The Express.
London, England, 1852-11-23 00:00:00

tioa to tenants gar improvements made by them. The Devon
!Committee reported that at the period of their inquiry the
number of small holdings was so great that it would be
impracticable fur the landlord to carry out the improve-
ments, and the tenants, who were not living but merely
fvoergethtactiirnbeg upon it, o,
could of wn.rttedopontaotthoi.wgi.thAwnadtebresoidnesly
this, almost two millions of the rental of the country was in
the bands of receivers under the Court of Chancery. in such
a state of society there could be no improvements, Dud the
result wee that at the time of the commission, milliuus of
acres were uncultivated, millions of the people were un-
employed, and millions of money lying idle. The report of
the Central Relief Committee of the Society of Frienes,
recently published, and which was also • moat valuable
document, stated that at the period of the fa-
mine, when all the world sympathised with Ireland,
there were several dedricts where there were
ample means for relieving the destitution which existed,
but where, in consequence of the vicious state of society,
no agency could be found fur carrying out the charitable
intentions of those by whom Audi means of relief had been
provided. All this slowed the necessity fir some legisla-
tion, and he had accordingly endeavoured to apply his mind
to devise a way by which io some degree the evil might be
met. It bad struck him, in the first place, that it was de-
sirable to provide means for enabling the owners themselves
to make improvements—improvements by which the pro-
duce of the MA might be increased and employment given
to thepeople. There were several models which might be
followed in carrying out this object. First, there was the
Montgomery Act, which referred to Scotland ; there was
also another act, passed in 184.5; and, subsequently,
there was the Landed Bilabial Improvement Act, passed
by the government of the late Sir Robert reel
—the act passed for Great Britain in 1846, which authorised
the lending of two millions of money her the purposes of
drainage ; and then there was the Landed Improvement
Act for Ireland, passed in the find year of the government
of the noble lord (J. Russell), and which had grown out el
the act of 1810. What occurred to Lim as the result of
such a measure was that in the first plans farming was
placed under a totally new condition. It was admitted on all
hands that the farmers must be • better educated class than
they had been—that they could not ge on under the ignorant
system of cultivation which formerly prevailed. Already
he found that a better course of cultivation was beginning
tuobtain, and wbich must extend, notwithstanding the
prejudice with which in many quarters it was met. (near,
hear.) lint the first step towards the improve-
ment of the soil was drainage, and to that his
first measure would rater. After quoting en article from
the Times of Sept., 1850, as to the necessity of greater
knowledge and more capital being brought to bear on the
business of farming, he observed that Sir It. reel, when
introducing his measures for changing tho commercial
policy of the country, had intimated his opinion that one
result of those measures would be the reduction of the pikes
of agricultural produce by one-third ; and that if any one part
of the United Kingdom suffered mere from the policy he
was then Inaugurating than another, it would be In laud—
that being purely an agricultural country. (Hear.) Sir R.
Peel was quite correct in that opinion, and not only had
Ireland suffered more in comparison with England or
Scotland, but there was • marked distinction even
between the result of those measures on some
parts of Ireland as compared with others. In
the neighbourhood of Belfast, where there were ready
means of communication, where capital was abundant,
where markets were plentiful, sad commercial enterprise
was extensively carried on, there tenants were prosperous
and landlords were in a condition to make the necessary
improvements on their land ; but it was not so in the purely
agricultural districts. Under Sir It. Peel's seta, 2,000,0001.
were apportioned to England and Scotland, and 1,060,010!.
to Ireland, as the amount to be advanced on loan for the
purposes of drainati.. In Scotland the money was rapidly
taken up, but in lee d the landlords could not take advan-
tage of the act, in consequence of • condition imposed in it
that the loan should only be granted when the money had
been expended and the• improvements made. This, how-
ever, wee remedied in the following session, when the
amount authorised to be advanced was increased to
2,000,0001., and the money was then allowed to be ad-
vanced for the works without the landlord being first re-
quired to pay it himself out of his own pocket, which had
undoubtedly been a great benefit to Ireland. The amount
of loans applied for (under that act, mainly for drainage,
but to some extent for other improvements, as sub-soiling,
farm buildings, &e) was 4,082,5911. • of this, 1,839,8431.
' had been sanctioned, and 1,287,8841. had been actually is-
sued. He might observe further—for it was sometimes sup-
posed that when money was lent to Ireland it came back
again—that of 190,1611. 4s. due in repayment in April 1862,
183,1,501. had been repaid up to the 15th of November.
(Hear, hear.) And even this slight defalcation was owing
entirely so the neglect of the officers. The drainage effected
under that act had been the means of enabling the country
to keep up its produce of greets and root crops—for it had
wand in • great degree to produce cereal crops which re-
gaited thorough drainage. Thero nad been some re-
markable instances of the beneficial operation of this act.
Oats gentleman, whose estate was encumbered, induced his
creditors to assent to his applying for a loan. lie did so,
and it was expended on drainage, and the result bad been
that since then the tenants bed paid their rents, his incum-
branees were paid off, and he had even a surplus. Again,
• gentleman in the south of Ireland obtained a loan for
drainage, whose tenants were unwilling to have their
lands drained, and one of them even threatened
him with an action if it were attempted, and
yet that very tenant had since paid his
rent punctually, arid often thanked his landlord fur 'laving
drained his land, for by means of that only had the land
enabled him to pay his rent, end even to have a surplus,
and be altogether in a prosperous condition. There were
instances in which drainage had doubled the produce of the
land, for drainage was particularly adapted to Ireland, the
climate being mild aad humid, and meney advanced for
that object would be productive of great benefit. It had,
besides, a collateral effect, for every acre of drainage em-
ployed 100 labourers a day, who were employed by task
work, while it also enabled many who had no capital but
their labour to get their own lend drained, and man small
tenants accepted it as en equivalent for wages. Hs (Mr.
