
tradesmen, who have had little or no land. — Co. Limerick.

287

21. There has been, of the labouring class and of the small
farmers.

22. Chiefly of the labouring class.

23. There has been considerable emigration of the labouring
class, and the sous and daughters of farmers. — Co. Tipperary.

Have the younger sons of a small Farmer any other at-
ternative but Emigration, if their father' s farm is already
too small to be subdivided ?

1. It is not desirable to further subdivide the holdings, which
are already so small, and as parents seldom put their sons to
trades, no resource remains but emigration. — Co. Antrim.

2. None except enlisting in the army, or getting into the con-
stabulary.— Co. Carlow.

3. In many cases I do not think that the younger sons of
farmers had any other resource but emigration. — Co. Cork.

4. Not much. — Co. Cork.

5. Certainly not. — Co. Cork.

6. There are no manufactories or means of obtaining employ-
ment but that in connection with agricultural operations, and
this leads to the subdivision of farms among the younger sons
of farmers. — Co. Galway.

7. None whatever. — Co. Galway.

8. There is employment if they wished to avail themselves of it,
but they generally prefer emigration. — Co. Roscommon.

9. No other resource was open to the younger sons of tho
farmers, who were not of themselves latterly anxious to sub-
divide their holdings, independent of the wish on the part of
their landlords that they should not do so. A small sum
enabled the young men to emigrate, and it was diflicult, even
on the payment of a large sum for the " good will" of a farm,
to get one. — Co. Tipperary.

10. None. Except the ordinary trades in the neighbourhood,
which aftbrd only a limited field. — Co. Waterford.

11. If all the young men who left this neighbourhood for
America or Australia for the last few years had learned to bo
carpenters or masons, they would have found employracnl.

288

Many are now {j;oiug into the constabulary who woukl have
emigrated had the pay not been increased. — Co. Kildare.

12. Scarcely any. A few with interest got railway appoint-
ments, but really a well educated lad finds it very dillicult to
get any appointment. ^Co. Kildare.

13. None. Except to live at home as servant boy, and very
few wish to do that. — Co. Kerry.

14. In this country the subdivision of holdings is scarce ;
but here are large tracts of mountain bog highly capable of
improvement by drainage, &e. which would absorb much of
the extra population. Yet emigration must still make room
to a considerable extent. — Co. Mayo.

16. I endeavour in every way I can to discourage the subdi-
vision of farms, and have succeeded in consolidating them to
a very considerable extent. Under these circumstances the
younger sons, who used to marry and subdivide, have now
no other resource except emigration to America, emigration to
England, which goes on to a large extent, to the northern dis-
tricts, or to become " servant boys" to the farmers, for which
there is a large and increasing demand. — Co. Monaghan.

16. A further subdivision of land is not at all desirable.
The younger sons of farmers have scarcely any resource save
emigration, there being but little trade and no manufactures
in this locality. — Co. Waterford.

17. None that I know of. — Co. "Wexford.

18. I consider it very undesirable to encourage further sub-
division of land in this country, and though, as a rule, since sub-
dividing has become so restricted, the younger sons of farmers
have been greatly thrown on emigration, yet those who have
saved money are to a considerable extent able to settle at home,
by buying up small (often assumed) interests in farms which
have fallen into arrear. This is very generally done through
the medium of marriage, by^ which the outgoing party gets the
fortune — the incoming either the husband or wife with the
land — the outgoing people sometimes emigrate, sometimes
embark in small and generally unprosperous shopkeeping in
the next town. — Co. Limerick.

19. No.

20. I think they had, as tradesmen are becoming scarce, as

289

none of the young people liav^e boon l)onnd to trades in luj'
knowledge tin's last seven or eight years.

21. The younger sons of strong farmers emigrated because
they saw no chance of getting farms, and those of small far-
mers did so because they did not wish to become casual labour-
ers. Labourers emigrated because they could get better wages
abroad than at home. — Co. Tipperary.

Has the Emigi'ation been voluntary, or is it to be attri-
buted to eviction, or to amj pressure on the part of the
landlord ?

1. Almost in every instance the emigi'ation has been voluntary
and not attributed to eviction. — Co. Antrim.

2. Unquestionably, the gi-eater part of the emigration has
taken place without eviction or other interference of landlords.
— Co. Carlow.

3. Evictions have very little to do with emigration. The
majority of emigrants are farmers' sons and daughters and
labourers and their families. — Co. Cork.

4. Not amongst occupiers of land. — Co. Cork.

5. The instances are rare, but I have known comfortable
farmers dispose of and abandon their holdings to join relatives
in Australia, &c. &c. — Co. Galway.

G. No.— Co. Galway.

7. The emigrants go of their own accord and without any
pressure. I have been agent over properties in this county for
30 years and never knew a tenant emigrate from coercion. —
Co. Kildare.

8. No. My experience is that no man will consent to sur-
render land, however small his holding, in order to emigrate,
unless he and his family are on the point of starvation. In
1849 and 1850 they were on the point of starvation, and when
the landlord offered them emigration free, they went in vast
numbers. — Co. Kerry,

9. I am sure the great bulk of tiic emigrants have gone aw.iy
from lands not evicted, and without even tlir knowledge of the
landlords, and certainly without any pressure put upon them,
and only in a very few ca.ses have tenants been *' bought out"

U

200

by tlie laudlovil at tlirir own irnucst mostly, or on being refused
leave to subdivide. — Co. Kerry.

10. There are several iustancos of emigration perfectly volun-
tary.— Co. Mayo.

1 1. 1 have known many in tlie counties of Limerick and Clare,
and also in my own district, who have emigrated of their own
free will without any pressure put upon them by their land-
lords.— Co. Meath.

12. On this estate 3,500 (in round numbers) were emigrated
at the landlord's expense, without a single case of eviction, or
moral pi-essure to go. There were at that time (in 1849)
10,400 persons receiving relief iu the Union, and about 8000
off this estate alone. I offered free emigration to any port they
pleased in America to as many as chose to accept it, and give
up their little plots of ground if they had any, to all w ho were
in the unions chargeable to the estate, and I could scarcely meet
my engagement, so fearful was the pressure upon me to avail
themselves of my offer. They rushed out of the country as rats
out of a den where certain starvation attended them, and at
the rate of 200 per week I sent them out, insisting iu every
case that they should be admitted by the Guardians as paupers
into the poor house as a test of poverty to qualify for this
charity of emigration. They nearly sw^amped the house rush-
ing in, but as fast as they did I sent them off at 200 heads per
week. At last the plethora was relieved, and the Union of

breathed freely. It cost the landlord £13,000 ; but the

passage to America was cheap at that time ; not one vessel
was lost in which our emigrants went out.

13. Emigration in this part of the country is not confined to
any particular locality, nor am I aware of the interference of
any landlord having caused emigration. — Co. Eoscommon.

14. AV^ithin the last few years I have known several eases
of tenants emigrating of their own free will without any
\\ ish of the landlords that they should do so. In former years,
1848 to 1852, landlords encouraged emigration and afforded
facilities to the smaller class of tenants to do so ; it was then of
advantage to both parties, as well as to the tenantry on the
same estate, whose farms were enlarged thereby. — Co. Tip-
perary.

291

15. I know of uo iuatances where the moral pressure referred
to has been exercised to induce emigration, and I know many
instances on areas where no evictions have taken place and in
which emigration has nevertheless prevailed to a great extent,
— Co. Wacerford.

16. Most of the emigration from this district, except tliat
which immediately followed the potato famine, has been of an
entirely voluntary character. — Co. Waterford.

17. In almost every case the emigration was voluntary. — Co.
"Wexford.

18. I can furnish a tolerably long and perfectly authentic list
ot parties who have emigrated of their own accord. — Co.
Limerick.

19. Numerous instances of emigration have taken place where
evictions had nothing to do with them ; but possibly wliere
landlords would not allow subdivision, or sons or daughters, or
nephews or nieces, to marry and bring wives or husbands to
live in the houses of fathers and mothers, and then quarrel and
seek to divide houses or lauds, may have inllucuccd many io
emigrate.

20. A great many have emigrated on account of the name of
high wages being in America. — Co. Tipperary.

21. Some portion of the emigration immediately after 1847,
was certainly caused by small liolders linding out that they
could not get oji when tlie potato crop becanu' so uncertain. ^ —
Co. Cork.

22. The famine years of 18 IG, 1817, and 1818, pruvod the
great uncertainty of the potato crop, and therefore vastly
stimulated emigration. — Co. Galway.

23. I believe very few holders of laud surrondercd their farms
in consequence of their inadequacy to support them when
the potato was gone, because I believe very few surrendered
tlieir land until they were starving, and when tliey wen-
starving they could not have had the means to pay fi)r
their passage to America. I believe that from ISI-Gto LS.lc),
tiie chief proportion of emigrants consi.Hted of the sons and
daughters of small holders. ]']ach family perhaps sending
out one member, who soon cent for bin or her brotheri and
sisters, and eventually, perhaps ior the old peo[)le. I cannot

IJ 2

0()0

licliovc lliat ninny ncliKil lioUlcrs of Innd cniignitcd at all to
America, for tliey would not think of going until all tlioir own
means were expended, and a very few landlords were suffi-
ciently liberal to emigrate their potato-tenants uhcn they
became paupers. The general desire to emigrate, no doubt
arose from the impression upon the minds of the people, that
the potato being gone, the laud was no longer able to support
them. I speak above of the county generally. In this neigh-
hood the landlord paid for the free emigration of about 3000
persons oft' his estate, most of whom had left their land, and gone
into poor-houses, pressed by actual starvation, their small plots
not being able to support them, unless through the means of
the potato.

2-i. I am quite certain the failure of the potato was the
cause. I know of many, very many cases in this County,
Mayo, where the dividing and subdividing before the famine
reduced the holdings to about Si statute acres of arable land,
when as a matter of course when the potato went, all went. —
Co. Mayo.

25. The emigration was occasioned by the small holders dis-
cerning they could not exist on their plots of land without the
assistance of the potato. — Co. Monaghau.

2G. The failure of the potato. Besides they had encourage-
ment from friends and hope of better wages by emigration. —
Co. Eoscommon.

27. I have no hesitation in giving my opinion that " the loss
of the potato" occasioned the first great emigration, and in
which the landlords aided the small tenants. But of late years
a different cause produced the emigration of a better class. —
Co. Tipperary.

28. Small tenants on poor land, especially found themselves
without the means of either paying rent or supporting them-
selves.— Co. AVaterford.

Arahle v. Pasture.

The next fjuestion referred to a point which has been
the suhjcct of a good derd of angry controversy, viz : the

293

circumstances wliicli occasionally lead to tlio conversion
of arable land into pasture.

Among the various other accusations with which Irish
proprietors have been assailed, has been that of driving
their tenantry from their estates, in order to lay down
the vacated farms in grass, and it has been broadly
asserted that they were gi-adually converting the island
into one large cattle farm. I do not myself reside in
a district suitable for pasture, and therefore I am not
so competent to deal with this question as those who live
in the great Pasture Counties, but, in the first place,
there are statistics, which prove that this excessive con-
version of Tillage into Pasture has not taken place at all ;
while, in the next, the subjoined replies on the subject
from persons residing in different parts of Ireland, and
not in communication with one another, show in a most
decisive manner, that the recent tendency to change from
crops to grass, which has been exhibited during the last
three or four years, is not to be attributed to any direct or
indirect interference on the part of the landlord, but to
the natural inclination of the tenant to apply his land to
the most remunerative uses.

In 1849, the total number of acres under crops in ire-
land amounted to 5,543,718; while in 18GG they were
5,519,078, showing a decrease in 27 years of exactly
24,070 acres.*

* An attempt has been made to show that in is 1 1 lluii?

were 7,000,000 of acres under cultivutiou in Irchiml, and LliiiL

the estimated value of the crops amounted id .■€.")(),()( )0,00( ) ;

this absurd dolu.siou has been already dealt wit li liy D'"- IbnicoeK,

whose observations on the subject 1 subjoin.

" It has been alleged in the House of Conunons —

" Til at llio ngrifultural returns aliowetl tliat in nic ye;u' ISH,

tlic number of acres under cullivaLion was 7,0U<>,U(-M.>, while in

18G2 it was only 5,7^^1,000."

094

During tlic wliuli^ of the last decade, so far from there
being an inclination to lay down tillage land in grass, the

Prom this etatcmeut it would naturally be supposed that
liicre was some system of collecting agricultural returns iu
ISil similar to that by which the number quoted in 1862 was
obtained ; but sucli is not the fact. The collection of the
agricultural statistics of Ireland was commenced in 1847, and
iienee I have commenced my tables with that year.

Again, it might be supposed that this information was
obtained by the Census Commissioners in 1841 ; but no such
returns were obtained by the Census Commissioners in 1841.

The Census Commissioners in 1841 obtained information of
the number of cattle, and size of farms, and the total extent of
arahle land, as distinguished from waste, but no information as
to number of acres under crops. The alleged number of
7,000,000 acres under crops in 1841 was not ascertained by
oilicial returns, and as a private estimate it is, to my mind, in-
credible.

From 1S41 there was no extensive change in the way land
was held oi- cropped up to 1846, so that it is safe to assume
that there were as many acres under crop in 1846 as in 1841.
Now, it was ascertained by careful investigation, in the collec-
tion of agricultural statistics, that thei"3 were 5,238,575 acres
under crops of all kinds in 1847. Any person who had any
general acquaintance with the country in 1846 and 1847, knows
that 1,761,425 acres of land did not go out of cultivation in
the spring of 1847.

Tlie estimated acreage for flax may be assumed to be pretty
accurate, as also may be the acreage added for turnips and hay,
for, as live stock was much less numerous in 1841 than iu
1849, aud as potatoes were in 1841 largely grown and very
productive, the acreage under hay and turnips would be much
less iu 1841 than in 1849.

If the corrections referred to be introduced into Mr.
M'Culloch's estimate, and assuming that Mr. M'Culloch's
estimate in 1846 is the authority for the estimate under dis-
cussion, the estimate of 7,000,000 acres under crops iu 1841
is reduced to 5,587,441 acres, a less number tliau has been

295

tendency has been all in the opposite direction, and in
1860 there were actually 400,000 more acres under crops
than there were in 1 850. Since then, however, circum-

ascertaiued to have been under crops in any year since 1850,
with the exception of 1851 ; and less, to the extent of 382,G98
acres, than the maximum of 5,970,139 acres under crops in
1860. Thus the worthlessuess of the argument for progressive
decline, founded on the decrease of land under crops, is
rendered manifest.

An allegation has been made that the crops in 1811 were of
the estimated value of .3650,000,000. This is to be rejected as
unworthy of serious consideration. There were no official
returns of produce in 1811 ; and when the private estimates of
acreage seem to be so erroneous, private estimates of produce
must be still less to be relied on.

It appears from a general view of all the Tables of acreage
under crops, that in the year ISGO there were devoted to the
growth of cereals, flax, potatoes, turnips, and other green crops,
nearly as many acres as in 1819, and nearly 300,000 acres
more than in 1847 ; to the growth of hay and clover, upwards
of 400,000 acres more than in 1847 or 1849. There were in
pasturage in 18G0, probably upwards of 1,200,000 acres more
than in 1847.

Thus, while pasturage has increased, it is not by subtraction
from the total quantity of land formerly devoted to the growth
of crops, but by the reclamation of land which in 1811 was
considered as improvable waste.

In 1841 there were in Ireland 13,1G1,.301 acres of arable
land, whilst in IHiiO the arable land of Ireland had iiicreascd to
15,400,000 acres, showing an addition of nearly 2,(XH>,U00 pro-
ductive acres.

The population have not been changed from agricultural
labourers into cattle-herds, as alleged by some, but cxlcnded
cattle farming has been added to the previous aiuount of culti-
vation of cereals, potatoes, turnips, and flax. !So far, thcrcfctre,
as the industry of man is concerned, there has bccu no decrease
in the cultivation of the soil.

fF. N. Hancock, LL.D., Alleged JJvclinc of Irish I'lospcntij.

29G

stances have again led the ftuMucr to recur to pasture ; an
inclination to be referred^ first to the enormous losses
they sustained on their cereal crops through a succession
of three extraordinarily wet seasons, and which have been
estimated by Dr. Hancock as amounting to several
millions ;* and, secondly, to the enhanced prices, both of
wool and stock, which have prevailed during the last
three or four years.f

The rise in the price of labour may also have had some-
thing, though very little, to do "svith it, but if the Irish
farmer can only grow grain to a profit on condition that
his labourers are as miserably paid as in former days, J he
had better give up the attempt.

There is one point, hovv^ever, connected with this sub-
ject, which has not escaped the acute observation of Dr.
Neilson Hancock, it is well worthy of consideration, viz : —
that the increase of our green crops has not been com-
mensurate with the increase of our sheep and cattle, im-
plying a very rude and imsatisfactory style of farming,

* It thus appears that the annual losses of farmers on the
four chief products of oats, wheat, potatoes, and cattle, may be
estimated as follows : — From July, 1860, to July, 1801, at
^4,544,147 ; from July, ISGl, to July, 1862, at £10,360,049 ;
from July, 1862, to July, 1863, at ^12,109,750. The loss in
cattle was consequent on a hay famine.

t Total value of five stock in 1863 £30,050,671
„ 1866 £35,178,040

Increase in 3 years £5,127,369
X " The evidence already given to Parliament shows that the
average wages of a labouring man in Ireland (and the great
mass of the poor are labourers), is worth scarcely three pence a
day. Three pence a day for such as obtain employment, whilst
in a family where one or two persons are employed^ there may
be four, perhaps six, others, depcndcut on these two for their
support." — Uiy. Dcv. Com.

297

wliicli lie is disposed to attribute to the discouragement
to high farming, entailed by the absence of leases.

I now subjoin the answers I received to my queries as
to whether the conversion of arable into pasture, wherever
such conversion was taking place, was to be attributed to
the direct or indirect influence of the landlord, or to the
prospect of profit afforded by the rise in the price of stock.*

Conversion of Arable into Pasture.

1. In no way to he attributed to landlord influence. — Co.
Antrim.

2. Certainly not to the former. I do not know of any case in
which a landlord interfered either directly or indirectly : the
tenants do so of their own accord. — Co. Carlow.

3. I don't think it is to be attributed to the direct or indirect
influence of the landlord. It is produced by the natural incli-
nation of the occupier of the land acting in the way which he
thinks most to his advantage. — Co. Cork.

4. The natural inclination of the tenant. — Co. Cork.

5. I don't think it is influenced by the landlord, the tenant
thinks it more his interest to do so, — Co. Cork.

6. One circumstance that led largely to the conversion of
arable into tillage land in this district was the famine of 1S4G to
1848, and the subsequent insecurity of rent wliich threw into the
landlord's hands an extent of land that he could only deal with
in pasture. This was a corn growing country before the repeal
of the Corn Laws — and the exports of corn from Galway was

* Increase of Stock since 18G0.

18G0. 186G. Increase.

Piga . . 1,271,072 . . 1,493,523 . . 222,451
Sheep . . 3,542,080 . . 4,270,027 . . 728,947
Tlio hay famine of 1859 led to a great decrease in the
number of cattle, from which, during tlie last three years,
we have been rapidly recovering : —

18G3. 18GG. Increase.

Cattle . . 3,144,231 . . 3,742,932 . . 597,701

298

Tcry large — no corn is now exported, it will not pay to grow it
for export, and as tiic price of stock has increased the natural
inclination of the tenants is to convert the land as far as possi-
hle into pasture. — Co. Galway.

7. It is attributahle chiefly to the difficulty of getting la-
bourers— a landlord has nothing to do with it, besides the Irish
tenant has not capital to stock land and must till it. The Irish
tenant has to take his capital out of the farm in place of putting
it into it. — Co. Kildare.

8. Owing to the high price of stock. — Co. Kildare.

9. The tenant is led of his own inclination. — Co. Kerry.

10. It is to be attributed to the influence of the landlord in
preventing congestion to the labouring class for fear of pau-
perism, but mainly to the natural inclination of the tenant as
living iu accordance with what he considers his interest,
which is produced by the scarcity of labourers preventing pro-
fitable tillage — and from the high price of butter and cattle for
the last ten or twelve years. The butter produce of this coun-
try is worth three times the government valuation, .£277,000=
56831,000.— Co. Kerry.

11. Not from any influence of the landlord, but from the low
price of corn and high price of sheep and cattle. — Co. Mayo.

12. The landlords have not used any influence directly or
indirectly on very many estates, of which I have a personal
knowledge. — Co. Meath.

13. Entirely to the natural inclination of the tenant in the
counties alluded to, partly from the high price of stock and
wool as compared with corn, and partly from the increase in the
rate of wages, and in harvest, the difficulty on an emergency
of procuring sufficient hands. — Co. Monaghan.

14. It is done at the free will of the tenant. — Co. Eoscommon.

15. I do not think that either directly or indirectly the
" landlord" influence gave any impetus to that tendency, or
that the land was thrown into grazing from any advice or sug-
gestion expressed by the landlords : it was unlikely they would
so interfere with their tenants: for if matters turned out con-
trary to the interest of the latter in the way of making money :
give the ojiportunity of saying, " Ton advised it so," the natural
interest of the tenant to manage his land as he considered

299

it would pay liim best, was, I think, the cause of the large pro-
portion of the land being converted into pasture, another cause
was, the land being given up to, or taken up by the landlords,
who in many cases held it for a short time, unimproved, then
let it to a class of farmers who had realized some money by
grazing and who did not break it up, either to clear it or
manure it.— Co. Tipperary.

IG. To the high price of stock, particularly where the tenant
gets any assistance from tlie landlord, to do so either by an al-
lowance, for manure, or grass seeds, or for the purchase of
stock. — Co. Waterford.

17. Where tliis tendency has shown itself, it has been
solely in accordance with the tenant's own wish and interests —
Co. AV^aterford.

18. Entirely owing to the natural inclinations of the ten-
antry, and the growing experience of its advantages : I do not
believe the landlords have exercised any influence in this res-
pect..— Co. Limerick.

19. The landlord's influence has nothing to do with it— none
is exercised — the tenant studies his own interests ; he wit<hcs to
avoid employing labourers and take advantage of the prices for
live stock.

20. To the natural inclinations of the tenant acting in ac-
cordance with what he considers his interest.

21. Inclination of the tenant to make the most he can of his
lands. — Co. Tipperary.

22. It is principally to be attributed to the high price of
stock. — Co. Carlow.

23. To high prices.— Co. Cork.

24i. The increased value of stock, wool, and butter, and i/ia
uncertainty of corn fjroic'nn/ in wi-t seanons are the chief causow
for the increase of pasture, but the advance in the price of
labour has something to do with it also. — Co. Cork.

25. Chiefly on account of the high price of stock : twocwoH
will make as much as a statute acre of oats, and with one twen-
tieth the cost. An acre of land that will only suppdrt two
ewes will produce only about fourteen cwt. of oats, wliidi nt i.s-
per stone, £5. 12;?, two owes will yield Cr). 10* in lainhs ;ind
wool. I have tried them on the Hamc land.— Co. Cork.

300

LH;. High pricey. — Co. Galway.

27. Tlio price of stock, as compared with agricultural produce
lias had some influence. — Co. Galway.

2S. Increased pasturage is certainly to be attributed to the
rise in stock, butter, and wool more than to anything else.
— Co. Kerry.

29. The increase in the price of stock. — Co. Kerry.

30. The price of stock, and in addition to the dearness of
labour, which from the actual increase in wages and disinclina-
tion for honest work is enhanced nearly 100 per cent. — Co,
Mayo.

31. Certainly to the causes named, combined with dis-
couragement from bad harvests, and what is called " scarcity of
labour." But this is only called so by tliose lolio recollect lohen
labour ivas a drug in the market. — Co. Monaghan.

32. Prices always affect the course farmers pursue in the
management of their farms. — Co. Roscommon.

33. The advance in price of stock, butter, and wool, coupled
with the low prices at which corn (especially wheat, thougb
not generally a heavy crop) of all kinds, ranged for the last few
years, and the natural inclination of every man to turn to the
mode by which he could realize most profit from land, were
the chief causes of the change from agriculture to pasture,
coupled with the advanced price of labour. — Co. Tipperary.

34. Partly owing to the rise in the price of stock and butter
in this locality. — Co. "Waterford.

35. The rise in the price of stock, butter, and wool no doubt
has weighed with the farmer in converting arable into pasture
in conjunction with the uncertainty of profitable tillage. —
Co. Waterford.

