The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-31 00:00:00

birb Ntrition,

SUN OFFICE,
.Seven o' Clock.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT
(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The SPEAKER took the Chair a few minutes aftoi
Twelve o'clock.

PETITIONS.
Sir EDWARD FILMER. presented a petition from
Tanbridgo against the Alaynootla
Mr. ROEBUCK presented a petition from Sheffield
in favour of legalising industrial partnerships.
Mr. M. GIBSON presented a petition from Manches-
ter against calling out the militia ; also a petition from
Perrimouth against taxes on knowledge ; also several
petitions for the repeal of the malt tax.
Mr. REYNOLDS presented petitions from Dublin
and other places in Ireland, in favour of Mr. S. Craw-
ford's Tenant Right Bill; also two petitions from
Westmeath and Derry for the repeal of the Ecclesias-
tical Titles Act.
Mr. CORBALLY presented a petition from Meath
in favour of Mr. S. Crawford's motion.
Mr. DUNCAN presented a petition from the Chamber
of Commerce, at Dundee, against the re-imposition of
the corn-laws.
Mr. ROCHE presented a petition from Skibbereen,
in favour of Mr. S. Crawford's motion ; also several
petitions to the same effect, from other parts of Ireland.
Mr. MONSELL presented a petition for the repeal
of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act.
Mr. H. WILLYAMS presented a petition from Truro,
against calling out the militia.
Sir
EMERSON TENNENT presented a petition
from Lisburn in favour of Mr. Sharman Crawford's
motion.

