The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-10-16 00:00:00

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SATURDAY. OCTOBER 18, 1889.

THZ IRISH LAND QUESTION.
The latest contributions to the discussion of
the Irish hind question is an important one, in-
asmuch as It pets a new view of the subject in
a very strong light. Mr. Charles Buxton lute
never been remarkable for extreme political
opinions, bet he has always been noticeable for
the sound praetical view that he takes of any
political subject on which he enters. There does
not seem to be a particle of romance about him,
end there is certainly not much theory. He has
just spoken on the Irish land question, and here,
as in relation to other matters, he looks at it
practically —not as a theorist, not as an advo-
toile, not as a Liberal, but as a matter-of-fact
titan. elm has the courage to look facts full in
the face, and deal with them as he finds them.
Mr. Buxton, as an Irish landed proprietor.
ought to know something of this subject. and
we do not read far la-fore we find that—always
supposing he is right in his statements—he
knows a good deal about it. And lie jilainly
tells us at the ontset that people generally are
making a great mistake as to what the Irish
want. It has been generally thought that a
system of compensation for improvements would
go far to setisfy the tenant farmer, and far also
to pacify Ireland ; but Mr. Buxton maintains
that this is is complete illusion. and that we can-
not too socn open our eyes to the truth that the
one thing on which the hearts of the Trish are
set, the one thing which they are resolutely de-
termined to obtain is, not compensation for im-
provements, lint fixity of tenure. And anyone
who looks back nuon the history of Ireland must
see that the liability lif a tenant farmer to be
turned out of his holding at the will and plea-
sure of the lendlord forms one of Ireland's
grievances. This liability includes the grievance
of no compensation for improvements ; but this
power of the landlord is in itself the master
grievance. Mr. Buxton calls into question the
wisdom of Lord Clarendon in speaking of fixity
of tenure as a wild and subversive scheme to
which no Government could listen ; but the hon.
gentleman maintains that, instead of fixity of
tenure deserving this language. it is 5 proposal
that the English would in well to look at with
calninees. The Irish, as a nation, have a passion
for the possession of hind which transcends the
desire for landed property which generally exists
in England, where mineral wealth. large menu-
factoring resources, and vast activity in trade
tend to divert attention from the land, which in
Ireland has a greater comparative value. The
Irish notion, says Mr. Buxton, is that the law
is unjust in sanctioning a system of tenures by
which most of their 140,000 occupiers of land
are plaetel at the mercy of a comparatively small
body of men, many of them absentees, most of
them utter strangers, sod 0 they want to get
rid of that leitefill precarionsness of their daily
lives by whieh their lives, their livelihosd, the
labeere et their hands, the prospects of their
children, are ri.t the beck and call of others."
This cannot well be denied It lathe unfair and
one-sided cheraeter of the land laws of Ireland
that has produced so much bitterness between
C 1055 and claaa, and which has even led, in too
many Instances, to agrarian outrage and was,
aination.
That the present 0 A,ernment reeognise these
truths, though they may he little hemled or un•
derstood by the general public, we may venture
to hope, but we do not believe it at all likely
that the Government measure will go to the fall
extent that the tenant farmers would desire.
This would be too much to expect. As far, in-
deed, as members of the Government have spo-
ken, they have thrown out what may be called
negative hints; they have given us some idea of
what the Government will not do. That the
Irish Land Bill will attempt to grapple with the
land difficulty from the tenant farmer's point of
view is probable enough, but it is not likely to
be only from this point of view. The landlords
and the labourers have also to be studied. Now
fixity of tenure is a phrase that cuts both ways.
If it be right to give the tenant farmer anything
approaching to fixity of tenure it must also be
right to consider the increasing value of land to
its owner. If the tenant insist, and justly in-
sist on the right to compensation for improve-
ments when lie quits the land, the landlord may
fairly look forward to some profit from the in-
creased value of land—not merely as a cultiva-
ted farm, but purely end simply as land. Fixity
of tenure at the present rents would not be fair
to the landlord, because that very fixity would
largely improve the value of the land, and its
owner would have no benefit from this, all the
benefit going to the occupier. We are inclined
to think that the proposal of Mr. Buxton would
fairly meet the just claims of both parties.
though we have doubts whether it would satisfy
either; and it may be, indeed, that it is just be-
cause it would not entirely please either party
that it would he intrinsically fair. He suggests
that the new law should not sanction any tenure
of land for less than leases of thirty years ; the
tenant having power to alienate uniler proper
restrictions, but no power to sublet or subdivide;
and the landlord being bound at the expiration
of the leave either to compensate for improve-
ments or else to renew the lease at the same ren-
tal. Such an arrangement would modify the
present unfair power of the landlord, would give
the tenant a fair term of possession and an in-
centive to good cultivation, and indirectly it
would benefit the condition of the labourer, as
the farmer would be able to pay better wages.
We fear, however, that such a scheme is too good
to be carried out, especially considering the
enormous power that the landed aristocracy have
in both Houses of Parliament. We may, indeed,
confidently look for a measure which will effect
some considerable reform in the relations of
landlord and tenant in Ireland; lint the argra-
rian evils from which Ireland suffers have been
the g.rowth of centuries, and we cannot expect
them to be reformed all at once. The tenaut
farmers, aggrieved as they undoubtedly are,
must not expect a measure which shall be ex-
elusively to their advantage.
Hon- 1

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