36. The bad seasons and the high price of stock.

37. These circumstances have certainly been great incentives
to the adoption of the change referred to.

38. Mainly the high prices attainable, and the non-employ-
ment of labourers were great inducements. — Co. Tipperary.

Whether the existing proportion between the areas under
crops and under cattle in Ireland, viz., 5,600,000 acres of tillage
to 10,000,000 acres of pasture be the best, is a question which

301

I do uot feel in a position to discuss. It is equally a matter
beyond the competence of Parliament to determine. But the
very fact of that proportion having been so long maintained,
would seem to prove it very suitable to the climate, the soil,
and the agricultural exigencies of the country.

Of course it is very evident that a greater number of
persons can be provided vrith employment on tillage than on
pasture, but if this argument is of any weight, it is as applica-
ble to the 17,000,000 acres of pasture in England and Wales,
as it is to the 10,000,000 acres of pasture in Ireland ; at all
events, in considering the present situation of Ireland, we must
accept such conditions as we find established, and found our
conclusions on a basis of fact, and not on speculative contin- .
gencies which may never occur.

That a large extent of pasture is an essential element in a
prosperous system of agriculture, is well noted by M. de
Laveleye in the following observations : —

*' Pour Tentretien du betail, I'Angleterre a I'avantage enorrae
d'avoir la moitie de son territoire en prairies naturelles, qui
n'occupent en Elandre que la sixieme partie du sol."

Eco. Bur. p. 93.

"II faut cependant remarquerque I'inferiorite de la Belgique
sous ce rapport provient surtout du pcu d'etendue relative des
prairies naturelles, auxquellcs son sol ne se pr^te guere. EUes
n'occupent que le cinquieme de la surface productive, au lieu
de la moitie, comme dans les iles Britanniques ; or c'est lii uu
avantage enorme pour celles-ci, car cette grandc proportion de
bons herbages favorise reutrctien d'un noinbrcux betail et par
suite facilite singulierement uue exploitation rationnelle de
terres arables." — Eco. Bur. p. 224.

302
APPENDIX.

Rate of Subdivision of Land in France.

{Seep. 220.)

Although the statements in the text and notes of the
preceding chapter, convey what I believe to be a correct
estimate of some of the characteristics of French agri-
culture as signalized by many eminent authorities, it is
well to mention that great difficulty seems to exist in
obtaining perfectly accurate data with respect to the rate
at which the subdivision of land has been going on of
late years in France. As I have no personal acquaintance
with the subject, I have thought it fair to subjoin an ex-
tract from the work of a very distinguished French writer
who denies that the disintegration of landed property has
either been so great or so disastrous as is alleged. He
founds his conclusions on the results of a partial'" recense-
ment des cadastres" which took place in 1851. The
justice of his views however, are, I understand, disputed.

" Tandis qu'en France la population generale, durant le laps de
temps ecoule entre les anciens et les nouveaux cadastres, s'est
accrue de 18 p. KX), le nombre des cotes foncieres dans les localites
ou les operations cadastrales ont ete renouvelees ne s'est eleve que
d'un peu moins de 11 p. 100, et, deduction faite de celles des cotes
nouvelles qui proviennent, soit des alienations de domaines publics,
soit de distractions de portions du sol sur lesquelles il a ete bati,
cette augmentation n'a certainement pas excede la proportion de 7
p. 100.

" En ce qui touche les parcelles, le nombre n'en a augmente que
d'un peu moins de 1 et demi p. 100, et, corame il faut faire la part
des parcellements dus les uns aux ventes de domaines publics, les
autres a I'etablissement de maisons et de constructions nouvelles
la surtout ou les populations se sont agglomerees davantage, il est
vraisemblable que, dans les cantons et communes ou le cadastre a
ete renouvele, le territoire agricole ne contient plus autant de par-
celles qu'il en contenait il y a trente-deux ans."

The point is but of secondary importance to our inquiry.
Every one admits that the subdivision of land in France
is frequently excessive, and no one would pretend that
because a very minute comminution of the soil is com-
patible with agricultural prosperity in France, it would
necessarily be advantageous in Ireland.

803

The Progress of French Agriculture.

No fairer statement of the progress of Freucli agricul-
ture can probably be found than in the subjoined passao-e
from the work upon the subject by M. de Lavergne. Yet,
though evidently auxious to take as favourable a view as
possible, M. de Ijavergue is forced to admit that France
is still, ''Three quarters of a century behind England."

"De tout ce qui precede resulte le tableau suivantpour
le partage du produit brut par hectare.

1789.
Eente du Proprietaire . 12 fr.
Benefice de I'exploitaDt . 5

Frais accessoircs . . 1

Impots foneiers et climes . 7

Salaires . . . . 25

1815.

1859.

18 fr.

30 fr.

G

10

2

5

4

5

30

50

Total . . 50 fr. GO fr. 100 fr.
" Ces progres suffisent pour nous inspirer un legitime
orgueil et une juste confiance dans Pavenir ; mais nous ne
devons jamais oublier qu'ils auraient fut etre au moins
doubles puisque nous avons perdu la moitie environ du
temps ecoule depuis la revolution. Un pays voisin, chez
qui les principes de 1789 ont etc, malgre quelques excep-
tions apparentes, plus ancienncment et plus constamment
appliques que chez nous, a fait dans le memo laps de temps
des progres plus rapides encore. En 1 789, lo lloyaume-
Uni avait 18 millions et demi d'habitants; il en a au-
jourd^hui bien pris de 30, sans compter plusieurs millions
d' Anglais repandus dans les colonies ; sa population a
done plus que double tandis que la notro no s'est accrue
que d'un tiers. II ne nous a pas fallu moins do soixanto
dix ans pour defricher deux millions d'hcctares delaiides,
supprimer la moitie do nos jacheres, doubler nos produits
ruraux, accroitre la population de 30 pour 100, le salairo
de 100 pour 100, la rente de 150 pour 100. A co compto,
il nous faudrait encore trois quarts de siecle pour arriver
au point o\x en est aujourd'hui rAngletcrre."

Economie Rurulc de la Fr(nicv,p. T)*,).
M. L. de Lavergtie, 18G1.

304

GENERAL APPENDIX.

In connection with tlie subject considered in the fore-
going pages, the subjoined remarks by Dr. Long-field on
the Irish Land Question are well worthy of consideration.

VALUATION.

The capacity of land employed in agriculture to yield rent
depends on the excess of the annual produce above the annual
outlay necessary to secure that produce. Every circumstance
therefore, that tends to increase the amount or value of the
produce, or that reduces the necessary or useful annual outlay,
will increase the rent, or value of the land. No one, therefore,
can form a correct judgment of the value of a farm by the mere
examination of the land, however carefully and skilfully that
examination may be made. But although the knowledge to
be acquired by such an examination is not sufficient, yet it is a
necessary preliminary to the formation of a correct judgment
of the value of land.

Few persons are aware of the difficulty of this examination.
It is not easy to compare several different farms as instruments
of production, for the nature of the several products may be
altogether unlike. One farm may be most profitably employed
in raising wheat, another in fattening heavy bullocks, a third
in flax, a fourth in green crops, turnips, mangolds, or potatoes.
In each case it is the most profitable course of cultivation,
according to the skill of the fainner that determines the value
of the land. Its capacity under any less profitable course of
cultivation has little or no effect upon the value. Thus, if we
are to compare two farms which are most profitably employed

305

as old pasture, it would be almost useless to know tlicir relative
powers of producing wheat or flax. Still the inquiry must be
made, for it may turn out that the present mode of cultivation
is not the best adapted to the nature of the soil. The land
that at present yields indifferent wheat may produce admirable
and profitable crops of flax, and thus enable tlie cultivators to
pay a fair rent, and reap a handsome profit. The valuator must,
therefore, be a skilful farmer, able to form a probable estimate
of the results of the various modes of cultivation which may be
adopted by a tenant of ordinary intelligence.

AVhat is most generally proposed is, that every tenant
should be entitled to a valuation of his farm, and to hold his
land for ever at a rent to be determined by such valuation.
Nothing can be more unjust than to substitute a valuation for
a contract ; but the injustice is not manifest at first sight, for
the words appear fair. Why, it is said, should any tenant be
required to pay more than the fair value for his farm ? But
every one who has any experience knows that nothing can be
more uncertain and undetermined than the valuation of land.
It is not uncommon to see two valuators diftering enormously
in their estimates, and yet neither suffering in reputation as if
he had made a discreditable mistalve. In thi.s case all the mis-
takes would be made in ftivour of the tenant. It' any mistake
were made against him the remedy v;ould be in his own hands,
as he would not take the land ; but indeed no such mistake
would be made, for there would be a constant loaning in favour
of the tenant. It is certain that the value as fixed under any
tenant-right measure would be less than half the fair rent
which a solvent tenant would willingly pay for the land. It is
obvious that rs soon as the possession of land ceased to be a
subject of contract by mutual agreement, the valuators would
have no average market value to refer to, and would form their
estimates on the wildest principles.

Waiving for a moment all objections to the injustice of
this proceeding, the question still arises, would it bo of any
benefit to the farmers as a class? Of course the individuals at

X

80(1

present iu possession would <;ain a pecuniary advantage, by
being permitted to break their contracts, and confiscate the
property of their landlords. But what would be the position
of future tenants ? A farmer has a lease for twenty-one years
at a rent of £100 a year. By the proposed tenant-right he
gets it for ever at a rent of £50. But if he or his son wishes to
change his residence, and follow some other pursuit, docs any
man suppose that he will let it to a tenant, to have it valued
on the tenant-right scheme ? No. He would know that this
would be to give away his property to a stranger. He will sell
his tenant-right probably for £1500, and his successor will sub-
stantially have to pay not .3650, but ^6125 a year for the land ;
viz. £50 for the rent, and ^£75 interest on the capital expended
in the purchase of the tenant-right. Entering upon the land
with crippled means, the capital that might have been more
usefully employed in the cultivation of the soil having been ex-
pended in the purchase of the tenant-right, he will have reason
to regret the change in the law which prevented him from deal-
ing directly with the head landlord. The change as to all future
farmers would be equivalent to a law, that no man should be
permitted to occupy land as a farmer, except on the payment
of a heavy fine. On the efiiect of this change on the cultiva-
tion of land there is not room for much difference of opinion.
Adam Smith * thus describes the effects : — " Some landlords, in-
stead of raising the rent, take a fine for the renewal of the lease.
This practice is in most cases the expedient of a spendthrift,
who for a sum of ready money sells a future revenue of much
greater value. It is iu most cases therefore hurtful to the land-
lord. It is frequently hurtful to the tenant, and it is always
hurtful to the community. It frequently takes from the ten-
ant so great a part of his capital, and thereby diminishes so
much his ability to cultivate the land, that he finds it more
difficult to pay a small rent, than it otherwise would have been
to pay a great one. Whatever diminishes his ability to cul-

* Wealth of Nations, Book v. rhap. 2.

807

tivate necessarily keeps down, below what it would otherwise
have been, the most important part of the revenue of the com-
munity. By rendering the tax upon such fines a good deal
heavier than upon the ordinary rent, this hurtful practice
might be discouraged, to the no small advantage of the diflferent
parties concerned — of the landlord, of the tenant, of the sove-
reign, and of the whole community." This "hurtful practice,"
which Adam Smith wished to discourage by increased taxation,
w^ould under the tenant-right system become the necessary
universal practice tbroughout all Ireland. No tenant could
obtain the possession of land without the payment of a con-
siderable fine, the only difierence being that the fine should be
paid to the preceding tenant instead of the landlord, a difference
not affecting his interests, or the interests of the public. It
would most usually happen that the fine or purchase money
exacted would be so large that the incoming tenant must have
recourse to a loan to raise the greater part of it. Tlic condi-
tion of the new tenants would then be this, that he would hold
his land for ever at a moderate rent, but on the other hand he
would have been deprived of all the capital with which he could
have cultivated it successfully, and in addition he will be sub-
ject to the payment of interest to the mortgagee of an annual
sum which, with the rent he pays, would make at least the full
value ol the land. In any season of distress he would feel the
difference between having the landlord or the mortgagee as his
creditor. The labouring classes would be great sufferers by
this change. The inferior cultivation of the land would diminish
the amount of profitable employment for their labour, and
reduce wages. The change would increase the disadvanfagcs
under which poorer men or men of small ca])ital unavoidably
labour. At present, if a man possesses a small capilal. and
some agricultural slull and energy, he may ho[)C to j)roi'iirc a
farm of sufficient extent to employ all his capital witli [jrofil .
But on tlio pro])Oscd new system, he should cxiicml Mic grcalcr
jiartofhis capital in the purc'.iase of a very sinalM'ann. .'ind
reserve a small rt'iunant only for pi'dfitable cniiilo) inrnl. At

X 2

308

the same time the poorer man could never hope to rise above
the couilition of a common day labourer, as he never could save
enough of money both to buy a farm and cultivate it.

And vrliile no class of persons would derive any advantage
from the proposed change, it may be fairly asked why should
the landlords be robbed of their clear rights, for the benefit
not of any class, but of the individuals merely who happen at
present to be the occupying tenants ? If the landlords are to
be robbed it should be done for the benefit of the community
at large, and not of any individuals ; least of all, the individuals
who alone would benefit by the proceeding. Their only claim
is this : they say that too hard a bargain has been made. But
no deceit has been practised on them, they entered into the
contract voluntarily and ought to abide by it. But if they are
entitled to any redress, the only just remedy would be to
rescind the contract of which tliey complain to let them give
back the land to the landlord, and be free from all future
liability to pay rent.

THE CUSTOM OF TENANT EIGHT IN ULSTER.

In connection with the subject of tenant right I have

thought it advisable to append a portion of my evidence

on the Ulster Custom before Mr. Maguire's Committee

in 1864.

# « # *

960. Chairman.'] Is it your impression that agriculture is in
a very flourisliing condition in Ireland, or that it is in a very
backward condition ? — There can be no doubt that agriculture
in Ireland is in a backward condition, and that it is more back-
ward in some parts of the country than in others ; but I think
that even in the most advanced parts of Ireland the agriculture
is inferior to the agriculture in the best districts of England and
Scotland.

9G1. Would you say that agriculture is more advanced in the

309

province of Ulster than in other parts of Ireland ? — I do
not think it would do to say in Ulster generally, because there
are parts of Ulster in which the agriculture is in as backward
a condition as in any other part of Ireland ; but the largest pro-
portion of good agriculture in Ireland I should say was in Ulster.

962. In what portions of Ulster would you say ? — In my own
county, the county of Down, in Armagh, IMonaghau, part of
Antrim, part of Tyrone, and part of Donegal.

963. To what amongst other reasons would you attribute
the more advanced condition of agriculture in those portiovis of
Ulster ? — I believe, but of course it is only my impression, and
I cannot go beyond that, that the inhabitants of those portions
of Ireland in which agriculture is superior are more industrious
than the inhabitants of other parts of Ireland where agriculture
is in a less forward state ; and I also believe that the relations
subsisting, and which have subsisted for years between the
landlords and the tenantry in those parts where the agriculture
is in a forward condition, have been upon the whole better than
in those parts of the country where the agriculture is now in a
less forward condition.

964. In those parts of the country to which you allude does
the custom of tenant-right exist? — Yes.

965. "Will you have the goodness to explain to the Committee
what is meant by tenant-right ? — Certainly. But perhaps, in
connection with my last answer, in order that its eficct may not
be misunderstood if followed by the question which you have
addressed to me, I think it right to state that I should not be
disposed to attribute those good relations subsisting between
the tenantry and tlie landlords of the north of Ireland to the
existence of tenant-right, but that the existence of what is
called the custom of tenant-ri^^lit has been the consccjucnce of
those good relations.*

9G6. Is tenant-right a mnltcr of recent origin, or Ims it

* Although the custom of Tenant Kighthas been estaliiishcd
as a custom by the moderation and lair dealing of the UJHier
landlords, the loyalty of the tenantry to each itllicr has conlri-
buted to its maintenances. A landlord wiio was considcrrd to
have treated an outgoing-tenant with injuslict^ would find
difficulty in getting another tenant to lake tju; farm.

310

existed for a considerable time in those counties ? — I tliink the
custom of tenant-right is a very difficult one cither to describe
or to explain, and perhaps very few people would be disposed
to agree as to its historical origin. The custom may be, I think,
thus defined: Teuaut-riglit is a custom under which the tenant
farmers of the north of Ireland, or, at all events, in those
districts where that custom prevails, expect when they have
occasion to give up possession of their farms, that tlieir land-
lords will allow them to obtain from the incoming tenant such
a sum as shall remunerate them for their improvements upon
those forms. But at the same time, though I think that that
is a perfectly legitimate definition of the custom of tenant-right
as now understood, there is undoubtedly another element wliich
exists, and which influences the operation which I have de-
scribed. But the element is a very impalpable one, because,
although of late, since the question has been agitated and the
real elements of tenant-right have been analysed by public dis-
cussion, even the farmers themselves will describe their claim
as a claim on account of improvements, there can be no doubt
that the sums which were paid by the incoming tenant to the
outgoing tenant very often had no relation whatever to the
real value of those improvements, and the thing sold, in-
stead of being called the tenant-right of a f\irm, which is now
the term generally applied to it, used more commonly to be
called the good-will of the farm, and under that designation I
think a different thing would be understood than a payment
made for the value of the improvements into the enjoyment of
which the incoming tenant was about to enter. I think under
tlie term " goodwill" would be recognised something approach-
ing to what I may call " black mail," paid by the incoming
tenant to the outgoing tenant, in order to induce the outgoing
tenant not to interfere with his quiet possession of the farm.*

969. And do not you think that the existence of that sense
of security is necessary to the proper development of the re-
sources of the soil ? — Yes, I think that the existence of the

* An incoming-tenant having paid an exorbitant sura to his

f)redeccssor, excused himself to Mr. Curling, on the plea " That
le would sooner have his blessing than his curse." See Mr.
Curling's evidence.

311

custom of tenant-right has upon the whole, in a certain sense,
been a benefit to the north of Ireland, though in another sense
it has not been a benefit. I do not think that I am prepared
to balance the advantages or disadvantages which have resulted
from that custom ; but this I am quite prepared to say, that so
far as tenant-right represents the custom under which the
landlords of the north of Ireland have been in the habit of
allowing the outgoing tenant to receive from the incoming
tenant a fair compensation for the permanent improvements
which he shall have placed on the farm during tlie time of his
tenancy, and for which he shall not have had time to recoup
himself, the custom has been an excellent one ; but so far as
tenant-right is a custom under which, without any reference
whatever to the improvements into the possession of which the
new tenant is about to enter, he has been in the habit of paying
over to the outgoing tenant an enormous sum of money,
amounting sometimes to 10, 15, or, I believe, even 20 years'
purchase of the rent, the custom is a most unfortunate one.

970. Whatever uncertainty you might have as to the advan-
tages or disadvantages of tenant-right are the Committee to
understand you that you have no difiiculty in forming an opinion
as to the necessity of giving an industrious tenant compensation
for improvements, in case of his eviction or the termination of
his tenancy? — Certainly; I have a strong opinion upon that
point. It seems to me that if a Uindlord invites a tenant to
cultivate a farm, and if a general custom pervades the country,
under which it is understood that a tenant at the expiration of
his tenancy shall obtain a certain sum of money in consideration
of his improvements, a moral obligation rests upon thehui<llord
to see that a tenant who, we will say, expends a capital of £100.
in the erection of a house, should, at the expiration of his
tenancy, even though tliat tenancy should bo of a great luimlxr
of years' duration, obtain a fair amount of compensation.

971. Would you give him the full value of what remains of
the improvement at the termination of liis tenancy ? — As a
matter of private arrangement between myself ami my own
tenants, and as my private opinion, I am inclined to think that
a tenant who has built a house, even though lie should rcin.iin
in the occupation of a farm upon which Ihat hmiHc waa built,

312

and in the enjoyment of the premises so constructed, for GO or
70 years, would be entitled, at the expiration of his tenancy, to
receive the actual amount which the buildings at that period
might be worth ; always provided that the landlord, before the
house was built, or while the house was building, did not make
any intimation to him that he was doing anything contrary to
liis wishes, or did not put him upon his guard. Bnt in regard
to improvements of a different description, such improvements
as may be said to repay to the tenant the capital which he has
expended, together with a fair interest upon that capital,
within certain periods, I think that the scale of compensation
ought to be regulated by such a system as I believe is adopted
in Scotland and in England under similar circumstances.

972. Would you explain your views a little more fully wath
regard to such an improvement as a building, or other perma-
nent improvement ?— For instance, Ithiuk that a house probably
at the end of 60 years, if kept in proper repair, would still be
worth a very large proportion of the sum originally put upon it,
and the tenant, on the supposition of 90 years being the proper
term for a building lease, may not have had an opportunity of
recouping himself for the expenditure which had thus taken
place, as far as the house was concerned ; or, again, we will
take the case of a tenant who has settled on a very stony
district ; that tenant, at the time he originally entered into the
occupation of the farm, will have found it worth almost nothing,
but by dint of removing the stones, and either burying them or
building walls with them sometimes, as I have seen them,
eight feet broad and six feet high, will have converted what was
comparatively worthless land into not very valuable land, but
still land of a certain amount of value. I think, under those
circumstances, that the tenant's claim would not lapse within
the same period in which his claim for such improvements as
draining, &c. would have lapsed, and that, therefore, a different
scale of compensation must be applied to the one class of im-
provements from that applied to the other.

973. Would you, at the termination of his tenancy, consider
the full value of the improvement, such as it then existed? —
No. I think that even with regard to a case of that kind, you
must admit the principle tliat the tenant's claim for compensa-

318

tion would undergo some amount of lapse ; because it is to be
supposed that when he made those improvements they were in-
tended to be, and that they actually were, remunerative im-
provements, though it might take a longer term of occupancy
for him to acquire the remuneration.

976. Do you consider that the want of that necessity for
supplying a stimulus to the tenancy of the north of Ireland is
to be accounted for by the existence of tenant-right which
secures them, to a great extent, not only in the possession ot
their laud, but in the enjoyment of the fruit of their industry ?
—I think that if the matter comes to be very closely examined,
you must not attribute this feeling of security exactly to tenant-
riglit ; I think you must attribute it to the good understanding
which has always prevailed between the tenants and the land-
lords of the north of Ireland, of which the custom of tenant-
right is the exponent.

998. Chairman.^ Is not that class of farms (small farms) on
the decrease ? — Tes, very much ; for instance, the career of a
tenant of that description is something of this kind. In the
first place he has very frequently either run into debt, or ex-
hausted his stock of ready money by the original purchase of
his farm ; he has probably a large family : if his sons grow up
they do not like to go out as labourers, they prefer assisting
him in the cultivation of the farm. He is not able to buy a
sufficient number of cattle, and the limits of the farm are not
sufficiently large to enable him to keep them with advantage.
In all probability, lie owes a considerable amount of money to
his neiglibours, and year by year he gets a little in arrear to his
landlord. One year he perhaps pulls u]) a portion of that
arrear ; the next, he falls back into it again, and so it goes on
from bad to worse, until at last he comes to me and says that
he wishes to give up his farm.

1007. Ton do not think that a short lease i.s suflicient to
compensate the tenant for his outlay in improving the land ? —
I think it is a self-evident propo.sition that the improvements
of a farm being of two descriptions, the one self-compensating,
and actually returning more than the original expenditure into
the tenant's pocket, and the other not possessing that quality,

314

a lease \vliii.-]i wnuUl fii:it)lc the tenant to recon]) liinisclt' I'or one
descriptiou of ex[)enditure, would not be sufUcieut to enable
him to recoup himself for his expenditure on the other de-
scription of improvement.

1027. Mr. W. E. Forsfer.] In the very interesting evidence
which you gave us on Thursday, I understood your Lortlsliip
to say, that you considered that the sum paid for tenant-right
in the north of Ireland might be considered as being paid for
two things : first, for goodwill ; and, secondly, fur improve-
ments ? — Yes, I think so.

1028. I also understood you to state, that you did not suppose
that benefit had followed from the payment for goodwill ? — No,
certainly not ; the very contrary has been the result.

1029. With regard to these two payments, do you think it
would be possible to apportion tbe proportion between the two
of how much is paid for goodwill and how much for improve-
ments ? — Yes, I think that might be done by an analysis of
each individual case ; and I think that one may state, as a
general rule, that the amount paid for goodwill diminishes in
proportion to the value of the improvements ; but perhaps I
may be allowed to add, that although the sum paid under the
title of goodwill represents a sum paid by the incoming tenant,
for the purpose of conciliating the goodwill of the outgoing
tenant, the real value which that payment represents is so many
years' purchase of the difference between the fair rent and the
rack rent.