Mr. SADLEIR presented several petitions from Ire-
land to the same effect; also a petition for the repeal of
the Ecclesiastical Titles Act.
Mr. SCULLY presented a petition from Tipperary,
also for the repeal of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act; also
several petitions in favour of Mr. S. Crawford's Bill.
Lord EBRINGTON presented a petition from the
Sanitary Association, praying for the preparation of
plans for the supply of water to the metropolis.
Mr. HENRY presented a petition from Manchester
for the legalization of industrial societies.
Mr. COWAN presented a petition from the Chamber
of Commerce at Edinburgh, for the repeal of the duty
on paper; also several petitions from places in Scotland,
praying for the repeal of the grant to Msynooth.
Mr. SLANEY presented a petition from Galashiels,
pray ing for the legalization of industrial partnerships.
TAXES ON KNOWLEGDE.
Mr. REYNOLDS said the Hon. Member for Man-
chester (Mr. M. Gibson) had a notice on the paper for
Tuesday, the 6th of April, with reference to the repeal
of the duty on paper and on knowledge, and he wished
to know whether he would have any objection to post-
pone it until after Easter ? The reason he asked the
question was that himself and ceveral other Irish
Members who took an interest in the question would not
be present on that occasion: and they would take it as a
favour if ho would adjourn his motion.
Mr. M. GIBSON said he should be very unwise to
loose the support of his Hen. Friend and other Irish
Members, who must be unavoidably absent on Tuesday
next. Ile would, therefore, assent to the postponement
of his motion until after Easter, but he would take the
first opportunity of balloting for an early day after Easter.
HOME-MADE SPIRITS.
Mr. REYNOLDS gave notice that to-morrow he
would ask the Noble Lard the Chief Secretary for Ire-
land whether it was hie intention in the present session
to ask permission to introduce a Bill to place the manu-
facturers of home-made spirits on an equal footing with
the importers of foreign and colonial spirits.—(Hear.)
TENANT-RIGHT (IRELAND) BILL,
Mr. REYNOLDS presented a great number of peti-
tions from various parts of Ireland in favour of tenant-
right in that country. He then moved the second reading
of the Bill, and said that in doing so he felt a deep and
weighty responsibility rested upon him, for he was not
bringing forward a puppet of his own, nor standing there
es the organ of any scot or party, but as the messenger
of a nation. He asked their assent to the principle of
the Bill because it had received the sanction of the
nation. The number of petitions presented from various
parts of Ireland in favour of the measure justified him
in making that assertion. He was in the remarkable
position of not having a single petition presented against
the Bill.—(Hear, hear.) Such a circumstance was
nearly unparalleled on a question of such vital import-
unes to a country. The preamble of the Bill recited
that it was the practice in Ireland to let lands to
teeants without the necessary buildings, and that
in the event of their quitting, they could not obtain any
allowance for the improvements they might hare effected
on the land. This was proved to be the case by all the
evidence adduced to the House on the subject of tenant
right in Ireland. If a tenant made any improvements
in his land he bad no alternative but to rely upon the
honour of the landlord for compensation; for there was
no law in Ireland to secure to him the value of the capi-
tal and labour he had expended. Now he proposed to
remedy this anornaly.—(Hear, hear.) Land was the
chief means of existence to the Irish population, and
it was necessary that some fair protection should be
given to the poor occupiers for the outlay of their
labour and capital. The priecip!e he proposed with the
view of attaining that object he believed would be gene-
rally acceptabl e for it w"s that improving tenants
ebonld have a fair and full compensation awarded to
them, having regard to the custom of the particular dis-
trict in which the land was situated. In case of a
difference ail arbitrator was to settle the terms be-
tween the landlord and tenant. The provisions of
the Bill were entirely consistent with the civil
law of the laud. The Bill recognised putting the onus
upon the tenant of proving the custom which existed
and the value of the tenant's goodwill. He proposed to
do nothing more than assimilate the law of Ireland, in
regard to tenant right, to that of England. In some
counties in England the tenant was required to prove
the local usages and customs, and the value under them.
He would fairly state to the House that the object of his
Bill was to give the tenant a legel property in the im-
provement which be effected upon his farm, and if the
Bill did not accomplish that ho had no hesitation in
declaring that it would be worthless. The other day,
the Noble Lord the Secretary fee. Ireland, at his election