Napier) wished this object to be attained more by private
loan than public grants, though he was sure that public
money advanced for such • purplees would be well laid out.
Still, however, he wished the money to be advanced by
private proprietor', who were able to do so, and also that
&dlitiee for such loans should be gives to the Bank of
Ireland, sad that each betas should be made the primary
charge on the land, thus affording a perfect security to the
lender. The act provided that, in the first instance, a me-
morial should be predated by the borrower, giving a de-
scription of the land to be drained, and the increased value
which wee expected to arise, eat the Board of Works,
which had °Seen in every county in Ireland, would he
enabled to examine the land and test the accuracy of the
statement as to expected value, and unless those officers
were of opinion that each improvement would amount to
at least 61 per wet. they were to reject the proposition.
The expense of each investigation would be from 6a. to 16e.
per oast. The officers of the Board of Works were also to
see that the drainage was properly carried out as regarded
de sod le ox an equal supervision over other classes
of negeoemneat. The improvements were to be registered
by memo of the arrangement adopted in the Ordnance
mageoe that the farm of each Individual intended to be
improved would be marked in every towelled division gad
the nature of the improvement" staled. (The tight has.
gentleman here illustrated the ',Mae peened en eplan
which he had of the improvements ea the estate
et the honourable member gm Werreak sad bbyy
moms of whisk regular ;wintry would be )
The woakiag of the act for taellitafing drainage bre=
pant eatisfiietiou nlnked, end • proof of it waste
in the feet, that upwards at two maim bad Ws ow.
paraded ; end the prevision by whisk lbe membelemme
IMO entitled to adjudiette is seam of dlaresiess Wham
landlord and tenant, had only Mee sailed fats minim le
fear mom All dispute* had been emisabllaarrseeseadig
the as nub had bees esatimed sad 'mid
of the
se prodmilvsnme slabs WA. Es
that set se Se Mob et the Emmen he pespeted.
ear is be asalasced—irrn, the garden efeellisments ter
life se lhe band the &Meshy if 07 adjuileg
the lelemele out of tam; eel, the Me-
resis et the end thetease.The as prepared
made the em benewod payable by 11l iastalmeets,
width wield have to edict that as the. payment would be
in the mein et a rent charge, := owner would pay In
le what he wee an improvement
ofPferHrielgameny Aseerfilliftenl fir Nib borrowed the
roam dam from spisaas Intasal sr the Bank of tre-
ks& end dbl. the INNS wed& he • primary charge on the
laud, whisk mold he ties of enabling improve.
te be ends& sill Sag through all Ireland, in-
creariegtbs poehmilleemidet the soil,employing the popula-
te:kind Iteer-raWs, while the proprietors
hem the albs aristesso of an mp, Finned
Mei eternises who easeleed use the drainage act, which
would melerially mist tam Y doing what was mambal.
Take the seesof the dm seep, which, in hie opinion, was •
meet imperial hatare. Asia the ease of agriculture there
*aka sells pose WWII without drainage, and the 'spelt-
dittos eNoaimt on it, so it was with Am. The supply of
tai ear net a third of that which was neomeary for
bens esesemptiee ia leftmost, and if thousands of
affiffilleaol eerie were drama! and outmoded the
resell wield probably be the the supply of fiat would
INS s se band but afford sufficient
kg actpp sum asaasrleaa end ths consequence
(polies ass at the eases of ennetricted competition)
wealth, thee seek esentry wasAd out the arcle to
the peellsesise of yids& *a adapted and Itsculti-
vation medip=weoll lend le the adraii,tage not only
of me esesery, ef the civilised world.
(Hear_• bear.) He biped that them would be found no
etiasisa as the primal* of the hill he proposed to intro-
dues. The ant provislis he Mil to was one to which he
attedied great immelesee. Ho bond that there were
la mass& isms sixty soatterpd statutes, giving power to
pm end serradimas te make leases for special per-
poem hum seamed a Isom he life to make a lease of
urn awes of lend. sed Mos seahled a rector, or • bishop,
or any tielMe to make a lease for • year. The
1411 now /rsprM the principle—which was also
reeepiewl by jiirelstveoda Commission—that persons
wild, Beale/ ealates asking charges on them should not
a Udsdieloadniallperemarsewstotelreone af"aillforsala;:iasiapnid.. alsoln the re
reduced
gamey Ast there was a provision which was productive of
KUM alsoldet. by placing restrictions on the cultivation of the
lead; sad there were other mete, some of them containing
, but he thought that it would be beet for
18=1arraagements with regard to lessee were made
beferabead, and not after they were granted. (Hear,
hem) la the bill the claeses:whe had such powers of leas-
lag as he had stated, namely, tenants for life, tenants in
tail, corporations and trustees of public buildings, were
specified ; and although he wished to continue limitations
on land for family gees, so long as they were consistent