1030. This payment for goodwill seeming to be very raucli
the same as though it were a second rent charged upon the
tenant ; what is the effect of this second rent upon the first rent
to the landlord ; do you think that the rent paid to the landlord
for land in the same condition where tenant-right exists, is lower
or higher than where it does not exist ? — I do not think that,
if there were no payment for the goodwill, the rent would be
higher; the difference is perceptible in the condition of the
tenant and the narrower margin of his profits. The landlords
in my neighbourhood, with whose practice I am acquainted,
never seek to obtain a competition rent ; their habit is to have
their farms valued, either by their own agents, or by some pro-

315

fessional valuer, and having ascertained the fair value at wliicli
the land might be let, they ask that rent for it. But, the rent
having been thus ascertained, the competition for land is so
intense that, although the landlord may say, " this is the rent
which I consider right to ask for this farm," in nine cases out of
ten, secretly and in spite of his endeavours, and the endeavours
of his agent, the in-coming tenant will surreptitiously pay a
considerable sum to the out-going tenant.

1033. But the result of your evidence would be this, would
it not, that the tenant-right having, as you may say, two eft'ects,
one good, which is the payment for improvements, and the other
bad, which is the compulsory paj'ment for goodwill, yet that the
good effect is so considerable that, upon the whole, you would
consider the farmers are in a better position where tenant-right
exists than where it does not ? — I have already said that I should
not like to strike the balance, but I am convinced that a great
deal of good as well as a great deal of evil has resulted from
the practice.

1034. That would seem to bi'ing us to this certain result,
would it not, that if we could arrive at the payment for im-
provements where tenant-right does not exist without the evils
which flow from the payment for goodwill, that would have a
very good effect? — Certaiuly.

1012. And I think I understood you to say, that you think
it would be possible to facilitate that mode of settling the matter
by the Government offering arbitration ; has any mode by which
that could be done occurred to your Lordship ? — Yes ; I think
that one of the great difficulties in the way of arriving at a
satisfactory adjustment of those claims proceeds from Ihe absenro
of any independent authority to wliom the landlord and tho
tenant could botli refer a matter in dispute between them with
equal confidence, and it certainly has occurred to me that if the
Government were to establish, ])erhap3 as an experiment, in two
or three of the chief centres of Ireland, arbitrators of (heir own,
men of recognised professiomil ability, and well ac(iuaintcd willi
the practice of agriculture, and were to pay them such salaries
as would enable us to secure the services of really eminent men,
and that if those salaries wen; further to be augmented in pro-
portion to the number of cases which they might decide, so as

31G

to make it an object with tliese arbitrators to give satisfaction
in their decisions, both to landlords and tenants, a better result
might follow. Then, in the case of a landlord and a tenant
mutnally agreeing to refer any matter in dispute between them
to arbitration, these gentlemen might, without any difficulty or
expense, come to the spot and go into the whole matter ; but
the landlord and tlie tenant having by mutual consent called in
the services of an arbitrator, his decision should be biiiduig in
law, with perhaps a power of appeal in cases where considerable
value was at stake. I think by this means we shall have done
all that it is possible to do in this direction, because I am per-
fectly convinced that our only chance of success in facilitating
such arrangements would be by not exciting the jealousy of the
landlords, and by not placing the tenants in a position hostile
to their landlords, because I regard a tenant who has made
improvements on his farm without a lease, pretty much in the
light of a woman who has made a runaway match without mar-
riage settlements. The thing is done and cannot be helped ;
and, however much you may desire, if her husband treats her
harshly, to alleviate her position, yet it is very well known that,
generally speaking, interference does more harm than good.
Therefore, in any measure of this kind, the great thing is to
contrive some scheme which shall be recognised as a boon both
to the landlord and to the tenant rather than as a measure
introduced with the view of benefiting one of the parties to the
detriment of the other. I think, perhaps, that if such machinery
existed, there are many landlords who would be more ready to
avail themselves of it. And I think, certainly in the north of
Ireland, that the landlords would be more ready to avail them-
selves of it than the tenants. In any case the advantage w'ould
rest with the just man, whether he was a landlord or whether
he was a tenant, because if the tenant makes an unjust claim
the landlord can then apply this test and say, " Shall we go to
arbitration ?" If the tenant refuses, the landlord is then in a
position to say, " Your claim can hardly be reasonable, because
you have refused arbitration." If the landlord refuses, the
tenant, at all events, can urge the same argument on his own
behalf And in that way public opinion, which I regard as one
of the safeguards of society, and by which, in fact, some of the

317

principal relations of mankind to each other are regulated, would
be, to a certain degree, brought to bear on the settlement of
the question; and I think tliat this is very important, for the
very reason that, in Ireland, public opinion may be said scarcely
to exist.

1013. Then the suggestion of your Lordship's, which is very
valuable, appears to me to consist of this, that you would offer
arbitration, it being distinctly understood that it was offered,
but was not in any way compulsory ? — Certainly ; that is the
vital principle of it.

1011. And do you consider that these advantages would
flow from it ; first, that competent arbitrators, which are diffi-
cult to find, would be provided by the Grovernment ; secondly,
that an easy method would be provided, by which the legal
value could be ascertained ; and thirdly, that the Government
would give all the weight of its authority and influence in re-
commending that compensation should be made for improve-
ments ? — Tes ; I think so.

1015. You would consider, would you not, that one great
advantage of this suggestion would be that it does not at all
affect the principle of interference with property ? — Exactly so.*

1053. In answer to some questions which were put to you
by Mr. Forster at the commencement of your examination to-
day, you stated, did you not, that you looked upon the sum
paid in the north of Ireland for tenant«right as the combined
result of goodwill and compensation for improvements ? — Tes ;
but I do not think that the people who pay it attempt to
analyse the transaction in their own minds ; all they know is
this, that the possession of a farm enables them to live in a
manner suitable to their tastes, that it gives them a status of
respectability in some degree analogous to the status which a
gentleman in this country acquires by the posession of a landed
estate, and that the desire for the possession of land is no in-
grained in the imagination and in the nature of the people of
Ulster that, without making any calculation, without asking

* If money were to be lent to the l;indh)rds for (he ])urpo.so
of compensating their tenants, it is evident that i»olh laiuilord
and tenant would have an interest in a[)pealing to (ho arbitra-
tion of the Board of Works.

318

themselves tlie quopfiop., " What interest am I going to obtain
for my money, and what prospect liave I of being able to make
a good living out of this farm ?" tliey will pay whatever sum
is neccssar}^ to procure them tlie object of their desire ; but so
far from that sum having any reference to the value of the im-
provements, 1 think everybody acquainted with the north of
Ireland will admit that, as a general rule, the largest prices
are given for small fiirms which are utterly destitute of im-
provement.

1101. Thei'e not being any cottage upon the farm when the
landlord let the land to the tenant, and consequently the rent
of the land being in proportion low, do you think that as a
matter of course the landlord should compensate a tenant for
having put up, against his will, a small cottage upon a small
farm ? — Tes, I think so, though of course the amount of his
claim would depend upon the duration of his tenancy ; but
even accepting the circumstances which you yourself have sug-
gested, it would certainly follow, if the principle of compensa-
tion is to be accepted at all, that at the expiration of three
years his claim for compensation would be greater than it
■would be at tho expiration of 10 years.

1102. When the landlord lets the land to the tenant, seeing
that there is no house upon it, he lets the land at a rent pro-
portionate to the want of accommodation which that land
affords to his incoming tenant ; therefore how can you say that
the tenant is entitled to ask for compensation from the landlord,
when the landlord, in letting the land to the tenant, has made
every allowance for the want of accommodation upon that land ?
— We will take a case ; here is an acre of land let at 15* an
acre ; if a cottage had been already built upon it, it would let
at 20* an acre. Therefore the advantage which the tenant has
obtained during the first year has been only 5s ; in the second
year another 5s ; and in the third year a third 5s and so on ;
but his expenditure during the first year will have been, we will
say, £50. It may be quite true, that at the end of a certain
period, the difference of the 5* in his rent will have recouped
the tenant for the 36150. which he has expended ; but it will
require a certain period of occupation for that operation to have
taken place, and therefore if his tenancy is determined within

319

a shorter period than would have been suflRcient for the com-
pletion of that operation, I think that he would be entitled to
compensation.

1057. But in the larger farms and the improved farms the
price paid per acre is infinitely less than in the smaller and
unimproved farms, is it not ? — Yes, certainly.

1058. And that I presume arises simply from the fact that
there are fewer competitors in the one case than in the other ?
— Tes, there are fewer competitors, and those competitors are,
generally speaking, men of great intelligence and sense.

1059. And therefore not ready to give an undue sum for
possession if they do not see their way to make a profit of it ?
—Yes.

1371. In Judge Longfield's examination he was asked, at
Question 549, " Take the case of a tenant who had laid out a
certain sum upon drainage, and was continued in possession of
his farm for 15 years we will say, double the time which
drainage is ordinarily given to repay him, do jon think it
would be fair that at the end of the 15 years, having doubled
his money upon the expenditure originally laid out there, he
should have a claim against his landlord," and his answer was,
that he thought it was perfectly fair ; do you think that a
landlord is not entitled to any benefit from the expenditure of
this money by the tenant, after the tenant has recouped him-
self from the original outlay a handsome interest ? — If I pos-
sess a field in which for every half-crown a tenant sows there
comes up a guinea, i. e., 5s has been paid as rent, the 15a
remaining in the tenant's pocket will not only include his
original half-crown, but a fair interest upon it. Consequently
it can be no injury to the tenant if, at the expiration of his
tenure, the half-crowns remaining in the field should pass to
the landlord. He has derived the benefit ho anticipated from
the use of the field; and it is quite clear that if you introduce
a law declaring those half-crowns to be the property of the
tenant, the sole result would be that the interest to be derived
from the expenditure of capital on land being thus rendered
by law far higher than would be the general rate of interest
derived from the expenditure of capital in other ways, that
circumstance would attract competition to the land, and the

320

rent would consequently rise ; the total result would be the
same ; i. e., I should be offered 7s Gd for the use of my field,
instead of os.

1137. And your Lordship lias, in your own person, shown
your disapprobation of the habit by purchasing up, in very
many instances, the tenant-right of farms on your Loi'dsliip's
property, have you not?— Yes; I think I have expended
something like £10,000. or £11,000. in that way.

1138. Tou mean in purchasing up the tenant-right of liold-
ings upon your Lordship's estate ? — That is so. Where a
tenant has gone to the bad, and has owed me a couple of hun-
dred pounds for rent, in arriving at a settlement my agent has
valued his improvements at so much, we will say at ^100.;
there would remain 36IOO. which he still owed me. Under
ordinary circumstances, if he had been allowed to sell his farm
he would have received perhaps a couple of hundred pounds
for it, and that 56200, would have enabled him to pay me the
arrears of rent due upon his farm : but wherever it is possible
so to do, rather than allow the incoming tenant to pay a sum
which, in my opinion, clearly represented no value, I sustained
the loss myself, although the new tenant was eager to pay it.

1151. I think everybody concurs (at least I do, for one) that
every fair compensation ought to be given to every tenant who
has made bond Jlde improvement upon his holding ; does your
Lordship, however, base that view upon this, that by the law
of England, and the law of Ireland too, all holdings between
landlord and tenant are based upon contract ? — Tes,

115i. — Supposing that a direct contract upon the subject has
been made between the landlord and tlie tenant, do you not
think that both parties are bound by that contract ? — Sup-
posing that you grant a lease for 11< years without any stipu-
lation, but under the custom of the country, or in accordance
with the practice which has always prevailed upon your estate,
and the tenant expends £200. in building a house, I should
say that at the expiration of his agricultural tenancy, which
has been of the nature of a contract, there would remain a
moral obligation upon you to compensate him for the money
which he has expended in the improvements which he cannot,
carry away with him, and for which he has not been able to

3-21

compensate himself; but with that exception, I should af^ree
witli what you have said.

121G. Do you think, speaking generally, that improvements
upon an estate are best made by the landlord or by the tenant?
— This is a point which I am very anxious to explain to the
Committee. I think an impression generally prevails that the
reason why the improvements arc all made by the tenants in
Ireland is, that the landlord has not got sufficient capital ; and
in a certain sense that is true ; the landlords have not a suf-
ficient capital to provide the population settled upon their
estates with the conveniences necessary for cultivating those
estates, subdivided as they are into small farms. But if it was
merely a question of providing the estate with those farm
buildings which are absolutely necessary to its cultivation, the
landlords of the north of Ireland, as far as I am aware, would
be perfectly able to provide them ; and therefore the reason
why they do not provide tliem is, because it would be unprofit-
able and undesirable that they should do so ; because the
tenant of a small farm wishing to erect a small farmhouse, is
able to do so more cheaply by employing the odds and ends
of his time, and the odds and ends of his materials. And I
cannot give a better illustration of that fact than what occurred
to myself just before I came over here. I was very anxious to
build a large number of cottages upon my estate, and I wished
to enter into some arrangement with my tenantry, under which
those who wished to have a cottage built upon their larm,
might have one on condition of a small addition being made to
their rent. The cottage was to cost a6lOO.; the rent of tho
labourer was to be limited to £2. lOs a year; and the farmer
was to pay f 1. a year, by which means my loss on each cottage
would be reduced to £2. 10s a year, calculating the interest
at G per cent. But my jiroposition was met by an offer on
the part of the tenantry, that they should be allowed to build
the cottages themselves, because tliey could do so mnch more
cheaply.

1212. My qnestioii had reference, not to estates in so highly
improved a condition as yours probably are, l)ut to CHiatea upon
which tlic <tuilay of a very large; capital was necessary; in such
a case as that, <lo yon not llilnii ili.-il ini|)i-ovciiH'iils on so larg

Y

302

a scale would, probably, be best effected by the landlord ; in
tact, would be cffcoled cheaper, with greater judgtneni, and
also with greater advantage to tlie estate ? — I think it entirely
depends upon the area of the farms. I tliink that if the farms
are small, those improvements are made, certainly, more eco-
nomically by the tenant, and perhaps with as good judgment,
because, by long habit, he is thoroughly acquainted with every
quarter of his little holding.

1230. From your knowledge of the tenant-right custom
as it exists, do you think that it would be possible to embody
it, or any portion of it, in a legislative enactment ? — No,
I think not. It seems to me that the moment you attempt
to consign to an Act of Parliament any of the privileges
exercised under the tenant-right you will make the posi-
tion of tlie tenant far worse than it is under the undefined
custom.

534! Do you tliink, speaking generally, that improvements are
best made upon land by the landlord, or by the tenant ? — I
think they could be more cheaply made by the tenant, and in
that way, the best, because I consider that improvement the
best, which gives an example of its being profitable.

535. Why do you think that they can be best made by the
tenants ? — Because they have sometimes the aid of the
labour of their own family, and sometimes they have the aid of
the labour of those labourers wliom they are bound to employ
during the year, and then tliey can put them at their spare
moments to this work, and take them away again when they
want them for the farm.

1231. Then you think that any attempt, on the part of the
Legislature, to embody this custom in Act of Parliament
would have a tendency very much to weaken it ? — Yes, I think
so.

1232. And eventually to distroy it ? — Tes, I think even
the agitation that has taken place in regard to the custom
has jilready weakened it; many people have regarded that
agitation wit'.i extreme disfavour; but I myself have already
thought it rather a beneficial circumstance, because the more
those questions are agitated and examined, the more clearly
right and wrong declare themselves ; and I apj)re]tend that the

323

recent substitution of the term " goodwill," which formerly
was in use, may be regarded as a result of the enlightenment
of the opinion of the public in regard to this subject.

1233. Do you think that there is any wish on the part of
the tenant class in the north of Ireland that an attempt should
be made by legi£«lation to embody this custom into a law,
speaking from your knowledge of what your own tenants feel
upon the subject ? — I think I can prove unmistakably to the
Committee what the feelings of the tenants are with regard to
this matter. The Committee have done me the honour of
referring to a speech I lately made to my tenants, and they
will have seen that the proposals therein contained are as
liberal as it could be expected that any landlord should make.
Nevertheless, it was very evident that the instinctive inclina-
tion of those of my tenantry whom I consulted, and they were
the most intelligent of them, was to allow matters to remain
as they had hitherto been ; that is to say, that they would
prefer leaving their interests in my hands ; and I apprehend
the same feeling would also induce them to prefer to allow the
matter to be regulated by custom, rather than by any legis-
lative interference.

1234. Do you think, therefore, speaking generally, that any
legislation that would have the effect of increasing the want of
confidence between a landlord and his tenants would be very dis-
astrous to the interests of the tenants ? — J think so ; I have com-
pared a tenant, who has made improvements without a lease, to a
wife without a marriage settlement ; he is the weaker vessel, and
in the long run, should a legal contest take place, he is likely
to go to the wall.

1262. Is it within your knowledge that, in the north of
Ireland, leases for very long terms, we will say on lives renew-
able for ever, or periods of that kind at nominal rents, are now
in existence ? — Yes.

1253. Is that a general mode of tenure ; are there many
cases of that kind within your knowledge ? — On my own
estate there are two areas held in perpetuity ; and 1 am very
sorry that I have not with me a return which has been made
for me, from which the Conunittee will sec that upon these
areas, which have passed out of the landlord's control, the

Y 2

324

tendency to sub-divisiou has boon so intense tliat whercaa
the original tenants were only 12 or 13 in number, the lands in
question now contain 55 or 5G independent holdings.

1264. The population has enormously increased upon the
townland to which you refer ? — Tes.

12G5. Has it been found iu other respects, for instance, as to
the manner in which the permanent improvements, such as
draining, fencing, and building have been effected, that on those
long terms the improvement has been as much as we will say
under an ordinary lease of 31 years? — No; to those long
leases, which were very common in that part of Ireland, I
attribute to a great extent the false position in which landlords
and tenants now find themselves. At the time the leases were
originally granted that tendency to subdivide was not very
perceptible, and therefore the landlord did not introduce into
his lease any clause against subdivision or subletting ; but,
during the course of the two or three generations which then
ensued, this tendency to sublet and to subdivide developed
itself, and by the time the lease terminated the landlord found
himself compelled to deal with eight or ten, or perhaps even
fifteen difierent occupiers, who all claimed an interest in the
land ; whereas his ancestor had originally only inducted one.

1340. Do not you think that the equity of the case would
be satisfied by allowing a tenant, when he left a farm, to carry
uway some of those buildings from the place, for which he had
paid out of his own pocket ?' — In order that I may not be mis-
understood upon this point, I must ask leave to explain myself
a little more clearly. What I intended to state was, that
however small the improvement erected upon the farms might
be, provided the improvement were necessary to the cultivation
of that farm, it ought to be liberally dealt with by the landlord
when the farm is about to pass into his hands, and for this
reason, that if you were to deny a tenant's moral claim to
compensation for such an improvement upon the ground of its
no longer being of any use to the estate, which was about to pass
into an improved condition, the same argument would hold
good with regard to 56IOO. worth of buildings expended upon
a farm of 15 acres, or £200. worth of buildings expended upon
a farm of 30 acres. Of course tlie point can be pressed in such

325

a way as to render tlie tenant's claim to compensation infini-
tesimal, but its amount does not at all invalidate the argument
as to the principle.

1474. I understand, in answer to a question, you attribute
the prosperity of the north of Ireland to some peculiarity in
the character of the poople, they being more energetic and
provident than the people of the south and west ? — Yes ; but
my reply to that question was very guarded. I said it was my
impression that such was the case.

1475. Do you not think that the comparative prosperity of
Ulster might be considered as a necessary result of beneficent
legislation rather than the result of energy in the people pecu-
liar to that province ? — I think it was the result of both ; the
one cause need not exclude the operation of the other.

1476. Is it not a fact that while Ulster prospered the rest of
the country was impoverished ? — Yes, it is the fact.

1477. And while the people of Ulster were thrifty and pro-
vident, the rest of the people of the country, to a great extent,
were reckless and indifferent ? — Yes, I think so ; but at the
same time I would observe that, during the last 30, 40, and 50
years, a period of perfect equality to all classes, the inhabi-
tants of the north of Ireland have exhibited, I am incliued to
think, a greater amount of industry and energy than tlie in-
habitants of other parts of Ireland.

1478. How is that shown ? — By the appearance of the coun-
try ; by the appearance of the cottages in which the inhabitants
live, and by the appearance of the inhabitants themselves ; by
absence of beggars in one district, and by the multitude of
them in the other. But, at the same time, I do not wish to
make such an observation in any invidious sense ; I make that
observation, not as an inhabitant of the north of Ireland, but
as an Irishman, aa much identified by ties of blood and affection
with one part of the country as tlic other.

1479. Has it come to your knowledge that the great majo-
rity of the occupiers of land, in Ireland, are discontented with
their position, which is one of tenancy at will? — As far as I
am acquainted with the north of Ireland the very contrary is
the case. Unfortunately the people of the north of Ireland
are contented with being tenants at will ; and I regard that
as a mark of very great waul of inl/elligencu.

320

1480. Do you mean to say they would prefer to be tenants at
will, to having leases ? — Yes ; I think they would.

IISI. ]Io\v do you account for that; do you think it is
accounted for by any ajjprehension that if they took leases they
might, perhaps, be obliged to pay more than the value, or a
higher rental tlian tliey do now ? -Certainly not ; first of all,
I think that that is to be accounted for by their want of intel-
ligence as to the proper mode in which they should conduct
their business, and in the next place it arises from the fact that
the invariable justice which they have met with at the hands
of tlieir landlords has never forced upon their attention the
advisabiUty of insisting upon a lease. I think the proof of the
correctness of my statement is to be found in the fact that the
tenant-right of a farm, without a lease, would be sold for as
high a price as the tenant-right of a farm with a lease. I
may also add that during the last 15 years, except upon one
occasion, I have never been asked for a lease, and yet all my
tenants are tenants at will.

1482. But supposing in your own case, you were the occu-
pier of land, with a house, would you he disposed to improve, if
you were merely a yearly tenant, to the same extent as you
would if you held for a longer term ? — No, I certainly should
not.

1483. When you give it as your opinion that, in these days,
a man cannot live on a small farm, I suppose you mean that
he cannot live on it and pay the rent which is likely to be de-
manded from him ? — He cannot live on it and pay a fair rent-
such a rent as the occupants of adjoining farms of larger extent
are able to pay with advantage to themselves.

148 i. Is it not the fact that the value of land in Ireland
depends upon whatever the landlord chooses to ask? — That Is
over-stating the case ; but there is no doubt that in the north
of Ireland the competition for land is so great that a much
higher price will be offered for it than the applicant is likely to
be able to pay with advantage ; that is to say, the tenantry will
be content with a much smaller margin of profit than the
tenants of either England or Scotland would be content with,
or, in my opinion, ray tenants should be content with.

1485. But although you say I may have over-stated the case

3e7

in my question, is it not a gross fallacy to assert that the
tenants consenting to pay the rent demanded must be taken as
an admission that the value of the land has been fairly esti-
mated ? — That is often the case, but even that assertion
requires some modification. As compare^l with the skill of the
tenant, the rent may be too high, though not too high as com-
pared with the capabilities of the soil. It is difficult to explain ;
but here may be a farm occupied by an Irish tenant, without
intelligence, without skill, and without capital. We will sup-
pose that the rent he offers for that farm is as much as £2 an
acre. The rent which his skill and intelligence and the small
amount of his capital may enable him to pay may be only £1
an acre. Therefore, as far as regards that individual tenant,
£2 an acre would be too high a rent for that farm. But
another tenant might come with intelligence and skill, and
with capital, and by the application of that intelligence, skill,
and capital to that farm, he might, with the very greatest ease
and advantage to himself, pay a rent of £2 an acre.

1487. That being so, of course he cannot be said to be a free
agent ? — We must modify that deduction. For instance, in
the north of Ireland — because I am more at home in the north
of Ireland — that would not be the case, for at this moment
labour is so scarce that I consider the position of a labourer in
the north of Ireland is better than that of a small farmer ;
consequently, if the owner of a ten-acre farm chooses to give
up possession of his farm and adopt the occupation of a labourer,
he can not only do so, but he can do so with very great advan-
tage to himself and his family.

14S8. If certain causes over which the tenants have no con-
troul tend to lower the price of their produce, and to diminish
their capacity to pay rent, must not the ruin of the small
farming class be considered inevitable. Do you not think they
have a right to expect that the Legislature should do something
to preserve them, and to enable them to live in the country ?—
I am afraid it would not be advisable for the Legislature by
artificial means to encourage a whole population to depend fur
their sujjport on an industry capable only of sustaining a part
of their number.