fur Coieraiue, made a speech, in which he acknowledged
the justness of that principle, and he now called upon
the Noble Lord to support his own views, and
vote fer the second reading of this Bill. The
Noble Lord distinctly stated that the object of the
present Government ought to be to hold out to the te-
nant farmers some ieducenasnt to improve the land; and
es that was the main purer se of the Bill he thought
the Noble Lord was bound to take it up. If, however,
he would consent to tee second reading of the Bill, ho
should he quite ready to postpone its future stages until
such time as Government should have decided whether
they would adopt it, or introduce some measure of their
owo, as they had prompted to de.—(Hear.) The tribu-
nal wnitie the Bill neitild establish for the settlement of
disputes beta fen landlord and tenant, when they could
not attiutted by amicable arbitration, was of a simple
and hit xpensive cearacter. le eases where the compen-
%mien claimed was under tool., he proposed that the dis-
Vito should be referred to the revising barrister of the
7ba 21,ty, 515,1 in all other caeca the reference should
Ith the in need, el assize, wh, decisions should at
d'e" be final and
no objection to
hear.)Zillete
thought there could bit to that provision,
nor indeed could there be any objection urged against
!ih:?._?ex.`' Clause,. which made provision for the adjust-
s., of contracts entered into previous to the repeal of
the, corn-lawe_(hear, hear.) The 13th and 14th
altered
"11'433 (lid
rc n originally- form part of the Bill, but the
cium "t
stances of Ireland had rendered their in-
troduction necessary. The first of these clauses would
prohibit evictions for •a limited time of tenants who
were in arrear of rent, while the other
clause would make provision for the pre-
vention of that isufferieg
which had recently
attended the eviction system, by securing the tenant
some relief or some alternative in the place of the
misery and starvation which otherwise would inevitably
overtake him.—(flear, hear.) He, however, did not
urge these claims upon the attention of
matter of right due to the tenant, but as House as a
ti
a law rendered
necessary by the dictates of humanity, and im-
peratively called for to avert that scourge of
extermination which was now raging amongst
that portion of the Irish tenantry who wererthea
least able to protect themselves from wrong or opnres.
sien.--(Hear, hear.) Let the House rememberi
whole nation was interested in the success of this thattee,.
sure, and in the name of justice and humanity, and as
they valued the prosperity of Ireland, be implored the
House to allow this Bill to go to a second reading.—
be
(Hear, hear.) The landlord's right could never _
safe, so long as those of the tenant were neglected
or despised by the law ; and,
deeply interested in the maintenance of his a landlord
deeply own rights,
he wished the House to do tardy justice to the tenant
in passing this Bill.—(Hear, hear.) It was ridiculous to
tell him that this Bill would confiscate the property of
the landlord, because it, could not possibly do any such
thing.—(Hear, hear.) It would, however, take care that
while the improvements iu the land were secured to
ties halo/el. the tenant should be secured his
share through the medium of a money value.
Apologising to the House for having trespassed so
long upon its time and attention, he begged leave to
move the second reading of the Bill.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. NAPIER could assure the Hon. Member for
Reendele, arid the House, that there was no subject
more worthy of the consideration of Parliament than
this,—(Hear, hoar.) It was of the utmost importance
that the cultivators of the soil in Ireland should be en-
couraged to the fullest possible extent, but at the same
time he hoped the question as it now stood would be
aLetteetel clearly and dispassionately, and without any
reference to party feelings or party motives.—(Hear,
hear.) lie allowed that the Hen. Member for Rochdale
was entitled to
,great credit for the manner in
which he had persevered with this Bill, and ha could
aseure him and the House that for years this
very suoject of tenant rieht had commanded
his constant attention.—(Hear, h'ear.) Every :pare mo-
ment he could find had been devoted to a it, and nothing
. gave him ore, when he was called into
ethee, than
tee presp-an which it opened up to him of
being one day able to live hit ItCtours a practical shape.
--(hear, hear.) .h
bad, therefore, no hesitation in
telling the House that he hoped u at no distant period
to be able to Idy upon the "41" of the House a Bill which
should a-).tiafac:orily reform the law of landlord and
tenant in Irelane, and secure to each party his just and
equitable rights.—(lielr, hear ) Re had always been
the tenant for unexhausted
an advocate for compete-sitting
improvements. ihe tenant, had nothing but his labour
sal small wits! :0 'FOY t 9 anti as he sated