1498. I suppose you will a(hiiit that the tenants are the

best judges vi' wliat :irc tlicir own interests ?— In w 1 1 at re-
spect •:'

l.l!)9. In respect, for instance, to whether security of tenure
is better tliau insecurity of tenure, or in respect to wlicther
they .sliould pay more or less for the valne of the land y — 1
should say "certainly not, in the sen»e alluded to by the Honour-
able Member; and if he will allow me, I think I can furnish
him with a very good illustration of how little the tenants arc
judges of what is for their own interest in these particulars;
and I think I may be allowed to add that, in my opinion, some
of those gentlemen who have undertaken to represent the in-
terests of the tenantry, are also, to a great extent, unaware of
what is really for the interest of that tenantry. In support of
this opinion I will submit to the Committee certain facts which,
I think, bear very directly upon this question. I think it right
to tell the Committee that, until three days ago, I myself was
unaware of the nature of these facts, and that they have only
come to my knowledge in consequence of my having written to
Ireland for information. In the centre of my property, but in
two different parts of it, there exist two areas. By some for-
tuitous circumstance these areas, in the year 1745, were let in
perpetuity ; the one was let to six tenants, the other to seven
tenants. The sizes of these separate holdings were on the one
area 119 acres, G8 acres, G3 acres, 35 acres, and 21 acres.
During the interval which has elapsed since lyjfS, the first of
these farms has been subdivided amongst six tenants, the second
amongst two, the fourth ainongst six, the fifth amongst seven,
and the sixth amongst four ; so that the original six farms have
now come to be 25 farms. Some of these farms are held by the
co-heirs of the original tenants, but others are sub-let, and the
rent upon those farms thus sub-let varies from 31s to 35« an
acre; whereas similar land, forming a portion of the same town-
land, held under me at will, is let at 25* an acre. With regard
to the other area, there were originally six farms, containing
respectively 127 acres, 52 acres, 40 acres, 53 acres, 60 acres,
and 29 acres. These six farms are now siubdivided into 27 farms,
and the rents now paid to the middlemen amount iroin 27*- to
31s an acre ; whereas upon my adjoining property the rent
demanded is only 256' an acre. Thus the average size of thc«c

3-29

farms left to the control of a peasant proprietary has degene-
rated from 50 acres to 12 acres, while the rents have risen
30 per cent, above the price asked by the large landholder.*
Now, I can give the Committee my word of honour that I never
set my foot upon either of these areas. I was quite luiac-
quainted with the number of sub-divisions which existed upon
them ; I was quite unacquainted with the rents paid by the
tenants occupying them ; I was only aware, by passing along
the public road, from the general appearance of the district in
question, that its cultivation was worse and the houses upon it
in a more dilapidated condition than was the case on the ad-
joining parts of my property, I wrote to uiy agent, who, I may
mention, although my tenants arc almost to a man Presby-
terian, is himself a Koman Catholic. I did not tell him with
what view I required the information ; I merely put upon paper
the questions necessary to elicit the information I have now
communicated ; and I would venture to submit to the Com-
mittee my opinion that if by an Act of Parliament all the land-
lords of Ireland could be abolished to-morrow, and the farms let
to their present occupiers, at whatever rent might be considered
just, in the course of a certain number of years a similar opera-
tion would take place over the whole of Ireland (always, of
course, with certain exceptions) as has taken place upon these
two areas to which I have referred ; that is to say, the present
tenants would cease to be tenants, and would become landlords ;
they would exact a higher rent for the land than the present
landlords exact ; they would be less imj)roving ; the subdivi-
sion of farms would continue, and 50 years hence, if we could
return to inspect the condition of the country, the then condi-
tion of the tenantry of Ireland would be worse than the condi-
tion of the present tenantry. The foregoing facts alsoconlinn
what I have already tried to explain, viz., that the lump sum
paid by an incoming tenant to an outgoing tenant as goodwill,

* Colonel Adair f^ives a similar ijiwtance. In 1717 lliero
were 03 tenants on a ])articular area, wliich is now occupied l)y
419 tenants and '.i7 i cottiers. Jn 171'7 each tenant onjovcd ;i
farm of 1 H)A acres; whereas now the avera;,'e size has been re-
duced to 10 acres, — Ireland and her >Sercilc War, p. i!S.

3;30

is nothing more tliau so many years' purcliase of the difference
between :i fair rent and a rack rent. My rent of 25* an acre
being from 35 to iO per cent lower than the competition rent
of 25s an acre paid on the adjoining area, a man who surrepti-
tiously handed to my outgoing tenant £100. for the good-will
of a 10-acre farm, would be in no worse a [losition tlian the ad-
joining tenant who pays a rack rent of 35* an acre. Thus the
custom under whicli these good will payments are made is the
exponent and the result, and not the cause of the landlord's
moderation.

1500. Then, supposing that it is so, how do you account for
this fact, that in several of the countries in Europe, where
the peasants are owners of the land, agriculture is in a most
flourishing condition ? — It may be accounted for, I thiuk, in
this way : it seems to me, admitting the facts, which you state
(which I believe to be the case), that there exists in Ireland an
unreasonable tendency to subdivide the land ; and that in other
countries there are certain conditions whicli not only prevent
that excessive subdivision of the land, but also that in these
countries there are other modes of occupation whicli absorb the
surplus agricultural population.

1501. Do you think that the anxiety to subdivide exists as
much at the present time as it did formerly ? — Not so much as
it did formerly ; because, I think, the landlords have done their
best to check it.

1502. Do not you think the facility for emigrating, for in-
stance, has also had a tendency to do so? — I think, probably,
that has already begun, and will continue to operate.

1503. A farmer sees now that he can provide for his son
differently than he did formerly, when he had nothing to do
but to give him some land to farm ? — I think that eventually
emigration, which is now going on, and the development of the
manufacturing industry of Ireland, and consequently the faci-
lities likely to be afforded to the surplus agricultural population
of providing for themselves by some other means than by sub-
dividing the farms which their fathers occupied, will gradually
reduce the presure upon the land ; and that it is in that con-
summation that the true remedy for the unhappy condition of
the agricultural population of Ireland is to be found, because

331

by that nieaus the tenantry wil] be placed in a position to
make whatever bargains with their landlords they may tliink
most conducive to their own interests, in the same way as those
causes have already begun to render the labourer more inde-
pendent of his employer. But I am afraid that a very consi-
derable time must elapse before that result will be arrived at.
1507. AVhat would you suggest yourself as an inducement ?
— I think that the chief inducement for a landlord to grant a
lease would be the existence of a tenant with capital, skill, and
industry ; and that where they exist, the landlord, for his own
interest, would at once grant a lease if the tenant insisted, as
he should do, upon having a lease. There is one point to which
you have referred in one of your questions upon which I think
it right to add a word. You said that under the charter by
which the undertakers in the reign of James the First, held
their lands, provisions had been introduced, requiring them to
let those lands at low rents, on long leases, and under favour-
able conditions. I replied that I had understood such to be the
fact ; but if I am right in supposing that you wish to infer from
that circumstance that the present tenantry now occupying the
districts formerly granted upon those conditions are legally
entitled to such terms, I would remind you, as an historical
fact, that a very large per centage of the present pri>prietors of
the north of Ireland, are, in fiict, the representatives of the very
tenants on behalf of whom those conditions were made, and that
consequently the conditions were complied with, and those on
whose behalf they were imposed have reaped the advantages
which it was intended they should obtain. Although all the
lands I now possess formed a part of the original Clandeboye
Grant,* 90 per cent of my property was acquired by purchase :
the proportion I hold direct from the Crown is very small, and
a similar process of disintegration and repurchase by the original
grantees has taken place in respect to many of such grants.
On the Clandeboye Survey of 1030, to which I have alluded,
the names of the then tenants are not at all identical with the
names of the present tenants, though the names of some of the

* No such condition as that alluded to by the Hon. Member
was introduced iuto this Grant.

333

preacnt adjoining proprietors are identical with the names of
the then tenants. Moreover, though beneficial at that time,
experience has proved that long leases would be anything but
boneilcial now, and every agriculturist will tell you tliat too low
a rent is only less fatal to good cultivation than too high a rent.

1513. Mr. Bagwell.'] I believe you have stated more than
once, with reference to the size of farms, that consolidation was
going on slowly in the north of Ireland ? —Yes, slowly.

1514. In fact, I gathered from your evidence, that where a
email farmer wished to leave the country, or was unable to meet
engagements, that then he would inform his landlord of the
case ; that he would look to the custom of the country of tenant-
right, and that the landlord would have a veto as to the new
incoming tenant ? — The custom varies upon different estates ;
there are many landlords in the north of Ireland who refuse
altogether to recognise the existence of the custom, who select
their tenant, and take a special precaution that nothing should
appear in the transaction as between them and their tenant in
any way connected with the custom of the tenant-right.

1568. "Will you explain the meaning of the term, " Set-off by
the landlord," which you have used ? — There can be no doubt
that, upon a very large proportion of the farms in the north
of Ireland, although in the main the improvements have been
executed by the tenant, the landlords have from time to time
contributed to a certain extent towards those improvements.
Of course it would be but just that whenever questions of
tenants' compensation came to be considered, it should be com-
petent for the landlord to plead such contributions as he or his
ancestors may from time to time have made as a set-off to the
claim of the tenant ; and this set-off should not only include
such counter-claims as those, but also where a tenant, by bad
husbandry, has placed the condition of the land in a worse
position than it was when he originally entered upon its occu-
pation, that also should be regarded as a set-off in favour of the
landlord. I may take this opportunity of stating as a reason
why we ought to be very careful before we hurry the tenantry
into any legal controversy with their landlords, tliat I am very
much afraid if the claims of the tenant, and the corresponding
claims of the landlord, were to be examined with the severity

333

rigour which must be exercised by a court of justice, the claims
of the landlord would very frequently not only counterbalauce,
but greatly exceed the claims of the tenant. I think that is
one reason why the introduction of any hostile element into the
relations of landlord and tenant would be prejudicial to the
tenant. At present the landlords with whose practice I am
acquainted, are very much disposed to deal liberally with their
tenants, and not to insist very strongly on those pleas, which
they might urge as a set-off against the tenant's claim, as of
course they would be disposed to do if the matter were to come
to a legal contest. Again, I have shown how it came about
that under long leases the land was subdivided, and tenements
erected upon such separate subdivisions. Before a legal tribunal,
of course, a tenant could not claim for a building which he had
erected on a subdivided lot under a lease, such an operation
having clearly taken place without the landlord's connivance,
and against his interest ; but it is the practice of the landlords
in the north of Ireland not to allow that consideration to enter
into their estimation of the tenant's claim, consequently, I think
that, generally, the practice of the landlord is, in this and other
particulars I need not specify, more favourable to the claims of
his tenant than the necessarily rigorous arbitrament of a court
of law would be. For these reasons, I think the Legislature
will do well to encourage and enable landlords (whether limited
owners or owners in fee) and tenants to enter into contracts
with one another, and to facilitate the adjustments of disputes
when no contracts exist, by placing some simple and cheap
system of arbitration w'ithiu the reach of the agricultural in-
terest.

SMALL V. LAKGE FAEMS.

I do not wish to pronounce doginatically on the merits
of small versus largo farms ; the very highest authorities
are at issue on the subject,* but after a good deal of
consideration, I have acquired a very strong impression : —

* " It ia Ihc general opinion of Ihosc who arc equally well ac-

334

1. That the greatest gross produce is obtained from " la
petite culture" as practised under short leases in Bast
Flanders, though at a cost of labour in excess of what is
required iu England and Scotland to obtain almost equally-
large returns.

2. That in the abstract, grain crops are best grown on
large farms, and leguminous and textile crops are raised
with greater advantage on small farms.

3. That " la petite culture," when practised by tenants
as distinguished from peasant proprietors, has a tendency
to promote intense competition, and consequently is not
conducive to the happiness of the agricultural population.*

quainted with both large farming and " la petite culture," that im-
provement is greatest under a due admixture between them."

Mill's Polit. Econ., Appendix 6, {p. 192.) Vol. I.

" The question relative to large and small farms is one of
the most puzzling and complicated possible, although a great num-
ber of writers on both sides have solved it with a promptitude
which shows that they had only considered it hastily, and under a
single point of view." — Sismondi's Agriculture Toscane.

Mons. de Lavergne when describing the Petite Culture in Flan-
ders says, " This profitable mode of farming has one great draw-
back, which establishes the balance in favour of the English system
— the excess of the rural population, which is in the ratio of 1 to 2\
statute acres If Flanders produces more acreably than Eng-
land, she produces only half as much relatively to the population.
In the town of Lille one-third of the population are paupers, re-
ceiving public relief, and more than one rural district is equally
pauperized."

* " Many witnesses are of opinion that the acreable rents of
small farms are frequently higher than those of large, even under
the same proprietors, and that large estates are iu general let at
lower rates than smaller properties." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 756.

" Thirty shillings an acre would be thought in England a very
fair rent for middling land ; but in the Channel Islands it is only
very inferior land that would not let for at least £4. and in Switzer-
land the average rent seems to be £6. per acre." — Ibid. p. 32.

M. de Laveleye is very persistent in this distinction when

335

4. That '' la petite culture" when practised by pea-
sant proprietors possessed of sufficient self-restraint and
intelligence to deter them from excessive subdivision, or
from burdening their little properties with extravagant
mortgages, is a method of existence productive of great
happiness, and calculated to promote a good system of
cultivation, though probably yielding a less amount of
gross produce than that obtained under the pressure of
the tenancy system in Flanders.

5. That the foregoing conditions, though essential to
the prosperity of " la petite culture," do not seem to exist
to so great an extent as might be wished amongst the small
proprietors either of France or Belgium, and could hardly
be looked for in the present generation of Irish peasants
of the South and West.*

advocating " la petite culture." Even Mr. Mill says that " la petite
culture" cannot be fairly judged except wlien tlie cultivator is a
proprietor.

* " Ainsi se multiplier dans le nord de la France, ces proprietaires
pauvres que les paysans enrichis traitcnt assez durcinent en les
designant volontiers sous le nom de petites gens. Ainsi se recrute
dans les canipagnes un pauperisme non moius dangereux que celui
des villes et des manufactures."

La Refurmc Sociale, par M. F. Le Play, p. 388.

" Les enclaves de petite dimension, inferieuses par example a

deux hectares, sont un obstacle permanent a toute culture perfec-

tionnee des bestiaux, les cereales, des plantcs fourrageres et indus-

triellcs."— Ji/c/.j9. 400.

" Les exploitations de quelque etendue memo quand ellea
restent aux mains d'un seal proprietaire, teudent a se sub-
diviser par une raison tres simple : c'est que, morcelees, elles
se louent beaucoup plus clier. Cellcs qui soiit situeea a proxi-
mite, des villages retiisteut diflicilenient a la plus value euornic
que leur cree la concurrence des habitants agglomeres. Dans
prcsque chaque commime, on trouve quelquo corps dc forme
qui, naguere loue en bloc dc 70 a 80 francs par hectare, rap
porte aujourd'lmi dc 120 a L50 francs parcelle.s dc 10 ou 20
acres." — Eco. Buralc, p. 51, 52.

33G

t). That wliorc subdivision is pushed to an extreme
extent, the consequences are disastrous.

7. Tliat at this moment, a largo proportion of the
farms of Ireland, (nearly ouc-tliird of the total number of
holdings being rated at less than £5 per annum, and two-
thirds under £10) arc below the average considered most
conducive to agricultural prosperity in those countries
where " la petite culture" is practised with the greatest
success.*

8. That so far as we have experience of the past, it is
evident that the occupiers of very small farms in Ireland
are, and have been in a worse position than those who
cultivated moderate sized holdings of twenty-five acres
and upwards.f

* "Holdings in Ireland. — A Parliamentary return just presented,
in pursuance of an order made on the motion of Lord I^aaa, gives a
statement, in the first place, of the purely agricultural holdings in
Ireland, 608,864 in number ; 174,989 valued at £4. or under,
190,877 over £4. and under £10., 123,784 at £10. and under £20.,
83,259 at £20. and under £50., 35,955 at £50. or upwards."

Extract from the Times.

" The Swiss peasantry, although almost universally landed pro-
prietors, may be divided into two classes : those who are principally
or exclusively agriculturists, and those who gaiu a livelihood chiefly
by manufacturing industry. The farms of the former, except in the
cantons of Berne and Tessin, and a few other districts seldom
exceed 40 or 50 acres, but they are as rarely of less size than ten
acres." — Thorntons Peasant Proprietors, p. 87.

" But iu countries in which small farms abound their average size
is frequently, perhaps generallj', less than 24 acres : in France it
appears to be IS acres ; in Jersey, 16 ; and in Guernsey, where land
is more minutely divided than perhaps in any other part of Europe^
is little more than 11 acres." — Ibid. p. 30.

Speaking of Flanders, M. de Laveleye says : — " II est a
I'emarquer que les fermes a un ebeval d'une etendue de 11 a 12
(i.e. from 27 to 30 acres) hectares formeut la moyenne culture
et sent les plus nombreuses." — Eco. Bur. p. 49.

Evidence of Thomas Serriek, Esq., Land Proprietor.

t " With respect to the farming population, are the large farmers

337

That taking all these considerations into account, and
making every admission which may be reasonably re-
getting riclier ? — The large farmers are always better off than the
small farmers. There is no class so badly off as those small fiirmers,
except the paupers ; they are worse off than the labourers.

" What do you call a small farmer ? — A man holding ten acres,
up to twenty, I should say." — Dig. Deo. Com. p. 382.

Evidence of Adam Walker, Esa[., Agent.

" Do you consider that the holders of large tillage farms are
getting richer ? — Yes, because they are improving in their style and
mode of cultivating their land. That is confined to large farmers ;
the small farmers are not." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 383.

Evidence of Rob. O'Brien, Esq., Agent and Land Proprietor.
" The small tenantry may be defined as those who handle the
plough or spade themselves, and hold the largest portion of land in
this country. A large portion of this class enjoy less comfort than
if they were mere labourers with constant employment and well
suppUed with food, as they have not means to purchase manure for
the land, and frequently let off the crops for two years, rent free,
while they are obhged to make up the landlord's rent, till they can
reimburse themselves with the corn crop." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 383.

Evidence of Mr. Edmund Anthony Povcer, Farmer.

" With respect to the condition of the farming population, do
you consider that the large farmers are getting richer ? — Yes, I
think they are. I think they are better off— we can have stock of
the best kind. A tillage farmer must wait for the crops to grow,
but a man who has cows can make butter and feed pigs.

"Are the small farmers getting richer?— No, there are too
many of them." — Ibid. p. 384.

Evidence of Mr. TFilliam Robert Leckey, Farmer.

" With respect to the condition of the farming population, do
you think the large farmers are getting richer ? — I tliink tlioy are ;
I think their condition is improving. They are bettor managers.
and better tillers ; they use better seed, and grow better crops than
they did formerly.

"Are the small tenantry improving in their condition i'— Some
of them are. I do not think in a general way they can be said to
be improving mucli, but several are."

Z

338

quinul ill favour of '* la petite culture," it is clear that the
consolidation of farms in Ireland has not been in excess

JEvidence of Anthony Strong Ilussei/, Esq., Land Proprietor.

" What is your opinion of the condition of the large farmers ;
do you consider that they are improving in their circumstances, or
otherwise ?— I think, wherever they have adopted the new system
of cultivation, they have very considerably improved ; hut the small
farmers are in a very wretched condition.

" To what do you attribute the state of the small farmers ? — •
I think it is owing to the want of capital and the want of draining.
Their lands want draining on every side, and it is very expensive."

Ibid. p. 3Si.

Evidence of Mr. MilJiew, Farmer,

" Are the small tenants getting richer in the world ? — ISo,
the}' are not, the subdivision of land is so great."

Dig. Dev. Com, p. 384.

Evidence of James Swan, Esq., Dispensary Surgeon.

" You think that a small farmer of five or six acres is worse off
than a common labourer ? — Yes, I do ; they have the greatest diffi-
culty in paying the public rates.

" What is the usual food ? — Potatoes ; and sometimes they get
what they call a sprit, or sprat, or salt fish. I am intimately ac-
quainted with their diet, and it is a fruitful source of chronic dis-
ease. Very few of that class are able to get milk ; they are steeped
in poverty ; and though many of them go to market with their out-
side garments good, their under garments are bundles of rags."

Evidence of Geo. Robertson, Esq., Land Agent, Scotland,
" Is the rent which is paid by the crofters generally higher or
lower than that paid by large farmers? — Generally higher: the
agents generally take advantage of the competition for small quan-
tities of land. I regret to say I have done this myself.

" Do you consider that a crofter paying the same rent which a
farmer would pay for a large farm, can maintain himself and his
family comfortably upon eight or ten acres, if he is an industrious
man ? Yes, in a great measure ; but much depends upon the ad-
justment and dove-tailing of the social system. Were j^ou to make
them all small crofters they would eat one another." — Dig. Dev.
Com. p. loo.

339

of what was essential to tlio well-being of the agricultural
class.

Evidence of Wm. M. Reade, Esq., Land Froprietor.

" "Wliat is your opinion of the class of farms most advanta-
geous, all tilings considered ? — From twenty to thirty acres is as
good a farm as a landlord could wish to have on his estate.

" Do you see any strong objection to farms much smaller? —
Yes, in this part. If there was any thing for them to do besides
farming, it would be very well to have them more split ; but it
would be as well for them to have thirty acres to live with where
they have nothing else for them to do." — Ibid. p. 410.

Evidence of Thos. Gerrard, Land Proprietor.
" Is it your opinion, that when a man holds less than ten acres
he sinks below the level of an independent farmer ? — Yes, that is
my opinion." — Dig.Dev. Com. p. 411.

Evidence of W. Fetherston H., Esq., Jun., Secretary to Farming

Society.
" Some landlords have a prejudice against small tenants ; they
think they cannot pay their rent. I think they pay as well as the
larger ones, if properly managed.

" To what extent do you apply that P — If I was setting land I
would never make a farm under twenty-five acres." — Dig. Dev. Com.
p. 412.

Evidence of Rich. C. Brown Clayton, I^and Proprietor.
" Farms averaging from twenty-five to thirty acres, on which a pair
of horses are kept are best adapted to the circumstances of the oc-
cupiers here On this, by careful management, a family

may be maintained, and comforts procured equal to their require-
ments Those holding from five to twenty acres live in a

condition little removed from the labourers, always struggling for
an increase of land." — Dig. Dev. Com. p. 413.

Evidence of Wm. Blacker, Land Agent.
" 1 am in favour of such a subdivision of the land in both coun-
tries as the wants of the population may require."

Dig. Dev. Com. p. 400.

" Suppose you had room, what is the smallest division of land

you would willingly make? — It depends entirely upon the cajjilal

and tlie means of the tenant Ishotild like to have what would keep

a pair of horses ; that would be about fiffy acres ; from fifty to

/ 2

340

sixty Ensrlisli acros, or what would koo]) one horse, so that two
neighbours could club together, and plough in partnership. — Dig.
Deo. Com. p. 401.

" Wliat is the quantity of land requisite for one horse ? — From
twenty to twenty- five acres would reasonably keep a horse for farm-
ing purposes, and it is very advantageous with us to have some ani-
mal of draught ; they have to draw their turf a long way, and their
lime, and this gives tlicni extra employment.

" AYhat would be the smallest quantity of land which you
would give to a tenant for cultivation by spade labour ? — The quan-
tity I have mentioned is as small a holding as you could appoint for
the support of a man and his family, and to keep a cow, because,
unless a countryman, who has a wife and family, keeps a cow, he
cannot manure his land, nor be in any comfort in his domestic circle."
— Ihid. p. 401. (Mr. Mill also quotes this witness as a person of
great authority.)

Evidence of Wm. Sharman Crawford, Esq., M.P. Land proprietor.
" What do you conceive would be the most desirable size for a
farm, with reference to cultivation, if other circumstances allowed
you to decide upon it ? — With reference to cultivation, a tenant who
has a farm of that size which requires horse culture, should have
that size farm which would enable him to keep two horses, or else
four horses, or such greater number as the ploughing of the land
would require ; the size of his farm should be such, as that he would
not be required to keep horses which would not be fully employed ;
and my view is, that fifty Scotch acres would find employment for
one pair of horses. But I am of opinion, taking another view of
the subject, with regard to the interests of the population, that a
smaller size of farm would contribute more to the. prosperity of the
population; and I think the highest degree of cultivation and pro-
duction is obtained by spade labour." — Ibid. p. 401,

Evidence of H. Prentice Leslie, Esq., Land Agent and Landholder.

" To what extent have you been generally anxious to raise the
farms ?— My opinion is that a twenty-five acre farm is most desi-
rable for the present condition of this country, and the circum-
stances of the people.

"When you speak of consolidation, you mean bringing farms
up to that size ? — Yes. But if a man had a thirty-acre farm, and a
farm of five acres became vacant near to him, I would rather that
he had thirty-five acres, and do away with the small letting.''' — Ibid,
p. 484.

(There is no sensible man in Ireland who would not agree with
this witness.)

3^1

On the alleged Progressive Decline of the Prosperity
of Ireland.

As it has been the fashion of late to describe Ireland as
decreasing in prosperity, I append the concluding para-
graphs from Dr. M. Neilson Hancock's admirable pam-
phlet on the subject, in which that theory has been,
refuted.

" The arguments for progressive decline have beau confidently
based on elaborate statistics ; the most satisfactory way of
testing the strength of such arguments is to examine fairly
and fully the real tests of national wealth and prosperity, and
to come to a decision, not by the mere criticism of mistaken
or partial statistics, but by establishing the true state of the
case by positive evidence, founded on a wide induction.

All the statistics I have examined appear to me to refute
the theory of progressive decline, and to establish — 1st, that
there was in agricultural produce and other kinds of wealth a
rapid progress in recovering from the effects of the fauiine.
That this attained its height in sheep in 1854 ; in amount of
Government stock held in Ireland, in 1857 ; in pigs, after con-
siderable fluctuations, in 1858 ; in cattle and the total value of
live stock in 1859 ; and in the deposits in joint-stock banks
in 1859 ; in the total number of acres under crops in 1800 ; in
the issue of bank notes, after some fluctuation also, in 1800 ;
and in the railway traflic in 1861.

2nd. That omitting all account of investments in improving
and reclaiming land, in manufactures, &c., the capital of the
country appears to have increased, as judged by the tests of
live stock. Government funds, bank deposits, a)Kl investments
in railwayH,* from about £00,000,000 in 1811, to about

* In making this calculation, I have estimated the Irish
portion of the capital in Irish Kailways at £1,500,000 in l8ll,
£11,000,000 in 1859, and at £12,500,000 in 1802.

342

£120,000.000 in ISoO, being an increase of 100 per cent. ;
and the ileerease in these classes of wealth, since 1S59, of
about ae8,000,000, still leaves their amount jGI 12,000,000, or
jt52,0lX\(.X)O more than in 1841.*

3rii. That the high average produce of all crops for four
years. lSo2-lSo5, seems to have been cue of the chief causes
of this prosperity.

4th. That the diminished average produce of all crops in
the four years 1856, 1857, 1858, and 1859, seems to have led
to a check of prosperity in some things, and, on the whole, to
a diminished rivte of progress in agricultural wealth ; but, being
years of reasonable plenty, and following on years of more
than average plenty, the well-being of the people seems not to
hare been atiected, except in 1859, in the case of those
specially affected by the scarcity of hay and straw.

5th. That the still further diminished produce of aU crops
in 1860, 1861, and 1862. resulting from inclement seasons,
with scarcity of turf in 1861, turned the diminished progress
in wealth into a positive decline ; and that the accumulation
of the effects of three years' decline has produced a very
serious diminution of national wealth and well-being — the
losses of farmers in oats, wheat, potatoes, and cattle, in the
three years, amounting to upwards of £26,000,000, or two
vears' rental.

* If we examine the corresponding progress made by England,
omitting from the account whatever has been derived from her
manufacturiug industry and mineral resources, the comparison
will be very much in favour of Ireland.

Statement of England's Asrricultural "Wealth in

1815.

1856.

£.

£.

Land

)

Tithes

Manors

11.500.000

38,000,000

Fines

s

Fisheries .

Farmers' Profits

21,700,000

21.221,443

6.3,200,000

62,224,000

343

6th. That the losses in these years, though all'ectiug in-
directly all classes, have mainly produced pressure on the
farmers, entitling them to a large amount of sympathy and
consideration ; and that the labouriug classes, owing to the
rise in wages, increase of employment since 1847, and abun-
dance of foreign wheat and Indian com at a low price, are
Buffering much less than was commonly anticipated."

Though the above remarks evince^ beyond doubt, a
steady tendency in Ireland towards continuous improve-
ment and a rapid accumulation of wealth, they also teach
us another lesson, viz. : that so long as the population of
Ireland is solely dependent on agriculture the prosperity
of the country will continue to be the sport of a fickle and
precarious climate, and that the development of the manu-
facturing industry of the country is necessary to sustain
and corroborate its agricultural system.

XJomparison of the Rise in Wages and in the Price of Food.

It is contended by some eminent writers that though
wages have risen, the increase in the price of the labour-
er's food has more than counterbalanced that advantage.
Dr. Hancock discusses this opinion in the following sen-
tences : —

" Some of those who support the theory of progressive
decline admit the manifest fact of a great rise in money wages
since 184(J, but endeavour to destroy the eti'cct of tliia admis-
sion by adding that the price of food has also greatly
increased.

The average price of wheat in Dublin for seven years before
184G was SOi- lid a barrel ; and the average price for seveu
years, ending Ist November, 18G2, was 30« Od.

The rise in wages, without any rise in wheat, hus brought
household bread within the reach of a much larger number of
the labouring classes.

344

iMPOltTAMON OF "VVhEAT AND FloUK.

Quarters iu the Year.
Before 1846 (average of 7 years) . 127,958

In 1860 1,383,600

Iu 1861 1,412,809

In 1862 2,112,715

In oats there has been a rise.

Potatoes are, in most years, mueli higlier than before the
famine, generally averaging about £4). a ton, while they for-
merly averaged about £2. a ton ; but those who are too poor
to consume wheaten bread, are no longer absolutely dependent
on the potato. They have r-c^ what the law denied them
before free trade — Indian meal, the present price of which is
from 7s to 7s Gd per cwt., being about half the price o£ oatrv.
meal.

The importations of Indian com and meal were: —

Quarters in the Tear.
Before 1846 (average of 7 years) . 11,007

„ 1860 1,317,514

„ 1861 1,970,988

„ 1862 ..... 1,773,255
If the cheap bread and cheap Indian meal is taken into
account, the rise in oats and potatoes is prevented producing
its full effect ; so that the great increase in money wages is;
by no means counterbalanced by the rise in oats and potatoes."^
It must also be remembered that the difference in the rate
of wages is not the measure of the difference of the change in
the labourer's conditions : twenty -five years ago he only re-
ceived payment at all on three or 4 days of the week. At the
present moment his wages are not only higher, but he is in
more constant employment.

345

CORK AND KERRY IN 1867.

The following pages contain some observations well
worthy of consideration in connection with the subject
under discussion. They emanate from Mr. Robertson, a
very able agriculturist, who lately went over at my
request to the South of Ireland, for the purpose of veri-
fying, on the spot, some facts with respect to which I
desired information.

Extract from a Report, by Mr. Robertson, on the Ayncul-
tural Condition of the Counties Cork and Kerry.

During my tour, the remark was over and over again mado
to me, if we only had " Fixity of Tenure " our farming
would be as good as that in any part of the British isles.
On one or two occasions I had the curiosity to inquire-
what was understood by Fixity of Tenure, and was in-
formed that they understood that the tenant should hold-
his farm at the present rent as long as he continued
to pay this rent. This outcry for " Fixity of Tenure" is
not confined to the Tenant at Will holding under a grasp-
ing landlord, but I have met with it on estates where the
tenants would reject 21 and 31 years leases in favour of
their present relationship with their landlords as Tenants at
Will. I regret that I have no alternative but to bclievo
that the greatest portion of this outcry for " Fixity of
Tenure " arises not from the laudable desire of protecting
improvements made on the landlord's property, but from
a desire to participate with the landlord in the owuership
of the soil.

That a lease of niodoratc duration iji the hiiiuls of au
intelligent man offers great facilities for agricultural im-

34G

provement, I admit, but I doubt the wisdom of granting
them indiscriminately. Where a man is deficient in ca-
pital, deficient in intelligence or activity, I can fancy no
greater punishment than giving him a lease. Many in-
stances have recently come to my knowledge, where the
position of the leasehold tenant is one of hopeless misery
and destitution. Half cultivated fields, tumble-down
houses, dilapidated fences, all testify to this. I believe
that leases should be granted only to qualified tenants,
men who have the means and will to profit by the security
thus given to their outlay. That long leases even when
accompanied by low rents will not improve the agriculture
of a neighbourhood, ive have ample evidence to prove.
During the last few weeks it has been my lot to go over
hundreds of acres of lands held on long leases at low
rents. These lands are invariably in the most wretched
condition of cultivation ; where thirty years ago only one
family was to be found, you now find eight or nine families
living in mud cabins, obtaining from the land the means
of a half savage existence ; nearly all being in the same
deplorable condition of abject poverty. In spite of
clauses against subletting and subdividing there is scarcely
a holding with a lease of any duration which is not cut
up and sublet. These clauses have been found valueless
in preventing this great abuse of property ; these
long leases are fast reverting to the original land-
lord; the land is in a frightful state of poverty; the
cottages and cabins are in a sad state of repair ; and the
people themselves seem little removed from paupers. The
condition of such properties is immeasurably worse than
properties let under tenancies at will. Now, I neither con-
demn long leases or low rents, but I hold, that without
the necessary amount of intelligence the efiect on the
occupant of the farm is detrimental to all agricultural pro-
gress. To give a lease without regai'd to the qualifica-
tions of the tenant is the most efi'ectual plan of stopping
all improvement.

347

I believe that in the more improved districts where men
of intelligence and capital are located, landlords, in with-
holding leases, are doing great injustice to their tenants ;
we can fancy no position more disheartening, more calcu-
lated to stop all enterprise, or more antagonistic to all
progress than the position of an intelligent enterprising
tenant, holding as Tenant at Will, under an absentee
landlord, this landlord represented by an agent ignorant
of all agricultural knowledge. What under such circum-
stances can a tenant do, if he would pay his rent, educate
his family, and live respectably, he must invest capital in
his farm ; the more capital he invests the greater he be-
comes dependent on the good will of his landlord, the
better he farms the worse becomes his position, and the
probabilities of his rent being advanced increase.

In most countries the duration of a lease is a matter of
considerable controversy ; I think I am not wrong in
stating that the majority of the most intelligent farmers
would gladly accept a lease for 21 or 31 years of their
farm, and as a per centago on the capital they believe
the landlord ought first to lay out on permanent improve-
ments, would gladly pay a few shillings extra as increased
rent. I can advise no step in my opinion more calculated
to improve the agriculture of these counties than the
giving of leases to all qualified to hold them : these leases
being for a definite period, their duration depending
upon the condition of the farm at the time the lease is
granted.

On small holdings I do not think it advisable to grant
leases. In both countries, these small farms, with few
exceptions, are wretchedly cultivated. What these tenants
want to protect in their outcry for a Tenant Right Bill 1
cannot imagine ; as to improvements, in the majority of
cases there positively is none, and there are not a few
instances where I think the landlord is entitled to daniago.s
for the impoverished condition ol' the soil. If I occupied

348

I Ik' laiulloi'cVs position I would rather have- the laud in
its unimproved virgin state as in its so-called reclaimed
condition. On nearly all these small farms there is ample
evidence of the occupier's want of capital and skill, on
many the capital is not one-tenth of the amount it should
be. We hear a great deal of the superior advantage of
spade-culture, and of the great returns a farm yields when
so cultivated; during the past few weeks I have gone
over hundreds of these small farms, but in very few
instances did I see any attempt at proper cultivation,
whether these farms were held under lease or at
will made little difference; it was only under the eye
of the landlord or agent, or in close proximity to a
town I saw any attempt to farm properly. I pointed
out many instances to the occupant farmers where the
expenditure of a few shillings or a day or two's labour
would bring a large return ; but I was almost invariably
met with the reply, " Shiire, if we did it, would not the
rent be raised !'^ This is the common excuse for laziness
and negligence amongst these small farmers. There may
be cases where the landlord has raised the rent as the
tenant's prosperity increased, but though I laid myself
open for information of this kind I was not furnished-
with a single authenticated case, though I heard a great
deal of the injustice of landlords in general.

These small farmers appear to make the distinction be-
tween outlay which is immediately remunerative and out-
lay which is only remunerative over a course of years ;
there are many improvements which are almost imme-
diately remunerative ; these any intelligent man would
make whether he is a mere tenant at will or tenant for a
term of years. That they are right, without sufficient
security, in not investing capital in improvements " which
take a long time to repay themselves," I of course admit.

Time appears of little moment amongst these small
farmers judging by theii' attendance at markets and fairs.

Sid

If it is only a few pounds of batter, or a few eggs to sell,
the farmer, his wife, and frequently a son or daughter
must go to town 52 times a year, and with some it will
occur oftener ; what a serious charge against a small
farm. The value of 52 days' labour for man, woman, and
•child, to say nothing of what they spend in town.

I met with a few instances of land being held by a
number of families in common. The arable land in pos-
session of each family varied from a quarter of an aci-e
up to two or three acres, each family division being
being marked out by heaps of stones. A fresh division of
the arable land takes place annually. The grass land is
grazed in common. On the land selected for cultivation
they generally grow two crops of oats and two crops of
potatoes, and then leave the ground for nature to cover
it with a sward of grass, going to a fresh piece of land
and repeating the process. After five or six years the
abandoned land becomes covered with an indifferent sward
of grass ; this is grazed for a season or two when the fore-
going process is again repeated. We need scarcely add
that all the land thus managed is in a most exhausted
condition. The arable land is all cultivated with the
spade, horses seldom or never going near the land, not
even to cart manure or remove the produce, this being
almost entirely the work of the female members of tho
families of the occupants j manure to the land and pre,
duce from the land being conveyed in baskets on the
women's backs. The cabins and cottages on such land
are of tho poorest description. On one townland thus
held I found bT families resident where forty or fifty years
ago hut four resided ; they were all very badly off, though
the rent was very low.

I found squatters settled in different parts of both
counties. These people generally settle down on waste
land from which turf has been removed, or on mountain
sides, first, liowevcr, obtaining the consent of the occupy^

350

ing tenant. With the tenant farmer lliey generally make
an agreement something like the following. They arc
allowed to have four acres of land ; this four acres of land
must be all reclaimed iu five years. The farmers find
them material for erecting their cabin, wood and straw
for roof. They are to work for the farmer whenever re-
quired at a uniform wage of Is per day, or if diet is
allowed, " sour milk and potatoes," 6d per day. At the
expiration of four years they will commence and pay the
farmer a yearly rent of 12* Qd per statute acre. This
agreement is greatly in favour of the farmer ; not only
does he command labour when required, but he makes a
profit on this labour, if this labour is obtained only at 1*
per week below the market price he still gains per annum
52^. This in itself is sufficient rent for the land occupied
by the squatter ; however, after the fourth year, as I have
already stated, he gets a further return of 12* 6d per
annum or 50*. The total amount of the farmer's outlay
for building materials he allows the squatters seldom
reaches £8. or £9. ; by this investment he obtains a yearly
return of over £5. per annum for land which previously
brought him in no return. All allow that the position of
these squatters is very unsatisfactory, they are very irre-
gularly employed, and it is generally just the season when
they should be attending to their own crops that the farmer
finds most need for their services.

In both counties I found a general complaint of the
difficulty in obtaining qualified agricultural labourers ;
plenty of labourers can be obtained, but they are of little
use. In one locality I heard farmers complaining that
they could scarcely carry on operations from the difficulty
in obtaining labourers, and was yet informed by a gentleman
in the same locality, that on the morning of our visit he had
had sixty applicants at his hall door for labour at \s per day^

Employment is very irregular, the occasional labourer
is frequently unemployed five or six weeks during the

851

winter mont?is, except in the neighbourhood of Cork ;
these men's earnings will not exceed an average of Is per
week, out of this tlisy must pay rent for cabin, &c. Re-
gular labourers are paid in majority of cases 6s per week,
and are allowed perquisites worth about 1* per week.
These men have constant employment. Wages in the
neighbourhood of towns have advanced fully 50 per cent,
during the last 20 years. Although day labour is 50 per
cent, cheaper in the north of Ireland, yet fully as much is
paid for work done by task labour.

Small farmers rarely obtain more than two-thirds the
value of their produce, there being no home consumption
for this produce, before it reaches the actual consumer
fully one-third of the value is consumed in carriage, com-
missions, &c.

There is a very large area of grass land in both coun-
ties which is in a very impoverished condition. The land
is grazed year after year, young cattle are reared, and
dairy produce sold; but nothing is returned to the soil.
It will not be long before the Irish farmer experiences
what the Cheshire dairy farmer has already experienced,
that this system long continued in, will end in the total
exhaustion of the land, and that befoi'e it can again be
made remunerative a heavy outlay of capital will be re-
quired. It is only the high price of dairy produce which
is now supporting the small farmers ; let this price be
reduced, or the produce lessened, and he will at no distant
date have an entire disappearance of all farms loss than
20 acres in extent.

Small farmers seldom make good labourers ; they will
only become labourers as a last resource; when tho-
roughly broken down they cannot realize the fact, that
the respectable well-paid labourer occupies a better social
position than the struggling small farmer. I think, how-
ever, if landowners would bo firm there would be littlo
difficulty in converting a great proportion of these small
farmers into labourers. At present this is scarccdy to bo

So9.

dosirod. Landlords must first fulfd thoir duty; capitnl
must be invested in improvements before lie can expect a
labourer will receive anything like a sufficiency to main-
tain liimself and family.

Wliilo the whole country is covered with fences, I
scarcely see one worthy of the name. In looking over the
ordnance map of county Cork I discovered one district
containing an area of 540 acres, in which there was 320
fields ; this gives an average of a little more than 1^ acre
per field. I do not hesitate in saying that in districts
where farms of less than 50 acres prevail there is fully
10 per cent, of the land occupied with fences ; many of
these fences consisting of earth germ, with lime, good top-
dressing for grass land. Their removal is, therefore, pro-
fitable to the tenant, not only for the 10 per cent, of
ground rendered available, and the economy in cultiva-
tion, but also for the manure rendered available, so much
needed on the grass land of these counties. A great deal
of wood might profitably be planted in both counties.

In the foregoing remarks I have said little regarding
the position of the larger class of farmers, though they
also have much to complain of; still, I consider, they
occupy no worse position than their brethren on the oppo-
site side of the Channel. This class of tenantry are better
able to make equitable arrangements with their land-
lords, and are consequently better off than smaller or
more dependent farmers.

I have heard of many real and many sentimental
grievances. In recording my observations I have en-
deavoured to be as free from bias as possible, taking my
standard of comparison not from the condition of things
on the English side of the Channel, but from observations
I have made in the north of Ireland.

Feb. 18G7, W. R. Robertson.

353

A comparison of the profts of a small occKpier /;/ Co. Doum, of
average industry and skill, as comj)ared ivith the eaDiings of
a lahoiirer and his famili/, in the same neighbourhood.

" My dear Me. Tiiomsox,

" Havetliekinduess to calculate the probable profits of a farmer
aud his family cultivating a holding of ten acres iu our County,
as compared with the earnings of the same persons employed
on wages, whether in town or country. DuFrEEiN."

My Lokd,

To give a definite reply to these questions it is as-
sumed that the land is of medium quality, and tliat it is worked
as is ordinarily done by tlie more intelligent of the small
farmers on a five course shift. That

The father is ajjed

The mother

A son .

A daughter

And a son

Common rotation — Wheat . . 2

Oats . . 2

f Potatoes . , 1

( Turnips . . 1

Hay . . 2

And Grass . . 2

Produce of Wheat, 27^ cwt. @ 8/3
Oats 23 „ @5/3
Straw off the above 4 acres
Potatoes, 4.4 tons @ 55/0
Turnips 9.2 „ @ 11/G
Hay 3.4 „ @ 45/0

Grazing

Deductions — Eent @ 21/0 per acre 10

Cess and P. Rates . 1

Seeds— Wheat 15 0

Oats 0 k; 0

Potatoes 1 10 0

Turnijis 0 G 0

Gr.&Cl. 1 3 0

Manure .

]Iorse labour obtained in
exchange for occasional
assistance to a neigh-
bour

40
36
15
13
9

£.

11
G
G

17

S
4

d.

10
9
0

£52 15 4

10
0

0 0 0 21 10 0

2 A

354

Leaving this sum as representing profits
for the family . . . £28 5 4

Probable wages in a manufacturing town —

Father per week . 8/0
Boy. . . 7/0

Girl . . 5/0 .-52 0 0

In favour of the income derived from wages

in a manufacturing toAvn . . 23 14 8

Probable wages in an agricultural district
Father per week . 8/0
Boy . . .5/0

Girl . . .3/0 41 12 0

"Wages y)'o??j the farm as hefore . . 28 5 4

In favour of the income derived from

wages in an agricultural district . £13 6 8

N.B. — The foregoing result might be somewhat modified by
introducing flax as part of the rotation, but flax, though a
highly remunerative product is a dangerous crop for a very
small farmer to grow : it very often misses, and if it misses
at all, it misses entirely, and inflicts a loss from which a ten-
acre farmer finds it much more difficult to recover than a
tenant of 25 or 80 acres of land. If flax were introduced
into the rotation it might increase the profits of the farm
from £3 to £4 per annum.

The amount of 'produce per acre, and prices relied on, have
been taken from the actual statistics of the county, which show
a higher rate of production than most other Irish counties.
I am, my Lord, &c.

M. Thomson.

Of course it can be conceived that by the application of
greater skill and more capital to the land, larger returns
could be obtained, but the above is a fair representation of
the modus operandi of an Ulster tenant labouring under no
apprehension of insecurity. It is also to be noted that no
charge, on account of tenant-right, has been entered against
the farm, though in many instances it would form an im-
portant item in the occupier's expenses, amounting perhaps
to one-tenth or even one-fifth of his profits.

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Tahle showing the Density of Pojmlation.
In Ireland , . .181 per square mile.

„ Frauce

„ Prussia

„ Austria

„ Scotland

„ Spain

177
171
148
101
90

Comparison of the Mineral Hesourees of Great Britain

and Ireland :
Coal raised : — England

Scotland

Ireland

Pig Iron :

■Great Britain
Scotland alone
Ireland .

Metals and Coals : — Great Britain
Earthy Materials „ „

Minerals and Coals : — Ireland

Miners Engaged : — England and Wales
Scotland
Ireland .

Industrial Classes : — England and "Wales
Ireland

75,000,000 tons.
11,000,000 „
200,000 „

Annual Value.

^11,000,000

4,000,000

0

Total Value in 1863.

^36,000,000

2,000,000

500,000

In 1861.

266,000

50,000

40,000

4,828,399

667,000

See " Causes of the Poverty in Ireland." — W. Jennings.

A distinguished geologist once told me that he considered
the surface of Ireland had scarcely been scratched yet.

357

Deposits in Joint Stock Banks.

Table showing the aggregate Amount of the Private Balances
in the Bank of Ireland, and of the Deposits in the Belfast,
Hibernian, National, Northern, Provincial, Eoyal, Ulster,
Union (Limited), Munster (Limited), and Exchange
(Limited), Joint Stock Banks at the end of each year
since 1840.

Year.

Total Amount.

Increase.

Decrease.

1840

£,567,851

,

__

1841

6,022,573

£454,722

—

1842

6,416,795

394,222

—

1843

6,965,681

548,886

—

1844

7,601,421

635,740

—

1845

8,031,044

429,623

—

1846

8,442,133

411,089

—

1847

6,493,124

—

£1,949,009

1848

7,071,123

577,998

—

1849

7,469,675

398,553

—

1850

8,268,838

799,163

—

1851

8,263,091

—

5,747

1852

10,773,324

2,510,233

—

1853

10,915,022

141,708

—

1854

11,665,739

750,717

—

1855

12,285,822

620,083

—

185G

13,753,149

1,467,327

—

1857

13,113,136

—

640,013

1858

15,13 1,-^52

2,018,116

—

1859

16,042,140

910,888

—

1860

15,609,237

—

432,903

1861

15,005,065

—

604,172

1862

14,388,725

—

616,340

1863

12,966,7:51

—

1,421,991

1864

14,422,176

1.155,415

—

1865

17,050,552

2,628,376

"

W. iSkilson Hancock, Ij\j.D.

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Table showing the Tillage Acres, the Tillage Cultivators, and the
gross annual value of the produce; also the annual value of the
produce per acre, the annual value produced by each cultivator, and
the number of acres he cultivates.

Tillage
Acres,
ISGG.

Tillafce

Cultivators.