so he ought to reap, and if when he left his farm there
was any portion of his labour unrealised, he was en-
titled to demand some money compensation at the hands
of his landlord.—(Hear, hear.) Nothing was more cal-
culated to improve the social condition of Ireland than
the settlement of this question, and he was rejoiced to be
able to tell the House that in his attempt to obtain a
solution of this momentous question he should be as-
sisted by two gentlemen who bad the honour of serving
on the Devon Commission.—(Hear, hear.) Nothing,
however, could produce more evil than raising hopes
which never could be realized; and he trusted, and he
therefore begged to impress upon the House, that what
the present Government intended to do in this matter
would be based upon the report of the Devon Commission.
The measure which be hoped to have the honour of in-
troducing would be made as simple as possibre, or it
would be better to leave the matter alone, as it would
only serve to create unnecessary agitation if the measure
was of a complicated and cumbersome character, and
he requested that the House, in its ;legislation
upon Ibis very difficult subject, would take
care to render its enactments as simple and as free from
complication and restriction as possible.—(Hear, hear.)
With regard to the Bill immediately under discussion,
the principle was no doubt good, indeed, no one
could dispute that ; but still its provisions were
not sufficient to amend, simplify, and consoli-
date the landlord and tenant code of Ireland.
The Bill in its provisions was not sufficiently
simple or general in its scope, and that was the great
objection which he entertained to its details.—(Hear,
hear.) Whenever these objects could be carried out by
agreement so much the better, for though legislation
could do much, it could not by itself make a good land-
lord.—(Hear, hear.) But in effecting this there were
some difficulties, one of the principal of which was the
limitation of property for family purposes. In such
cases it was most important that they should be
regulated in such a beneficial mannner as not
to interfere with the cultivation of the soil.
It was more consistent, however, with the commercial
system of the country and the temper of the times to
act as far as possible on a system of contracts. One of
his principal objections to this Bill was that it was a
dealing with the existing state of things, for the purpose
of perpetuating by Act of Parliament the custom—after
all-not a legal one—which was not calculated to work
any important improvement. If they could get a
system arranged by which the tenant would receive
a compensation for unexhausted improvements, it would
very much tend to increase the prosperity of Ireland.
The course to be taken was this, to secure to each tenant
such a period of enjoyment of the improved soil so as
to enable him fairly to reap the fruits of every improve-
ment which he might have made ; and if it were neces-
sary, from any reason, to interrupt the possession,
that, at the expiration of his possession, calculations
should be made, and he should still be able to
reap the benefit of his improvements.—(Hear, hear.)
That in his opinion was the plain justice of the case—
(ilear)—a fair principle against which no righteous
tenant or landlord could consistently object.—(Hear,
hear.) But the present Bill did not go to effect this;
the propositions which it contained were such as to
startle men from a right view of the case. It in-
terfered with existing contracts, and that, in
his opinion, Parliament ought not to do. It was
not by the violation of the rights of property
that Ireland was to be benefited, nor by interfering
with the fixed principles of property, but by the en-
couragement of industry, by inviting the application of
capital, and by promoting the spread of agricultural
knowledge.—(Hear, hear.) The Hen. Gentleman then
proceeded to analyse and animadvert on certain state-
ments which had been put forth by the Tenant
Right League, which he showed to be utterly
without foundation. He was perfectly willing to invite
full and fair discussion on this important subject, but he
thought it would be allowed that to put forth statements of
this nature would only have the effect of rcu,ing an un-
founded spirit of bitternese, and retard the ultimate settle-
ment of this great question.—(Hear.) He objected to the
section of the Bill which related to the power of
dispossession, because he thought it confounded
good and bad landlords together, and mixed
them all up in one universal measure of com-
pulsion. Whatever measure might be adopted on
this subject ought to be based on the groat principles of
property, which all were equally interested in maintain-
ing, and which were the right of the poor as well as of
the rich. They were about Bow to a certain extent to
provide for the wants of the futere, and they ought to
do that in a spirit of justice and fairness to
all parties. How was it likely that they would encou-
rage persons from this country to lend money in Ire-
land, for the purpose of cultivating the soil, if there was
to be a continual change of legislation on this sub-
ject? In his opinion the fixed principles of pro-
perty must be the same in every part of the United
Kingdom, although he did not deny that there
might be certain special cases in the circumstances of
Ireland which would require special arrangements. Ho
quite agreed with the Hon. Gentleman opposite, that
they ought to provide just compensation to the tenant in
all cases of unexhausted improvement, and that when a
tenant did make improvements ho should have a full
and fair enjoyment of them, but to effect this benefit
for the occupier of the land he was not ready to go out
of the fixed limits of the rights of property.
They had now an opportunity to effect for Ireland a
great and permanent good, and he believed that all Hon.
Members were sincerely actuated by that desire; but
the subject was a difficult one, and though he believed
that with the assistance and co-operation of his friends
he had arrived at a safe and satisfactory conclusion on
the subject, he was placed at the present moment in a
very peculiar position. At the beginning of the session,
and after ascertaining the intention of the then Govern-
ment not to propose any legislation on the subject, he
had prepared the outline of the measure which he in-
tended to lay on the table of the House, and as an in-
dependent Member of the House to ask their co-opera-
tion in passing it into a law. Being now, however, a
member of the Government, he thought that any mea-
sure which was introduced ought to be under the
responsibility of the Government. It was but right that
the Government should have an opportunity of consi-
dering such a measure, and ho could assure the House
that the measure which ho had prepared should be sub-
mitted to the Government at the earliest period. He had
shadowed forth the principal points of this measure,
and talked with his colleagues on the subject, though he
had not yet submitted his plan to them in a formal
way. The first was a Bill by which no less
than sixty Acts of Parliament relating to the subject
of landlord and tenant would be consolidated.—(Hear.)
Secondly, there would be a complete investigation of
all the remedies of landlord and tenant on both sides,
and the third would be a measure having regard to those
cases in which no agreement had been come to between
landlord and.tenant; for though it would be better in all
instances to have an agreement concluded sponta-
neously, yet where such was not the case, it was
but right that the law should step in, and say what
would be a fair and reasonable arrangement. At
present he had consolidated and amended no less
than 104 statutes. He should be able to reduce the
complicated law of landlord and tenant to three statutes.
—(Hear, hear ) The first would be for the con-
solidation of existing laws ; the second would
provide for a ready means of investigaion and
appesl, for the purpose of defining agreements, and the
third would give compensation for improvement
where no agreement existed. These were the great
outlines of tno measure, which, if passed, he believed
would go as far as legislation could go to benefit the
tenantry of Iceland. There was no exertion, no in-
dustry, no means of information which he would not ,