Census of

18G1.

Gross pro-
duce on the
acreable
average
production
of 1864-5.

"o u

o-g

■» ?,

? ^ o
111

< P.O

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t- si

II ^

£.

£.

Eoglar.d and Wales .

14,290,759

2,229,117

76,754,726

5-3

62-4

11-6

Ireland

5,547,738

985,265

30,317,926

5-4

30-7

5-6

Leinster, Province .

1,610,168

211,709

8,031,496

5-0

37-9

7-6

Munster „

1,322,916

253,364

7,239,909

5-4

28-5

5-2

Ulster

1,887,773

339,705

11,030,103

5-8

32-4

5-5

Connaught „

726,881

177,618

4,136,689

5-6

23-2

4-1

Cork, County

465,650

84,582

2,578,053

55

30-4

5-5

Keriy „

145,883

34,643

145,883

54

230

4-2

Antrim „

254,495

36,912

1,5.52,805

61

420

6-9

Down „

334,882

47,717

1,988,349

5-9

41-6

70

From the foregoing Table it will be seen that the acreable i)ro(luce in Ulster,
where one man cultivates b\ acres, is greater than the acreable ])ro(liioc in Con-
naught and Munster, where more men cultivate a smaller arc a ; and that whereas in
Ulster each cultivator extracts from the soil £32. 4.«, in Minister and Comnrught
lie only obtains £28. and £23. The same proportions will be seen to rule the rate
of production when Antrim or Down are compared with Cork or Kerry.

Sur| rise may perhajjs be occasioned by the rate of the acreable jn-odiicc in Ireland
appearing to be greater than the rate of the acreable produce in England. This is
to be accounted for by our having been compelled to estimate the green crops of
England according to the rate of production of green cro])s in Ireland, no statistics,
except those which give the luimbcr of acres so cultivated in England, existing oa
the subject. But even thiaigh it be admitted that the .same siiperit)rity of produc-
tion which is evinced by the acreable yield of cereals in I^ngland cxtemls to
the rest of her cultivation, it is very evident tliat the diil'civnce in the agricuKural
I)rospcrity of the two countries dcjicnds rather upon the excess of persons in Ireland
among.st whom the produce has to be distributed tiian on the com]mrative inferiority
of her rates of production. Indeed, it stands to reason, that both rent and wages
being lower in Ireland than in England, if the rate of produce were anything like
the same (and the difference in money value is jn-obably much less than is sui)posed)
the profits of the Irish farmer might be even greater than those of the Knglisli, not-
■\\ithstanding his more distant markets.

If we axsunii; i\\i\t England is as superior to Ireland in tlie production of her
green crops as in that of licr cereals the rate of her gross acreable produce would
have to be taken at something contiiderably above £5. 3.v per acre, raising of course
to a projjortionate aniotmt the annual value of produce to each cultivator. Hut pro-
bably the X'll, 000,000. worth of potatoes in Ireland arc grown as skilfully as the
£9,500,000. of turnips are grown in England, though it nnist be admitted that the
predominance of our potato crop, and the restricted extent of our tiirni|Multivatioii
may bc an element of danger in the Irish system.

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3G3

EXTRACT FEOM AGEICULTUEAL RETTJENS.

Total extent under crops in Ireland in each year from IS^y-lSGG.

Total extent
under crops.

Year.

5,238,575

in

1847

incomplete

>j

1848

5,543,748

>>

1849

Increase.

5,758,292

)>

1850

j>

5,858,951

jj

1851

))

5,739,214

j>

1852

Decrease.

5,696,951

jj

1853

»

5,570,610

»

1854

»

5,688,836

}>

1855

Increase.

5,753,547

J5

1856

>)

5,858,117

J)

1857

}>

5,882,052

)>

1858

»

5,862,605

)J

1859

Decrease.

5,970,139

)>

1860

Increase.

5,890,536

)5

1861

Decrease.

5,753,610

5>

1862

)>

5,662,487

)>

1863

>>

5,676,321

>J

1861

Increase.

5,548,403

JJ

1865

Decrease.

5,519,678

)J

1866

)>

This table proves that the annual extent of land under crops
in Ireland is a perpetually-fluctuating quantity, regulated by
prices, and by the character of the seasons, and tliat the alleged
conversion of an enormous extent of the tillage lands of Ireland
into pasturage is a delusion.

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Table of HOLDINGS, 1811 to ISGl, rnoii the Eegistrau
Genekal's Eetuens.

Size of Holdings.

Leinster.

Munster.

Ulster.

Connaught

Total.

Number.
310,436

88,083
82,037

Decrease.

228,399
73-6

252,799
191,854
176,368

Above 1 to 5 Acres .

Increase or Decrease in
t'veen 1841 and 1864
Rate per cent. .

Above 5 to 15 Acres

Increase or Decrease in
tween 1841 and 1864
Rate ijer cent.

Above 15 to 30 Acres

Increase or Decrease in
tween 1841 and 1864
Rate per cent.

Above 30 Acres

Increase or Decrease in

tween 1841 and 1864
Rate per cent.

Total .

Increase or Decrease in
tween 1841 and 1864
Rate per cent.

( 1841

. ] 1851

C 1864

number be-

C 1841

. { 1851

t 1864

number be-

l 1841

. I 1851

i 1864

number be-

l 1841

. I 1858

i 1864

number be-

1 1841
\ 1851
( 1864

number bc-

Number.
50,110
25,711
23,103

Decreasa

27,007
53-9

Number.
57,857
14,200
12,901

Decrease.

44,956
77-7

Number.

102,215

29,709

27,565

Number.

100,254
18.463
18,468

Decrease.

81,786
81-6

45,402
49,255
48,230

Decrease.

74,650
73 0

99.605
85,176
78,826

Decrease.

20,779
20-9

25,219
57,651
56,257

Increase.

31,038
123-1

9,655
37,813
40,418

Increase.

30,763
318-6

46,039
33,058
28,532

61,753
24,365
20,780

Decrease.

17,507
380

20,688
26,006
23,447

Increase.

2,759
13-3

Decrease.

40,973
66-3

Increase.

2,828
6-2

5,824
28,799
31,453

Decrease.

76,431
30-2

79,342
141,311
136,578

Increase.

57,236
72-1

48,625
149,090
158,135

Increase.

109,510
225-2

27,611
28,855
25,421

Decrease

2,190
7-9

Increase.

25,629
440-1

4,362
20,107
22,547

Increase.

18,185
416-9

155,842
116,624
120,698

Decrease.

35,144
22-6

17,943
38,096
39,351

16,665
53,074
55,819

Increase.

39,154
234-9

163,886
120,494
114,921

Increase.

21,408
119-3

134,780
122,871
114,433

Decrease.

20,347
151

236,694
210,349
203,066

691,202
570,338
553,118

Decrease.

138,084
200

Decrease.

48,965
29-9

Decrease.

33,628
14-2

367

Table showing the Number of SIen, "VVomej^, and ToimG
People employed on 11 Fabms in Englajsd, abridged from
the "Hand Book of Earm Labour," by John Chalmers
Morton. Loudon, 18G3.

No.

Tillage.
Acres.

Pasturage.
Acres.

Men.

Women.

Girls and
Boys.

1

910

15

20

0

22

2

900

120

30

12

15

3

G60

100

33

3

13

4

2G0

0

12

8

4

5

550

0

26

20

15

6

310

110

8

10

0

7

200

100

14

4

5

8

400

40

16

4

8

9

2004

430

96

40

20

10

408

280

25

12

8

11

500

225

31

14

17

7102

1420

310

127

127

Note. — Men employed as above

310

"Women and Young People (each individual in this category
is taken as the equivalent of f of a man, their average
vrages being in that ])roportion to the men's wages) . 190

500
Which in the proportion of 8 men to tillage for 1 man to
pasturage, gives 145 acres of tillage to each cultivator.

N.B. — In the Table at p. 154, it has been calculated that iu
England one man la ciiiijloycd on no more than 11 acres. It
will be seen that Mr. M(jfton'« figures give the ])roportion as
one cultivator to 14-5 acres: but as two-lliirds of the holdings
in England arc under 100 acres, the farms cited by Mr. Mor-
ton would hardly give a correct genornl Mvcrngo.

3C8

THE COST OF HAND-POWER.

The subjoined extract appears in Morton's HandhooTc of
Farm Labour : —

" A man will dig 8 perches of land, or say 2,000 square feet
nearly a foot deep, in a day. In doing so lie lifts probably
three-quarters of it through about a foot in height — that is to
say, he lifts 1,500 cubic feet, weighing at least 150,000 lbs.,
one foot high, in ten hours' time, and to do it therefore he must
maintain upon the average a lift of 250 lbs. per minute all that
time. Of course, in addition to the mere lift, there is the
labour of cutting off this earth from the firm ground to which
it was attached. In my second case, then, this portion of his
labour is very much reduced. Three men will lift 100 to 120
cubic yards of farmyard dung, and fill it into carts, in 10 hours'
time. The 33 to 40 cubic yards which fall to each man's share,
at 12 to 14 cwt. apiece, weigh 50,000 lbs., and this is lifted
over the edge of the cart, or 4 feet high — equal to 200,000 lbs.,
lifted daily 1 foot high, or 330 lbs. per minute. This is one-
fifth more than in the last case. Now, take a third instance,
in which there is no labour in detaching the weight from any
previous connexion. A man will pitch in an hour's time an
acre of a good crop, tied in sheaves, to an average height of
full six feet on the cart or waggon. Straw and corn together,
such a crop will weigh more than two tons, say 5,000 lbs. In
doing this he therefore lifts 300,000 lbs. one foot high in ten
hours, or SCO lbs. per minute. My fourth case is of much the
same kind. One man and five boys or women, equal as regards
wages, and I will therefore assume equal as regards power, to
three men, wiU throw into carts, upon an average of Swedes
and mangel- wurzels, three acres of a good crop, say 70 tons in
all, in a day of nine hours' length. They lift these 150,000 lbs.
four feet, being equal to 600,000 lbs. one foot ; or 200,000 lbs.
apiece in nine hours' time, which is about 370 lbs. a minute.
These four cases indicate the mere force of a man then, at a
cost say of Zd an hour, as equal to a lift of 250, 330, 500, and
370 lbs. per minute; the two former being cases where the

369

load has to be detached as well as hfted, and tlie third being
performed under the influence of good harvest fare. But now
compare this, even in its best case, with the duty of the steam-
engine — namely, the lift of 33,000 lbs. one foot high per
minute for Sd or even less per bour ; and compare it with the
actual average performance of the horse, 16,000 to 19,000 lbs.
lifted one foot per minute for 5d an hour. In order at the
best rate named to do tlie work of the steam-engine, GO men
would be required at a cost not of 5d but of more tban 15s
per hour ; and in order to do the work of the horse, 32 men
would be needed, at a cost of 8s instead of 5d per hour. It is
plain that if we can take much of the mere labour of the farm
out of the hands of the labourer, and put it into the hands of
steam power for its performance, there is an enormous amount
of saving to be made in the cost of agricultural production.
It is plainly folly ia the labourer to tliink that as regards the
mere labour of the land he can compete with either steam-
power or horse-power. Strength of body is desii'able, and
sinew hardened by long practice in hard work has a consider-
able marketable value — for that, however hardly it may sound,
is the aspect of the matter in which the interests of the
labourer most directly appear — but it is clear that for sheer
lift, and the mere putting forth of force, horse-power, and still
more that of untiring steam, must griud the soul out of any
body that shall pretend to competition with it. It is in tlic
cultivation not so much of mere strength of body as of skill
and intelligence that the safety of the labourer lies, and in his
capability of education he is perfectly secure."

870

EMIGRATION.

As the aspoct iu wliicli I rcg'arJ the emigration of the
embarrassed Ii'ish tenant, as well as my opinion on the
desirable limits of population in Ireland, have been a good
deal misrepresented, I insert the following extracts from
former speeches on the subject.

Extract from a Speech in the House of Lords,
16 March, 1860.

" But it may be objected, if only the resources of the
country were to be developed, occupation might be found
for all these millions. That I at once admit. I believe
the soil of Ireland is capable of sustaining a population as
large as it has ever borne ; and that a hundred fountains
of wealth have yet to be unsealed

" Depend upon it, as soon as conditions favourable to its
development again exist, population will recreate itself;
and perhaps there is no race in the world which has given
such unmistakeable evidence of its expansive power. ^^

Extract from a Speech by Lord Dnfferin at a Tenant's
Dinner, April, 1865.
" Gentlemen, it is undoubtedly a sad thing to watch the
tide of noble-hearted, free, and energetic men, year by
year, flocking from the shores of Ireland to seek a better
future on more abundant soils. But, gentlemen, I confess,
a still sadder, and to my mind a more terrible, spectacle
presents itself whenever I see a patient, industrious tenant,
hopelessly struggling on year after year, encumbered with
debt contracted on the Tenant-right of a farm too small for
remunerative cultivation, and surrounded by promising
boys and girls, whom his necessities confine to the drud-
gery of field labour, and whose minds are gradually be-
coming spell-bound by the same unhealthy craving after
a patch of land which originally tempted their father to his
ruin. Such a sight, I say, is, to my mind, the more painful
of the two ; for whereas in the one case we can picture to
ourselves the emancipated emigrant manfully working his
way in the world until at last his efforts are crowned with
affluence and success, in the other we can only look forward
to the gradual but sure approach of still more bitter dis-
appointment, and a deepening degradation in each suc-
ceedinrj veneration."

3r-centage
of

migration
861-65 to
opulation
in 1861.

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S7'2

Extracts from a Report by Mr. Robertson on the Rate of
Agricultural Labour in Co. Cork.

My Lord,

In as few words as possible I will endeavour to
state the result of my observations on the condition of
the agricultural labourer in the County of Cork.

As might have been expected, the wages given in and
around the City of Cork, are fully 20 per cent, above the
wages given in the country districts.

The following may throw some light upon this subject.
They are a number of questions I put to the various agri-
cultural authorities, resident in different parts of the
county, in some cases fully twenty miles apart. The
answers here represent the opinion of the majority of the
persons questioned : —

What are the weekly wages of agricultural labourers in
your locality, are they entirely paid in money, or have
they perquisites?

Ans. They get 7«, a free cottage, one load of coals per
annum, one pair of shoes, " at Blarney.^' These are
regular hands, and employed all the year round.

Probable gross weekly value, 85 Qd.

Do. They get 65 or 7* pei* week, have no perquisites.
Best men sometimes allowed a free house : but this the
exception. " Dunmanway, 40 miles west of Cork."

Do. They get 65 or 7* per week, are generally allowed
free cottages. " Bandon, 20 miles west of Cork.^'

Do. They get 8s per week, have no perquisites. Best
men allowed free cottage. " Four miles south of Cork."

Do. They are paid 7s per week if free labourers. If
squatters they are paid Is per day by the farmer on
whose land they have squatted. In some cases the farmer
provides a cottage for the family, and boards the labourer

373

in. his own house, paying him 6d per day. " Millstreet
and Kenturk, 40 miles north-west of Cork/'

Have wages advanced during the past 10 years ?
Yes, in many localities 50 and 60 per cent.

Is there a good supply of properly qualified agricultural
labourers ?

No. There is great difficulty in obtaining skilled work-
men, especially in poor districts.

To what is this deficiency to be attributed?

The removal of best men into districts where machinery
is employed, {farmers in these localities being able to pay
better wages for intelligent men,) emigration, education,
increased facilities for travelling, &c.

In the case of occasional labourers, what time do you
suppose they are unemployed ?

For five or six weeks during winter

The occasional labourer, is in a most unfortunate plight,
in most cases he is a squatter, and is bound to assist the
farmer, on whose land he is squatted, whenever his ser-
vices are required, at a uniform rate of &d per day and his
food, or Is a day without food. They generally have four
or five acres of land round their cabins, which they culti-
vate. Few are employed during more than six months of
the year, during the remainder they are either idle or
occupied on their own patches of land. As the farmer
pays a uniform wage, he takes good care only to employ
these labourers when the weather is favourable for outside
labour, during unfavourable weather the labourer being
left to his own resources

The farmer has thus at hand always plenty of labour,
which he can command at all seasons of the year, as the
squatter only holds possession of his cabin and ground as
long as he keeps faith with the farmer.* Round some of
these cabins the three or four acres of reclaimed ground is
in a fair state of cultivation. The cabins arc, however,
invariably in the most wretched condition, and generally
littered all round with a mass of decomposing animal and
vegetable matter, the general receptacle for all kinds of
refuse

I spoke to several farmers regarding the condition of these

* See p. 5.

374

poor people. The following is the substance of these con-
versations.

They are in a bad condition these squatters. Do you
not think their position might be improved ?

Well, they arc, ])ut I don^t see what can be done for
them ; they arc of great use to the country, half of tlie cul-
tivated land round here has been reclaimed by them.

What proportion of their time do you suppose they are
employed by the farmer?

In some cases two-thirds, but the majority only half time.

What do they do during the remainder of the year ?

Reclaim the bits of ground round their cabins.

Do you think what they obtain from the farmer, and
what they produce on their own ground will be worth 8*.
per week all the year round?

Certainly not, except under very favourable circum-
stances. Few have had a day's Avork during the past three
or four weeks. Even in summer they have a great deal of
lost time : they go to a farmer, but if the day turns out
wet they are sent home.

Do you find such labourers useful and obliging work-
men ?

They are obliging enough ; but are careless, unskilful
workmen ; require constant supervision ; they are difficult
to teach ; being their own masters during half of the year
are difficult to manage.

Then you think, if they had no land, but had good cot-
tages, and were regularly employed, it Avould be better both
for themselves and the farmer ?

Certainly. But who is to reclaim the land ?

Well, if the landlord was to reclaim large tracts him-
self, employed these men as labourers, letting the land at
a fair rate of interest on his outlay, would not the land
be far more satisfactorily improved, and these people in a
far more satisfactory condition ?

Yes ; but farmers would have to pay more wages, and
they can scarcely live as it is.

Well; but if your labouring population were better
paid, and better housed, do you not think a larger quantity
of farm produce would be consumed in the locality, and
would not the 15 or 20 per cent, saved in conveyance to a
market more than pay this extra cost of labour ?

Possibly it might.

375

The squatter holds generally by the same term as the
farmer ; or as long as he keeps the terms of his contract
with him. At the expiration of a lease, fifteen or twenty
of these squatters' families are sometimes found resident
on a farm. Here a difficult problem presents itself — what
is to be done with these poor people ? They cannot be
turned adrift, and it would not be judicious to make them
tenants. Out of compassion, in many cases, they have
been recognized as tenants ; but this has been a very un-
fortunate step for the country — a race of pauper-tenants
has been created, with farms of five or six acres. These
persons, feeling themselves elevated above their previous
position, refuse to ivork for their former employer, except'
ing as fancy or necessity may dictate

Round Killarney I found a large population who have
very migratory habits. During spring and summer these
people go into the agricultural districts north and north-
west, returning to this locality during the winter months.
At the present time these people are in a very unfortunate
position : work of all kinds is very scarce, and the average
wages is only about 1*. per day

Bad as is the condition of the agricultural la-
bouring man, the condition of the female employes
on farms is even worse. Their wages are lower and they
work as hard, in many cases, harder than the men ; carry
on their backs, in wicker baskets, manure to the fields ; go
to the bog and carry home turf, &c

I would, in conclusion, only add, that it is not the low
rate of ivages in these parts, tvhich causes such sujferings
to the labouring class, but the uncertainty and irregularity
of their employment. If regularly employed, I believe
they would be more comfortable on 6s. per week than
under present circumstances, though, at times, they may
earn 85. or 95, per week. When a labourer loses work
for two or tlirec weeks together, it takes a large weekly
pay to make him a fair average througli the year.

W. R. RolJKRISON.

370

Mem. as to the former and present rate of Wages in the
County of Down, by Lord Dufferin's Agent.

Labourers pay-sheets have been continuously passing
through my hands for the hist 38 years, and during that
time, and especially since 1846 or 7, the rate of wages
paid to the agricultural labourers has been gradually in-
creasing until it has reached 1.9 6d a day or 9* a week,
which is the present standing rate of wages for ordinary
labourers iu constant employment ; but able-bodied, active
and handy labourers can readily command, and are at
present earning \s. 8d. a day, or lOs. a week ; and mason's
assistants, quarrymen or drainers from Is. 8d. to 2s. per
day ; indeed for the last eighteen months or so I have been
paying (20 miles from Belfast) to a " squad '' of constant
labourers 2^. a day. In harvest and other busy seasons
\s. 6d. to 2s. per day, with their victuals, is not at all un-
common.

The food of the labourer now is altogether different from
what I recollect it ; and although the simple diet he was
then accustomed to was perhaps as wholesome as the
higher standard he can now afford, yet there can be no
douht w hatever but that his present dietary is more suit-
able, as enabliug him to endure with less fatigue the toils
that labour imposes upon him. In fact, his condition is
in every respect bettered ; his food is improved and his
clothing improved, for neither the price of the one or the
other has at all kept pace with the rise in wages — many of
the necessaries of life being now cheaper than when his
wages were at the lowest.

The half yearly wages paid to a general farm labourer,
boarded and lodged in the house was, in 1830 and for
many years afterwards, £3. to £3. lOs, and now the same
class of servant is paid from £6. to £S. for the same period.
It was a very common custom to let the reaping of the corn
crops by the acre : 5s to 6s used to be the price given, now
it cannot be got done under 105 to 12^ per acre.

April, 1867- Mortimer Thomson.

POSTSCRIPT.

MR. BUTPS PAMPHLET.

Since the foregoing pages were sent to press, I have had
the advantage of reading Mr. Butt's recent work, entitled
" The Irish People and the Irish Land.'^ In that publica-
tion Mr. Butt has been good enough to notice my letters
to the Times, and to contest my facts and opinions with a
freedom I am only too glad he should have used, but with
less candour than I might have expected.

As I am anxious my pamphlet should be at the service
of Members of Parliament before the adjourned debate on
Lord Kaas' Land Bills, I do not propose to enter into any
lengthened examination of Mr. Butt's very able and in-
teresting volume ; but I must be allowed to notice one or
two sentences in which he refers more immediately to
myself.

The first passage it is necessary to quote is the following,
p. 51—

" Before I do so I must claim your lordship's permission to offer

some observations upon tlie letters of Lord Dufferin

" It is only in a third letter tliat Lord Dufferin incidentally notices
the ' Plea for the Celtic Eace.' Before noticing the second letter I
claim your lordship's permission to offer some observations on the
third.

" I cannot say that, in this letter, Lord Dufferin has even made an
attempt to answer mo. I gather, indeed, from the v,ay in which ho
alludes to it that his lordship had not then condescended to read
the tract upon which he commented. In his third letter he observes
that —

" ' It has been objected I have mistaken the nat\ire of the accu-
sations directed against the landlord class in Ireland, who, / am
informed, have been rutldessly gil)betted, not exactly on account of
their own acts, but as rej)rcsentatives of those bj^gone generations
to whose vicious mismanagement of their estates the present mis-
fortunes of the country are to be attributed.' ......

" As, in a subsequent part of the letter. Lord Duflerin does me
the honour of mentioning me by name, I presume that I am ' the
writer' referred to in this passage, and that this is intended as a
criticism on the 'Plea for the Celtic Kacc' The very Innguage of
the reference, ' I am informed,' implies that Lord Dufferin had
formed his opinion of the tract ui)on the opinion of others. I did
not need, indeed, that referenro to assure me that this was so. It
was, I. believe, impossible, if he had read it, I'cr a writer as intel-
ligent and able as Lord Duircriu so cnnipletdy to luiHuriderstand —
equally impossible for ouc of jiis station uiid character so entirely
to niisrc]ircscnt.

378

" If, as I bare reason to believe from his subsequent letter, Lord
Duffbriu bas since read tbe ' Plea for the Celtic Kace,' I am sure
be will admit tbat it would not be fair to describe me as bavinc
'ruthlessly gibbelted ' Irish landlords, or ' gibbettcd ' them at all.
My whole argument was that ' the landlord of 100 years ago ' was,
as Lord Dufl'erin describes him, the creature of circumstances. I
never once alluded to any management, vicious or otherwise, of the
estates of a century ago."

In reply to these observations I have much pleasure in
assuring Mr. Butt that he is not the Avriter to whom I
alluded in the passage he has quoted. It was the anony-
mous author of a very able article in the Daily News,
of Dec. 12^ whom I described as proposing to "ante-date
our responsibilities ;" and^ so far from implying that
Mr. Butt shared his opinion, I endeavoured to refute it by
a quotation from Mr. Butt's own pamphlet.

Mr. Butt next objects to my view of the injuries in-
flicted on Ireland by the commercial restrictions of the
last century. Of course the point must always remain a
matter of opinion. It cannot be proved by a rule of three
sum; but if Mr. Butt has any confidence in the judgment
of Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright, I would refer him to the
opinion of those two gentlemen. Mr. Cobden has stated
that but for the suppression of her trade and commerce,
Ireland might have been as prosperous as England ; and
Mr. Bright, in his speech at Dublin, has said that, but for
the development of her manufacturing resources, England
might have been as miserable as Ireland. If any weight
is to be attached to these two authorities, the matter is
reduced to something very like a mathematical certainty.

Mr. Butt objects that for the last 80 years the trade of
Ireland has been free, and that ample time has been given
to the South to rival the North in manufacturing prospe-
rity. I would venture to remind him that within the
same period the South has been the scene of two attempts
at rebellion, and the theatre of a perennial agitation, and
that such circumstances are unfavourable to industry and
to the investment of capital.

Mr. Butt further complains that I have not taken into
sufficient account the confiscations of former times, and
the religious hostility which prevailed between the owners
and occupiers of the soil.

I have never proposed to myself to review the political
history of Ireland, for the simple reason that I did not
consider that any change in the destination of existing

379

property could be justified by a reference to transactions
which took place in the days of Elizabeth, Cromwell, and
William ; nor that any practical purpose could be served
by reviving ancient animosities of race.

With regard to the wrongs inflicted on Ireland by the
penal code, I could be as warm, if not as eloquent, as JNIr.
Butt ; and I sincerely hope that before long we shall see
the Catholic clergy of Ireland placed on a footing of perfect
equality with their brethren of the Protestant communities.
But I abstained from enlarging on these topics because
they were vuiconnectcd with the subject of my immediate
inquiry. Moreover, it is not true that the fact of their
landlords being Protestants, deteriorated the economical
condition of the Irish tenant to the extent which has been
implied. As Mr. Butt himself has admitted, and as Mr.
Gregory, in his recent most able and statesmanlike speech,
has still more distinctly told us, it was rather from the
exactions of the middleman than from those of the head
landlord, that the tenant suffered : but the middlemen in
general were of the same race and religion as their
tenants; nor do I imagine would any one dream of as-
serting that any difference of religion has rendered the
relations between Mr. Herbert and his tenantry less
friendly than those which prevail between the tenantry of
the Kenmare estate and Lord Castlerosse. A government
of religious ascendancy must always i)rove demoralizing,
both to the rulers and to the ruled ; but if the landlord of
former days was imperious, it was not because he was a
landlord, but because he was a member of a dominant
sect, tliough, as a landlord, he would undoubtedly be
afforded more ample opportunities of displaying this weak-
ness in his character. But it is unjust to describe as
peculiar to the landlord, failings which were the offspring
of Acts of Parliament, and were more or less common to
every member of the Protestant establishment.

The next statement of Mr. Butt's, to which I shall refer,
is the following, p. 105 : —

" I am still umvilling to part with Lord Dufferins third letter
without noticincf two pasuKjes of no little siguijicanec ; one, in which
he avows himself the apologist of exorbitant rents ; the other, in which
I think he acknowledges his enmiti/ to Ulster tenant right."

The first part of this sentence I need not dwell upon.
If it affords Mr. Butt any satisfaction to disseminate such
an assertion amongst our i'ellou-couutiymcu^ of course 1

380

cannot prevent him. 1 would only suggest that a gentle-
man who can put such a gloss ou a writer's language
will hardly prove an impartial guide through an historical
enquiry, or the complexities of an economical analysis.
With regard to my opinion of the tenant right in Ulster,
I can add nothing to what I have already said : I simply
dissent from !Mr. 13utt's description of its origin, its nature,
and its effects.

I now come to a point of considerable importance, to
which ]\Ir. Butt has alluded in the subjoined terms,
p. 124 :—

" Lord Dufferin then points attention to the fact that a greater
number of emigrants go from Ulster than from any other of the
three provinces of Ireland

" It is easy for any man to look wise in quoting figures ; but it
often happens that exactly as he looks wise he is really foolish.

" It will scarcely be credited that Lord Dufferin makes out his
representation by leaving out of account the relative proportion of
the population of Ulster to that of the rest of Ireland. It is not
necessary to use more words than those which are requisite to make
this clear.

" By the census of 1861 the population of the whole of Ireland
was, in round numbers, 5,700,000; that of Ulster was 1,100,000;
about a third of the entire. The total emigration from Ireland in
the year 1864 was 114,908 persons, in round numbers, 115,000.
Of these, Ulster ought, in proportion to its population, to have
supplied 38,50(X). The number of emigrants for that year from
Lister was 19,815. Leinster, with a smaller population, supplied
the same number. The population of Connaught is not one half
that of Ulster, yet the number of its emigrants was very nearly
the same.

" Let us compare the population and the emigration from Ulster

and Munster in the years 1864 and 1865. These figures are few

and simple, they can be understood by every one. By the census

of 1861 the population of the two provinces was as follows : —

Ulster .... 1,900,000

Munster . . . . 1,500,000

"If, therefore, emigration were in proportion to population, the
emigrants from Ulster would have exceeded those from Munster in
a proportion of 19 to 15, that is, by a little more than one-fourth.

" How stand the facts as to the last two years. The emigration
of these two provinces was as follows : —

1864. 1865. Two Years.

Munster . 48,387 37,426 85,813

Ulster . . 19,853 22,302 41,635

" So that the actual emigration from Ulster, with a population of
1,900,000, was not one-half of that from Munster, with a population
of 1,500,000. In proportion to the population, the emigration from
LHster was 41 out of 1,900, or little more than two per cent., in
Munster it was 85 out of 1,500, or very nearly 6 per cent.

" It cannot be said that tlie last two years are exceptional. The
summary of the returns which, since the year 1851, he has, with

381 '

marvellous skill and industiy, obtained ; in the fifteen years ending
vvitli the year 1805, the emigration from these two provinces was
as follows : —

Munster .... 626,968

Ulster . . . . 436,000

" In proportion to the population the emigrants from Ulster do
not number one-half of those from Munster.

" And yet from these very figures Lord Duiferin rushed recklessly
to the conclusion that want of security of tenure could not be the
cause of emigration, because it was as great from Ulster, where
tenant right prevails, as from the other provinces of Ireland. . . .

" ' Lord Dufferin has proved,' is the language in which this bur-
lesque upon all statistical argument was, and is still cited by the
defenders of the present system of Irish laud tenure, at the Eng-
lish and even at the Irish press. Thei'e never was such an instance
of the credulity with which the rash assertions of a man of rank
are accepted by some portions of the public as proof.

" This extraoi'dinary fallacy — respect for Lord Dufferin prevents
me from saying blunder — was detected and exposed by Mr. Daltou,
the gentleman who, under the name of 'Philocelt,' has written so
ably in the columns of the Daily Neios. Every one seemed to
acquiesce in the imposing array of Lord Dufferin's figures, until the
publication of Mr. Ualton pointed out the palpable error upon which
the argument was based."

I do not propose to notice the personal allusions which
Mr. Butt has introduced into his arj^ument, but I must
point out that, by taking the years 1864 and 18G5 to
the exclusion of all the preceding ones with respect to
which we have information, and by comparing Ulster with
Munster to the exclusion of the other two provinces of
Ireland, he had educed a result calculated to give a very
incorrect impression. In the passage of my letter, to which
Mr. Butt has applied the language I have quoted, I had
simply stated that, although immediately after the famine,
the emigration from the South was in excess of that from
the North, during the last 14 years, the amount of
Ulster^s contribution to the general emigration liad been
greater than that of either Connaught or Leinster, and
in the ratio of 23 to 28, as compared with the average
of the four provinces ; in fact, 1 repeated a statement
which, any one who chooses to look, may iiud in Thorn's
Almanac. 1 did not go further into the matter, because
when once I had shown that tlicre had been an enormous
emigration from Ulster, I had proved all tluit I wanted to
prove, viz. : that a large emigration from a })urlifu]ar
district did not constitute a jrnmd facir case of hindlord
oj)j)ression.

It was not necessary for me to (luniirc whether the I'alio

382

of the emigration, either to the entire population or to the
occupying popuhition, was greater in Ulster than in the
other three provinces ; but as jMr, Butt will see in my
present compilation I have clone so, and the result proves
not only that the absolute amount of the emigration
from Ulster has been greater than that from either
Leinster or Connaught_, but that it has also been greater
proportionately to the respective populations of two out of
the three provinces brought into comparison, as will be ap-
parent from the subjoined table : —

Table showing the population of the provinces of Ireland
in 1861 J the emigration from 1st of May, 1851, to 31st
December, 1865, with the percentages of emigration
for that period to the population of 1861 : —

Population.

Emigration.

Pei'centage.

Leinster

. 1,457,635

308,609

21-1

Connaught

913,135

196,892

21-6

Ulster . .

. 1,914,236

436,354

22-8

Munster .

. 1,513,558

626,958

41-4

Mr. Butt has taken the two particular years which are
the most favourable to himself and the least indicative of
what has really occurred dui'ing the last fourteen. I have
no doubt he has acted in perfect good faith, nor need
he feel distressed at having fallen into such an ei'ror. It
was natural enough he should have taken the last two
years for his standard. If, however, he had happened to
take 1861 he would have found that during that year not
only had the emigration from Ulster been greater in pro-
portion to its population than that from Leinster or Con-
naught, but that it has been nearly twice as great, and but
very little less than that from Munster.

per cent,

Eatio of Emigrants from Leinster in 1861 8,576

= = 0-56

To Population of Leinster in 1861 1,457,635

Eatio of Emigrants from Munster in 1861 22,404

^ = 115

To Population of Munster in 1861 1,513,558

Ratio of Emigrants from Connauglit in 1861 6,124

To Population of Connaught in 1861 913,135
Eatio of Emigrants from Ulster in 1861 21,323

To Population of 'Ulster in 1861 1,914,236

= 0-67

11

383

If agaiu lie had chosen the years 1858 and 1859, he wouhl
have found the proportionate emigration from Ulster not
only more than double that from Connaught and Leinster,
but even larger than that from ]\[unster.

per cent.
Eatio of Emigrants from Leinster in 1858 & 9 22,003

. = 1-5

To Population of Leinster in 1861 1,457,635
Eatio of Emigrants from Munster in 1858 & 9 38,21 8

To Population in Mvmster in 1861 1,513,558
Eatio of Emigrants from Connaught in 1858 & 9 13,22-i

:2-5

To Population of Connaught in 1861 913,135

Eatio of Emigrants from Ulster in 1858 & 9 67,329

To Populat-'on of Ulster in 1861 1,914,236

= 1-4

3-5

The only safe Avay is to take the entire period about
■which we have information, as I have done on the preceding
page and in the body of my work.

If I might venture on a further suggestion in reference
to this subject, it would be that knowing — as IVIr. Butt must
know — how difficult it is, Avith the best intentions, to mani-
pulate statistics fairly, he should be more considerate in his
language when he has, or rather thinks he has, convicted
an opponent of a mistake.

AVith regard to his omission of all mention of Leinster
and Connaught, when he is criticising my comparison of
the emigration of Ulster with the emigration from the
rest of Ireland, I can hardly speak with the same equa-
nimity. If the proportionate preponderance of emigration
has been greater in Ulster than in two out of the three
other provinces of Ireland, surely it would have been right
to have noted that fact, and not simply to liavc confined
the comparison to the one province out of the three where
the reverse was the case.

Even Mr. Dalton docs not h.andlc this point quite fairly
M'hen he lays such stress on the fact of the emigration
from Ulster Mith its far larger population being below
the average of the emigration from the whole of Ireland,
for he neglects to mention that it is the |)red()njinanc(' of
tiie emigration from a single province (Mr.nstcr) wliicli

384

swells the general average of the kingdom to a figure
Rbove that readied in Ulster. The argument was that
the Irish emigration was composed of farmers fleeing
from the oppression of their landlords. I replied, " the
emigration does not consist of the class you imagine, nor
is it occasioned by the causes you allege. If it were there
ought to be scarcely any emigration from Ulster. But as
it happens the emigration from Ulster is, whether taken
absolutely or in proportion to its population, greater than
that from two of the other three provinces, and within
18 "6 per cent, of what it is even from the third. ^' This
was a perfectly clear and unassailable position.

The case as put by Mr. Daltou would only have signifi-
cance if it had been his intention to prove that the land-
lords of Munster were pre-eminently wicked. But this is
not his object. "What he, or at least those gentlemen, wlio
are opposed to the view I have taken, want to prove is that
the exceptional circumstances which prevail in XTlster
have impeded emigration ; but as the emigration from
Ulster has been greater than that from Leinster or Con-
naught, their argument breaks down.

Ihe next passage from Mr. Butt's volume to which I
must take exception is the following, p. 143 : —

" In passing, let me say that I cannot admit that which Lord
Dufferin assumes, that it has been an advantage to the country to
turn out every man who held a farm under ' fifteen acres.' "

I would venture to ask Mr. Butt to point out the
sentence in which I have said any thing of the sort. I
have, indeed, quoted passages from the evidence of gen-
tlemen who are known to be strong partizans of the tenant,
which show that 15 acres is the smallest area over which
they themselves would extend the protection of a lease, or
on Avhich they considered a man and his family could live
with comfort, and I argued from this evidence, 1st. That
it was not surprising that, as a consequence of the potato
failure, the number of farms in this particular class should
have diminished ; and 2ndly, that as there w^ere still in
Ireland upwards of 300,000 holdings below 15 acres (a
size described as precarious by Bp. Keane), it was fair to
conclude that the landlords had not carried their alleged
policy of consolidation to any excessive lengths. But to
invest this very reasonable and fair argument with the
meaning Mr. Butt seems to attach to it, is not a justifiable

38o

way of discrediting even a landlord, while to imply, as he
does imply, that the tenants who have disappeared out of
this category, have been turned out because they held less
than 15 acres of land, is a grave misrepresentation of facts.
If Mr. Butt thinks that holdings of 5, 10, or even
15 acres are not rather small, let him argue the matter
with those gentlemen who have pronounced a difterent
opinion, and more especially with Mr. Dalton,* from whose
pamphlet he has so frequently quoted, and who has pro-
nounced the subjoined dictum on the subject.

"All sorts of calculations have been made as to what should be
the minimum size of a farm. Experience is, after all, the best
guide; and mine, which has been tolerably extensive, tells me that
a farmer of average intelligence and industry can thrive on a farm
of 20 statute acres of land of medium quality ; some on much less ;
but 20 acres is a safe minimum."'^

As it happens it has never occurred to me to fix a mini-
mum size of farms, though I have stated more than once,
that I did not think a 10 acre farmer was likely to
prosper, and that a man with 25 acres and upwards would
have a lietter prospect. As to my recommending that a
tenant should be evicted, or rejoicing that a tenant had
been turned out because he had only 15 acres, it is an im-
putation which 1 do not think it necessary to disavow.

I now come to Mr. Butt^s observations on what I said in
ray letter to The Times with regard to the rate of wages in
the South and West of Ireland. As ten pages of his work
are devoted to the exposure of the incorrect statement I

* Mr. Dalton is the author of the able letters signed Philocelt,
which appeared in the Daily News, and although I thouglit, and still
think, that on one occasion I had reason to complain of tlie in-
ference drawn by Mr. Dalton from a passage in a s])eoc]i of mine on
emigration, which that gentleman had quoted scparatol}^ from its
context, I have great pleasure in recognizing the ability, and fair-
ness with which he has put forward his views, with which it is with
regret I disagree.

t It is perhaps well that I sliould note a subsequent observation
of Mr. Dalton's with reference to a very modest intimation of wliat
my own experience had led me to tliink on the same subject.

"In sober truth all this dogmatizing on tlu- size of farms, so
much in vogue at the present day. is unitrodtable work. — the very
charlatanry of agriculture. One miglit as well discuss the abstract
size of a shoe, as the abstract size of a farm." — ' Irish J'crrs and
Irish Vra^.ants,' an ansv)er to Lord Ditlfcrin and the Earl of Jio.ise,
hy (iiisfarKS T<(itc Dal f on, p. 25.

2 c

3SG

certainly made on tins subject, I cannot quote all his ob-
servations, but since he complains tliat I have never recti-
fied the error in The Times, thougli I at once did so in the
Daily News, I do not hesitate to perform the necessary
penance, and ^Ir. Butt shall himself be the executioner.
At p. 148, Mr. Butt says : —

" Those who believe that emigration lias proved a blessing to
the Irish people, at least to that portion of tliem who have remained
at home, must of neeessity contend that the outujoing of the labour-
ing population has bettered the condition of the labourer who
remains. Lord Dufferin, in support of his ai'gument, describes in
ver}' strong terms the improvement. He actually goes the length
of stating that

" ' The Irish labotjrek has already risen feom a serf to

BE HIS employer's EQUAL ! '

" Again he asserts that the evicted tenant has been converted
from a struggling farmer into ' a well-paid labourer.'

"Again, 'the wages of labour have doubled within the last
fifteen years.'

"And finally, he clearly and unequivocally asserts that through-
out the South the wages of agricultural labourers " range from;

TEN TO TWELA'E SHILLINGS, OR EVEN FOURTEEN SHILLINGS, A
WEEK.'

" I need not say it is not easy for a private individual, unac-
quainted practically with rural aflairs, to ascertain the average rate
of wages throughout Ireland. Still I made such effort as was in
my power

" I need scarcely say that this state of facts is entirely irrecon-
cilable with the plain and literal meaning of the passage I have
qvioted from Lord Dufierin's letter in The Times. His statements
have been challenged by Mr. Dalton in a letter to the Daily News.
Lord Dufferin in a letter to that journal of the 24ith Jan. thus ex-
plained, or qualified, or retracted them.

" I hope I will not be accused of ' ruthlessly gibbetting ' any
landlord, past, present, or to come, if I place in parallel columns
that which Lord Dufferin wrote, and that which we now know he
meant : —

" ' "When I was in the West of " ' What I alluded to when I

Ireland, fifteen years ago, the named ten or twelve shillings a

rate of agricultural wages varied week was, not wages of the or-

from half-a-crown to five shil- dinary farm servant — though I

lings a week. Ever since it has admit I had inadvertent!}^ used

gradually advanced, ranging in the word agricultural in the pre-

the South and West, from ten vious sentence — but of the best

shillings to twelve shillings, or description of unskilled manual

even fourteen shillings a week ; labour

wbilein theNorthTHE labourer I myself have been paying from

is almost absolutely master of Is. 4d. to Is. 6d. a day.' — Lord

the market, and can dictate wbat Dufierin's second letter,
terras he pleases.' — Lord Dufie-
rin's first letter.

38?

" The explanation certainly invites criticism. I have too often
admired, on other subjects, the happy elegance of Lord Dufferin's
light and graceful style not to feel an interest in the comparison
between these t^yo sentences. We know that the mistake pro-
ceeded from the ' inadvertent ' use of the word ' agricultural,' in the
previous sentence.' The ' previous ' sentence is, ' When I was in
the West of Ireland, fifteen years ago, the rate of agricultural
wages varied from half-a-crown to five shillings a week.' The next .
sentence — ' It gradually rose until.' As a full stop intervenes, its
intervention is perhaps to be considered, in courtesy to the monarch
of punctuation, to constitute two sentences ; but a full stop never
yet divided words which looked more like a continuation of one.
' Fifteen j-ears ago the rate of agricultural wages varied from two-
and- sixpence to five shillings a week. It rose.' What varied, and
what rose ? ' It ' seems very like a mere repetition of ' the rate of
agricultural wages.' This unfortunate ' it ' is the point of the
whole confusion-ra huge mistake has hid itself in that little word.
' It ' plainly means ' agricultural wages,' but ' it ' does not mean
' it ;' but when ' it ' is mentioned ' it ' means the wages of the best
' unskilled manual labour,' whatever ' it ' may be.

" I confess I cannot see why in the explanation the farm ' ser-
vant ' is introduced. He is not exactly the personage whom we
had known in the previous statement as the agricultural ' labourer.'
Keither his position or his wages are the same. Eut images eludo
our closest observation as they glide into each other in tlie marvel-
lous disappearances of that dissolving view in which all that Lord
Dufferin said so exquisitely vanishes into something that he meant.

" If Lord Dufferin is to be judged, as every public writer, no
matter what may be his rank or his ability, must be judged by that
which he has published and deliberately given to the world ; it is
dilficult to suggest an excuse for the carelessness of this statement.
The real wages are little more than one-half of that which Lord
Dufferin assured the English people Irish labourers were receiving.
The statement was made with all the circumstantiality of time and

£lace. ' Fifteen years ago, when I was in the West.' It pledged
lOrd Dufferin's personal knowledge to a part of the statement, it
appeared to pledge it to the whole. And tnis was done in a contro-
versy in which Lord Dufferin had volunteered to come forward as
the impugner of the accuracy of others— to convict Mr. Maguire
and Mr. Bright of having inaccurately represented to tlie pcoi)le of
England the condition of Ireland. For a misre])rescnta(i(>n so
wonderfully incorrect in its general statement — so niarvcHously, I
might almost say, miracuiously, put together, as to convey a wrong
impression in every detail of the combination of its words — nolhing
in Lord Dufferin's explanation furnishes anything like a sullicient
excuse."

There can be no doubt tliat ^Ir. Jiutt, on this occa.sion,
has me at his mercy, and he is evidently not inclined to
spare his advantage, for he comments on the point with
all the irony and indignation, of which he is so great a

2 C 2

388

master, tliroiigh several closely printed pages of liis book.
The words I -wrote certainly did imply that the rate of
agricultural wages had advanced from half-a-crowu or
five shillings a week to ten, or twelve, or even fourteen
shillings, in the South and West ; and such a statement
Avould be incorrect^ though not quite so incorrect as Mr.
Butt alleges. But that this misrepresentation was either
the result of dishonesty or of ignorance I hope to be able
to disprove.

As, perhaps, it may be remembered, I had occasion, on
the 16th March last year, to make a speech in the House
of Lords on the state of Ireland. That speech, together
Avith some other compositions of my own, was afterwards
published in the form of a pamphlet ; and a great portion
of my letters to the Times consisted of passages which
repeated the substance of that volume. In the speech to
which I referred occurs the following sentences, Avhich in
the pamphlet were accompanied by the note now attached
to them.

" If we look to the labourer, we sliall find a corresponding cause
for congratulation. At this moment, in my own countj"-, the
wages of an ordinary labourer averages from Is id to Is Qd a day
— in harvest time he cannot be hired under 2s or Is Qd, and with
his food supplied. Eailway labom-ers can get from 10s to 12s a
week, and carpenters and masons, etc., from one to two pounds ;
the actual increase in the rate of agricultural wages being estimated
by Judge Longfield at from 25 to 80 per cent, between 1844. and
I860."*

* I have received several letters from different parts of Ireland,
assuring me that I have understated the rise in the price of labour.
See also Pall Mall Gazette, March 31st, 1866.—" The rapid in-
" crease in emigration has produced a great increase in the wages
" of the labouring population. In Kerry they have reached their
" highest, viz., 12s to 15s a week. In Cork— present rate 10s ; with
" present prospects as to emigration, labour is likely to command
" this price."

Now, in reading this extract, the candid reader will see
that in writing the sentence which Mr. Butt has taken such
trouble to denounce, I intended to put into as condensed
a form as possible, the statement made in my speech in the
House of Lords. The necessity of crowding what I wanted
to say into the space suitable to the columns of a newspaper,
has occasioned even graver misconceptions of my meaning,
though not through so palpable an infelicity of expression.

389

Unfortunately, in this instance, the apparent import of my
observation was not even ambiguous, for the qualifying
epithet, '' agricultural,^^ had slipped into the preceding sen-
tence, and, of course, applied to whatever followed.* If I
had used the phrase " the price of labour has advanced from
its former rate of five shillings a week to ten or twelve,
or even fourteen shillings a week,^' the statement would
have been true, though many people would have de-
rived from it a different impression from that which I
wished to convey. What I meant was this, that when
T was in the South of Ireland during the famine years,
and, again, two or three years later, I found that the
Southern labourer was not paid more than from Qd to %d
a day, and that even at this rate, he could not obtain any-
thing like regular employment. At the present moment,
he has frequently a chance of earning from ten to twelve
shillings a week, and, consequently, his position is greatly
improved. Even as a common agricultural labourer he
receives twice as much as he used to do. In the North
he sometimes gets more than twice as much ; and, if I am
to believe my tenants, he has become a very exacting per-
sonage to treat with. This was the sum and substance of
what I meant to say. A slip of the pen gave a different
character to my sentence. When this was pointed out
to me, I acknowledged my error in the Daily News, and
only refrained from doing so in the Times, because I looked
forward to setting the matter right in the republished
edition of my letters, when I could do so at full length,
without occupying the space of a newspaper with a subject
of personal rather than of public interest. f

* The distinction between an agricultxiral labourer and an or-
dinary labourer must always be very indefinite. A navvy, a liod-
man, a drainer, belong to the same class as the agricultural
labourer. They difler ratlier in the subject of their cmploymcnta
than in their personal mialifications.

t So afraid was I of all exaggeration, that I understated the rate
of wages (12.V a week) I myself have been l)aying to my best men
during the last year and a half. — Sec Mem. hi/ vu/ Afjcnt, p. .^70.

Mr. Leone Levi has lately issued a valuable book on the wages
of the working classes. At n. 11, Chap. Agricultural, Mr. Levi
says, that in 18(50, agricultural wages in Ireland averaged 7.s- 1 ^^ :
tlmt they have been rising ever since, and that allowances included
they may now be estimated at 1 Iv a week in Knglnndaud Scotland,
and lU.y in Ireland. This, 1 admit, appears to me too high an average.

890

j\rr. Butt asserts, tlitit the average rate of agricul-
tural ^vages tliroiigliout Ireland does not exceed seven
shillings a week. On turning to pages 279, 280, it will
he seen that this statement does not quite agree with
the authorities there quoted ; while on page 280 my
original statement is fully confirmed. That I was correct
in putting the former rate of the labourer's earnings at
from half-a-crown to five shillings a-week will be seen by
a reference to page 37-

The only other remark of j\Ir. Butt's which I think it
necessary to notice is the passage in which he objects to
my theory that at the determination of a tenancy, during
which the occupier has had time to remunerate himself
for his expenditure, the landlord is entitled to re-enter into
possession of his property.* Now Mr. Butt proposes to
impose upon us the obligation of letting out our estates on
leases of 6.3 years. Does he intend that at the expiration
of that period the land is to be restored to our controul, to
be let, if it should so please us, to other individuals than
those who may at that time be in occupation of it '! If he
does, he accepts ray theory, for he would hardly argue that
a future tenant can be changed at the expiration of a 63
years^ lease, but that an actual tenant under a lease
of equally long duration, and at even a more beneficial
rent than that which he proposes to attach to his new
tenures, should be invested with a more permanent in-
terest. If he does not, his plan consists not of a system
of 63 years leases, but of a scheme for transferring in per-
petuity the property of Ireland from its present owners to
their tenants. And if this is his intention he should have
the manliness to say so.

* The more the matter is considered the more inconceivable it is
to me how any man can dispute this point. I will take the case of
an individual farm which I am now about to deal witli. For
some years past it has been in my. own occupation ; part of it was
incorporated with my park ; I have put it into pretty good order.
I am now about to let it on a lease of 21 years. On what prin-
ciple of equity or justice can it be pretended that a tenant wlio
hires this farm for a specified term of 21 years, is entitled to hold
it for a longer period, if at the expii'ation of our contract I should
wish to let it to a more desirable occupant. It is now mine. By
■what rhetorical hocus pocus can it be rendered his and not mine ?

Tlic r]uestio]i of compensation for improvements depends on a
totally distinct principle.

391

1 Lave now touched in a very iuiperi'eet niauiicr upon
some of the sahent points Avhich have attracted my notice
during a hasty perusal of Mr. Butts' pamphlet, but before
taking leave of this part of the subject I must venture to
express my regret at a device which has been adopted by
Mr. Butt, and which is hardly worthy cither of himself or
of the audience his eloquence and talents Avill always
enable him to command, viz. : that of endeavouring to
invest an adversary's words with an obnoxious meaning,
which no candid person could attach to them. I have
already noted how Mr. Butt has described me as apologis-
ing for rack reuts, and rejoicing over the expulsion of
every tenant of 15 acres : a single additional instance will
suffice to explain my meaning. At page 213, Mr. Butt
has introduced the following observations ; —

" lu another letter lie actually claims for the landlord tlic riglifc
of turning off his tenants exactly as he would his farm servants
whenever he chooses to consider them deficient in energy or skill : —

" ' It is a mistake to imagine that non-payment of rent is the only
' circumstance that can justify evictions. Anj' one acquainted with
' the management of land is aware that an unskilful farmer, even
' though he pay his rent, may do his landlord's property more harm
' than an industrious tenant who is occasionally in arrear. Pew
' things are more liable to deterioration than laud, and the value of
' a field may be as completely annihilated for a certain number of

* years as that of a house off which you have taken the roof. Is'ow,
' one of the landlord's most important duties is that of insuring the
' consummate cultivation of his estate, and to hold him up to obloquy
' because he makes a point of toceding his jproperiu of men whose want

* of enerrjij, or skill, or capital renders them incapable of doing their
' duty by tbeir farms, and replacing them by more suitable tenants
' is hardly reasonable.'

"According to this theory, the tenant is, in fact, to be a species
of bailiff or deputy of the landlord ; the landlord's chief duty being
not to benefit his tenants, but to ensure ' the consummate cultiva-
tion of his farm,' and for this purpose to ' wked out' the tenants
when they fail in the energy, the skill, or the capital that is neces-
sary for tliat purpose. If this be not an approac-li to the ' metayer'
system it certainly makes the landlord the superintendent of the
cultivation. But I i)rote8t I think this is very like an o]>cii avowal
of a policy of extermination ; it is so if extermination be necessary
for the discharge of the chief duty of the landlord, the ensuring of
' the consummate cultivation of his larm.' "

Selecting the word " weeding " from the foregoing very
innocent passage (which he describes as "an avowal of a
policy of extermination"), Mr. Butt takes it up and plays
with it^ and cavils at it, and echiccs inferences from it with

;i02

a practised skill which no one can admire more than
myself. Yet the animus displayed by Mr. ]?utt towards the
indolent or unskilful tenant is even perhaps more hostile.

" I propose to bind the tenant to proper cultivation of the farm,
and to the maintenance of all improvements ; and, in tlie event of
his failintr in either of these conditions he incurs, in like manner,
(he forfeiture of the interest which the statute confers upon him."
- — Fixlt)/ of Tenure, hy C. Isaac Butt, j). 5.

Should his bill ever become law, does he intend to
inaugurate a fresh crusade against those landlords who
take advantage of the power with which he now proposes
to invest them, if they remove from their estates those
tenants who fail to fulfil the statutory conditions upon
which they hold their land?

Mr. Butt comments upon my remarks as if this process
of " weeding " could only be applied to tenants at will.
If this were the case, it would be indeed a reason against
the granting of leases, but as every well drawn lease
contains covenants against burning the land and ex-
haustive cropping, the lease-holder is as subject to the
avoidance of his tenancy for improper cultivation as the
man who holds from year to year. Those who are ac-
quainted with the management of property are aware
that an intelligent agent knows pretty accurately the posi-
tion of every tenant on the estate, and that he cannot
commit a grosser dereliction of duty than to allow a bank-
rupt tenant to go on year after year making up his rent
out of a succession of flax or corn crops taken off the same
field, or with money borrowed from his neighbours. Under
such circumstances the most merciful alternative open to
a landlord is to step in and terminate a hopeless struggle,
which, if prolonged, would only plunge the unfortunate
cultivator into deeper debt, and occasion a still further
deterioration of the land.

I do not propose to continue my observations on Mr.
Butt's work further. Mr. Butt is much too formidable
an adversary to be dismissed in a few short sentences ; he
writes with great power and eloquence, he is evidently
actuated by^ the most sincere and benevolent motives, and
he brings to the discussion of the subject a considerable
acquaintance both with the past history and present con-
dition of Ireland. No one should think of forming a
definite opinion upon any of the questions involved in

393

the preseut controversy uithout a patient study of his
works; but they sliould not be read without a careful
investigation of what has been said by tliose who disagree
with him. He does not state his opponent's case fairly.
Like a mediaeval necromancer he moulds a waxen carica-
ture of his adversary, and then amuses himself with
running pins into the misshapen " eidolon " or roasting it
over a slow fire. To pick out the version of one's argument,
which is reproduced in his clever pages, is like trying to trace
one's image in a shattered mirror. The brilliant surface
is all blurred by flaws, false lights, and sharp splinters,
while here and there you catch a detached feature, which
you would never guess to be the reflection of your own
countenance.

I confess I consider it a misfortune for the country
that Mr. Butt should have embarked on the disastrous
mission in which he is engaged. Its effect will be to render
the landlords jealous of the pretensions of their tenantry,
and to make the tenants distrustful of the designs of their
landlords, to frighten the English mortgagee, and to dis-
courage the investment of capital.* At the same time I am
perfectly ready to enter with Mr. Butt into the examina-
tion of all these questions with the most perfect composure.
If he considers it would be for the advantage of the country
that the owners of property in Ireland should be converted
into mere rent chargers, with an almost inappreciable
interest in the Avelfare of their former tenantry and the
improvement of what were once their estates, it is certainly
advisable that the fairest and most dispassionate consider-
ation should be accorded to his arguments. If he would
prefer, as some very respectable persons seem to desire,
that the landed gentry of Ireland should be abolished v.ith
or without compensation, there is no reason why we should
not talk the matter over, and consider the results from
every point of view. The possession of land in Ireland is
neither so lucrative an investment, nor its managenunt so
agreeable an employment as to reiuler the prospect of its
acquisition by the State as intolerable a calamity as it
might be considered in other countries.

* Money has always been from J to I per cent, dearer to tlic
Irisli than to tlic J^nf^lisli proprietor. Of lale I am tulil Uritit-h
capitalists will not look at Irish sccuritieB.

304

Having served for many years as a text to tlie local
agitator, the Irisli landlord has now been promoted to the
dissecting table of the philanthropist and the speculative
philosopher. His head, his heart, and his bowels of com-
passion are opened, analyzed and lectured over. His origin
is accounted for on the Darwinian theory, and the fate of
the Palaeozoic monsters is predicted for him. Every warm-
hearted gentleman in the country, or rather in the towns,
whose imagination has become excited over Irish news-
papers and Irish debates, considers himself entitled to offer
him advice as to the management of his property and the
regeneration of his moral nature, while men like Lord
George Hill, and a hundred others, who have devoted
their lives and fortunes to reduce to order the chaos, into
which the uncontrolled instincts of the peasantry had con-
verted a great portion of the island, are gravely told that
their exertions have depopulated the count.ry, and that
they and their fellows, as the representatives of " Land-
lordism," (a new crime invented for the occasion) are a
public nuisance to be abated with the utmost despatch.

We will endeavour to submit to this discipline with
patience and good humour, to follow out as far as we can
the suggestions which are oii'ered to us, and to continue
in a humble way to do our duty to the best of our ability
toward those in whose happiness we have a traditional con-
cern, and wdth whose prosperity our own material welfare
is incorporated. But there are some among us, members
of either house of Parliament, upon whom are imposed
even graver obligations, viz : those of guarding the rights
and liberties of all classes of the community, and upon
these will devolve the responsibility of protecting the pro-
perty of the country from such assaults as those to which
I have had occasion to refer in the foregoing pages.

395

MR. HILL'S ARTICLE OX IRELAND
^QUESTIONS FOR A REFORMED PARLIAMENT.'

I HAD scarcely finished the perusal of Mr. Butt's volume
before mv attention was called to a very interesting article
on Ireland by Mr. F. H. Hill.

This paper is written in a spirit of genuine liberality.
AYith many of Mr. Hill's opinions I cordially concur, and
if I dissent from the contents of his concluding pages, it
is rather on account of the incorrectness of his data than
with any fault I have to find with his general argument.

At page 18, Mr. Hills says: —

" Since 1851 nearly two millions of people have left Ireland, not
intending to return. Within certain limits this movement was
necessary and healthy. Its effects were for a time visible in the
higher wages and improved modes of living of the labouring poor,
who were better clothed, better housed, and bettor fed than before ;
in the increase of the deposits in the joint-stock banks and of the
investments in Government stock and other securities ; and in the
multiplication of the signs of business enterprise. The evil daj^s
were believed to be over : and a new era was thought to have com-
menced. These favourable symptoms, however, have during the
last dozen years become less and less marked, and now they have
near)}'' disappeared. Irish agricultural prosperity reached its highest
point in 1855, fostered by exceptionally favourable seasons, by the
new capital, and new spirit introduced through the agency of the
Encumhered Estates Court, and by the removal of a sur])lua and
half-pauper population, which had increased the consuming mouths
without multiplying the productive lianda of the country."

This admission narrows the question very considcral;!}'.
If the immediate effect of emigration has been " to raise
wages, to improve the mode of living of the labouring
poor, who were better clothed, housed and fed than tlicy
were before," — the only disputable ])oint remaining is tiie
exact moment when the process to which Mr. Hill himself
attrihutes these l)eneficent results may have ceased to he
productive of good.

.300

Mr. Hill seems to consider the tide ought to have turned
in 1859: —

" This progress contimicd, though at a slackening rate, until
1859. From that time to the present, there has been retrogression
rather than advance."

And he proceeds to detail the duta which have led him to
this conclusion.

It is the accuracy of these data which I venture to
dispute.

Firsts Mr. Hill asserts on the authority of Mr. Cliffe
Leslie, a gentleman to whose courtesy, candour, and talents
I am glad to have this opportunity of paying a tribute of
admiration, that the rate of agricultural wages in Ireland,
North and South inclusive, does not exceed a shilling a
day over the working year, vhile he adds on his own
authority that it has actually declined since 1859. In
reply, I can only say that my own experience and the
information I have acquired on the subject does not con-
firm this opinion ; nor, were such a fact established, should
I be disposed to accept low wages as a proof of an undue
diminution in the number of the labouring population.

^Ir. Hill then appeals to the poor-law returns, and
taking one of what he himself describes as a series of
"exceptionally favourable seasons,^' viz., the year 1858,
he compares it Avitli 18G6, and because more persons
wei'e in receipt of relief at that latter date, he argues
that this excess of pauperism has been occasioned by the
concurrent emigration having diminished the wages fund
of the country ; but he does not note with sufficient dis-
tinctness that the increase of pauperism did not take
place until two years after the year he mentions, that it was
occasioned by a series of bad seasons commencing in 1859
and ending in 1863, that from 1852 to 1856 the percentage
of paupers to population was higher than it is at present,
and that during 1864 and 1865, down to the period he
quotes, there has been a continual diminution in the
number of persons in receipt of relief, as will be seen on a
reference to the subjoined table.

* Mr. Hill says 20,000 more. I cannot understand where he
gets this figure. According to the official returns the average num-
ber of persons in receipt of relief amounted to 45,790 in 1858, and
to 53,917 in 1865, which shows an excess in 1865 over 1858 of 8,000
instead of 20,000.

397

Table shewing the average daily number of Poor in receipt of
relief during the year in Workhouses in Ireland, from
1862 to 1865, with percentage of same to population.

Year ending

Total number

Per-centagc

29th Sept.

in Workhouses.

to population.

1852

166,821

2 '60 decrease

1853

129,401

2 06

1854

95,190

1-54

1855

79,211

1-30

1856

63,235

104

1857

50,665

0-84

1858

45,790

0-76

1859

40,380

0-67

1860

41,271

0 69 increase

1861

45,136

0-78

1862

53,668

0-93

1863

57,910

101

1864

56,525

099 decrease

1865

53,917

0-95

So far from " there having been on the whole a steady
increase of pauperism during the last ten years," as asserted
by Mr. Hill, there has been a continual decrease of pau-
perism during the first four and the last two years of the
series he refers to.

Considering the disturbed state of the country during
these two last years, a less favourable result might have
been expected.

Mr, Hill then recurs to the old story of the conversion
of tillage into pasturage, " which has been in proijress hi
Ireland during the last twenty years j" a perfectly inaccu-
rate statement, as will be seen on referring to the; table at
page 36.3, and he adopts Mr. Dalton's dictum that "thc^
increase in the number of lioldings above 15 acres has
been generally effected in the worst possible way, a ten
acre farmer has been converted into one of 20 acres by the
Procrust(;an process of stretching him;" — a conjecture
which a moment's reflection might have told Mr. Hill is
quite incapable of verification, and which iin|)lics t hat the

098

land agents of Ireland do not know tlieir business nor tlic
landlords their own interest. If he wishes to test the
accuracy of Mr. Daltou's observation let hiiu try to
" uilstrctch" the alleged victims of tlie experiment, and
see what the twenty- acre farmer will say when it is pro-
posed to dock him of half his liolding.

But this is not the only opinion Mr. Elill has borrowed
from Mr. Dalton. He actually asserts tiiat the produc-
tive energy of Ireland has declined during the last five
and twenty years. Those who have watched the great
advance which many of the tenantry of Ireland have been
making in skill and knowledge of their art during this period
Avill be inclined to smile at such an assertion. But as figures
are quoted, let us examine their bearing on the question.*

* Table showing the average rates of produce of the principal
crops to the statute acre in Ireland, from 1847 to 1865 : —

Wheat.

Oats.

Potatoes.

Turnips.

Flax.

Years.

Cwts.

Cwts.

Tons.

Tons.

Stones,
Ulbi.

,

1847

16-5

14-7

7-2

15-5

480

1 1

1848

11-3

133

3-9

14-3

38-4

1849

13-3

13-3

5-6

161

39-6

o 1

1850

110

13-5

4-6

15-7

394

. ^ I

1851

12-5

13-8

51

15-9

38-6

-2 \

1852

13-8

14-4

4-8

15-9

41-4

1 ^ '

1853

14-5

13-8

6-4

16 4

40-2

Is

1854

14-8

15-4

51

15-8

376

< 1

1855

14-3

13-7

6-4

16-6

38-6

f^ f

1856

130

12-8

40

12-9

28-3

1^

1857

12-5

12-6

3-1

125

23-7

^1

1858

13-5

12-6

4-2

12-9

30-7

S^

1859

13-3

11-6

3-6

10-7

25-3

6^

1860

11-5

12-6

2-3

8-3

29-6

-^-gj

1861

90

11-2

1-6

10-2

24-4

O ;> O

1862

81

10-3

21

101

25 9

•i^^

1863

13-5

12-8

3-4

11-9

31-9

Asccrt
and
Gua

1861

13-3

12-1

41

103

34-2

1865

13 0

12-3

3-6

9-9

25-2

399

Mr. Dalton founds his opinion on the fact that the return of
the average rates of produce to the statute acre in 1865 is
considerably less than that given for 1847; but 1847 was
the first year dui'ing which these rates of produce were
estimated, and it is well known the operation was performed
with less precision than was subsequently attained. Under
any circumstances, a glance at the table will show either
that too high an estimate was made, or that 1847 was an
exceptionally prosperous season, and by no means a fair
representative of the rate of production over a lengthened
period, as will be observed by comparing it with the very
next year in the list.

The only fair way of learning anything from such a
table is to break it up into groups of years, and then to
compare the average rate of produce during these succes-
sive cycles.

Table showing the average Eates of Produce of the principal
crops to the statute acre in Ireland, in cycles of three
years, from 1848 to 18G5.

Wheat.

Oats.

Potatoes.

Turnips.

Flax in

Cycles.

stones of

Cwts.

Cwts.

Tons.

Tons.

14 lbs.

1848, 49, 50 ^i- \

11-85

13-36

4-70

15 3(5

39-13

1851,52,-53 11 -^

13-60

14-00

5-43

1006

40-06

1854, 55, 56 |l /

14 03

13 96

5 16

1510

34-83

1857, 58, 59 5-5 gcV

1310

12-26

3-63

12-03

26-56

1 = x? '
1860, 61, 62 i-5-=i<

9-53

11-36

2 00

9-53

26 63

1863, 64, 65 |||^/

13-26

12-40

3-70

10-70

30-43*

\^B-l,

N.B. "The estimates of prodiico were made difTcrciill}' before
1855 and after 185G. In the earlier periods the produce was csti-

* Note hi/ Mr. Thomson on Flax C'uUioalloii in Ulster. — The de-
crease in lljo produce of tlie fla.v crops is owinj; in a great measure

400

mated by the Sub-Iuspectors of Constabulary, in November in each
year. Since 1855 the produce is estimated by the Constabulary
in .fanuary or February, after each crop, in Poor Law Elec-
toral Divisions, and corrected according to opinions of Poor Law
Guardians. In 1855 the opinion of the Poor Law Guardians
was to some extent used in checking the returns of the Con-
stabulary ; in 1856 both sj'stems were used. The tendency of
taking the opinion of the Guardians has been to lower the rates of
produce " — A'ide Tables of Estimated Acreage Produce, 1856 : Dr.
N. Hancock, p. 24.

The result obtained by this method is very different and
much more significant than that deduced by Mr. Dalton
from the capricious comparison of a single year at the com-
mencement of a long series with a single year at its end.
It clearly shows that any fluctuations in the annual rate
of production are to be attributed to the varying chances
of the seasons, and not to an alleged continuous decline of
Irish agriculture, w'hich is neither in accordance with our
statistics, nor om* experience.

Mr. Hill next lays considerable stress on the fact of the
comparative deficienc}^ of pasture in Ulster, but he
neglects to mention that the stiff clay lands of a large pro-
portion of that province, including Antrim, Down, Mona-
ghan, Armagh, and Derry, are quite unsuitable to any-
thing but tillage.

He then compares the average size of farms in the four
provinces, without making any allowance for the obvious
fact, that large tracts of pasture lands in a given area must
necessarily swell the average size of all the farms within
that area, and he particularly instances Armagh, where the
average size of holdings is only 14 acres; but he abstains
from noting that there has been a greater decrease of po-
pulation to the square mile in Armagh than in any other
county of Ireland, and that so far from there being a larger

to the fact that, up to 1847, and for some years later, flax seed
was only sown on laud peculiarly adapted to the growth of that
plant, while in recent years the prices realized for flax were so
tempting that the seed was sown on land not at all suitable for the
purpose, and which was at the same time foul and exhausted. This
told also on the Oat crop, for the additional exhausting crops
introduced between two manured ones, was seen to tell more or less
unfavourably on the produce of all.

401

proportion of small farms in Ulster than in the rest of Ire-
land, there is a larger percentajrc of holdings from 1 to 5
acres both in Connaught and in Leinster than in Ulster,
and that even of holdings from I to 15 acres the percentage
in Ulster is less than it is in Connaught and within 7 per
cent, of what it is in Leinster.

Table sliowing the per-centage of Holdings from 1 to 5 acres,
and from 1 to 15 acres, to the entire Holdings of the
respective Provinces.

Entire holdings 1
in 1864 . . 1

1 to 5 acres . .
1 to 15 acres . .

Leinster.
114,433

20-1
451

iMunster.
114,921

Ulster.
203,066

Connaught
120,698

Irclantl.
553,118

11-2
29-3

13-5
52-3

15-3
55-2

14-8
46-7

He then goes on to state that the purely agricultural
emigration from Ulster has been smaller than that fi-oni
any of the other provinces of Ireland,* a gratuitous assump-
tion which cannot be deduced from the statistics upon the
subject (see pp. 382, 383) ; and he concludes his observa-
tions by assuring us, on the authority of a correspondent of
the " Daily News," that there arc proportionately fewer
cultivators to the acreage under cultivation in Ireland than
in England, and that the agricultural class in Ireland
cannot number at this moment more than 650,000 ])ersons,
a proportion which, allowing one occupant to every farm in
the island, would leave each tenant a fifth of a labourer to
assist him in its cultivation If

* If by "purely af^ricultural emigration," Mr. Hill means actual
cultivators, lii.s guess is i)robably correct, lor the sini|)l(! reason (hat
there are fewer cultivators to the area cultivated in parts of I'lsler
than elsewhere: if, however, he nu-nns the sons and dauj^hter.s of
farmers, I sec no reason why that should be the ease. exce))t so far
as the juanufactures of Ulster may enable some of (lieni to (Ind
employment at home.

t The total nuiiibiT of iii»Iilin'4s in Ireland in ISC I, was (;ol,771.
See p. 3(;<.i.

2 u

40i}

In undertaking to pilot a reformed Parliament through
the rocks and shallows of Irish politics, ^Mr. Mill would
do well to take soundings on his own account. He will
then be able to buoy the channel with beacons in which
the public will be able to place more confidence than in
those which he has now borrowed for their guidance.

It is a general misfortune when a gentleman so intelligent
as Mr. Hill, is led astray by inaccurate information.

THE END.

u

■WILLIS, SOTHEKAN & CO., PKINTERS, 42, CUAEING CROSS.

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