Use diligently, and without any unnecessary (1,4,
in order to bring this question to a complete and
satisfactory conclusion. In regard to agrarian dis-
turbances in Ireland, tho Learned Gentleman stated

. -
there was no power ho could wield in his office
which he would not wield fearlessly, to put
down all criminal confederacy with a high
hand and a strong arm.—(Hear.) He concluded
by expressing a hope that, with the aid of the measures
he proposed, ar.d the blessing of God, the condition of
Ireland might be greatly improved, and s better feeling
promoted between all classes of the people.—(Cheers.)
Mr. E. B. ROCHE agreed in saying that, in the name of
justice, mercy, and fAir play, let the law be the terror of evil-

doers; bat all the evil; of Ireland were not confined to

the Ribbon lodges. The Learned Gentleman said they
could not make a good landlord by an Act of Parliament,
but they might prevent a bad landlord from being
mischievous by it.—(llear, bear.) Though ho listened
with great attention and pleasure to the first part of
the Learned Gentleman's speech, he was sadly
disappointed at its conclusion, for if ho ever heard good
and sound reasons alleged for going into Committee
upon a Bill, they were those mentioned by the Learned
Gentleman.—():sear, hear.) In the present unhappy
state of Ireland it was of the utmost importance that
the principles enunciated by the Secretary for Ireland
(Lord
_ Naas) at Coleraine, repeated by the Learned
ontiernan in his speech, and contained in the Bill 1
f a
Mr. Sharman,,a Crawford, should be embraced in an
Act of
, of the populationue
all the Parliament,—(Elear, hear.) The main spring of
stateltiJreland was to be traced to the unsatis-
dfaicvitdo7d
itito
three
land question. These evils might be
—first, the frightful decrease
rtehcsaleeacsogensdly, the agrarian disturbance,
out of whieh
insecurity for life and pro-
)", the vast
the ciecrbeeasf3d:/ i. 4 ten
tuts
accumulation of local taxa-
tion. y,!;,
aale
ed tghrierda
tl
dimi-
nution in the number o of emigration and the dimi-
people did
houses in Ireland clearly proved
crimes, lied that the n regard to agrarian
of atren th ' and
shoot labourers,
not respect
life, for why ow tuts not
or labourers shoot tenants?
agrarian 9gh he denounced
the perpetrators of
~ crime as rank
lle was One 'who be-
base murderers, he thought inst.erando--
law they ought to try and remedy the „ilsg ,enl.eg the
welch gave
rise to these proceedings.
lieved that the increase of local taxation
never be stopped unless the Legislature rd
uctu would
never
fered. Tenant farmers were the only class
people in Ireland who had capital to lay out on improve-
ments, though he admitted they did not Possess it in
sufficient abundauce. There was, however, an immense
amount of property in the eaviuge banks; but this would
never be applied to land except some security were given
to tenants for the oalay of the capital. No measure
would, therefore, be satisfactory which did not give
ample compensation for all improvements on land. The
Government took no objection to the principle of the
Bill, but only to some of the details,
and if thte- refused
to go into Committee upon it, the people of Ireland
would say that all their declarations and processions as
to the settlement of the gees:ion were mere sham.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said it appeared to him that
if any.difficulty more than another had arisen on that

side of the liouse, it was that the Government had not

solved the dilemma in which the country was placed in
reference to this question by positively bringing in a
13i11 at once on the subject.—(flear.) A popular journal
had termed the Bill of the Hon. Member an annual craze

for the purpose of obtaining a false popularity, and not
with the view of benefiting the tenant fatruere, but it

was his earnest conviction that the calamities of Ire-
land were mainly to be attributed to the unsettled state
of the question. It was the duty of the Government
to allow the Bill to go into Committee unless they pro-
posed to do more than simply delay the question, and cast
it into the dim future. He would not bind himself to the
details of the measure, because he thought some parts of
it were objectionable. He:scorned the idea of cozening
the tenant farmers by false promises, and of obtaining
from them a support which he did not deserve. It was
was not his wish to treat the question as a tenant's one
simply for the settlement of it, he thought it was neces-
sary for the good of the landlord as well as the tenant.—
(Hear.) There was now a ray of sunshine and hope
for Ireland which he had not seen for a length of time;
and he trusted that the Members around him who were
anxious to settle the question would not adopt any ex-
treme views upon it, nor be too severe in finding fault,
or criticising the measure which the Government pro-
posed to bring in when it came before them. At present,
however, be earnestly asked all parties in the House to
allow the Bill to go into Committee, so that the session
might not end without something being done for Ireland.
He owed it as a duty to his constituents to vote for the
second reading.
Mr. GREENE urged upon the House the necessity
of having the Government Bill laid upon the table and
referred to the consideration of a Select Committee.
Mr. V. SCULLY could; bear testimony to the im-
portance which the people of Ireland attached to this
question, and the disappointment which they would feel
if this Bill was defeated. The county of Cork stood in
the same relation to Ireland that Yorkshire did towards
England, and he knew for a fact that from Coleraine down
to the city of Cork the people were in favour of the
Bill. No doubt there were defects in its details, but
he believed they were all agreed as to its principle,
and ho therefore insisted that the Bill ought to be
read a second time, and its clauses left for discusssion
and amendment. He was at a loss to understand, from
the speech of the Attorney-General for Ireland, whether
Government supported or opposed the second reading
of the,Bill, and he hoped the Member who addressed them
from the Ministerieljnench would tell the House distinctly
what course !they intended to pursue with regard to
the Bill itself At all events, whether they supported
it or not, ho insisted that the promised Bill of the Go-
vernment ought to be introduced at once or immediately
after Easter. A judicial move might deprive the House
of the services of the Learned Attorney-General, and
then what would become of the pledges and declarations
with regard to his proposed Bill. Why the Government
would treat them as mere moonshine; and again
he urged the House to press for the immediate
production of the Bill. He admitted the difficulty of
legislation upon this subject, but it was by no means im-
practicable or impossible, and it was therefore the duty
of the House to attempt it if the Government was not
disposed to do so.—(Hear, hear.) As ha understood
this Bill its principle was plain and simple • it provided
indeed for no more and no less than this, that when a
tenant wished to terminate his tenancy on account of
the extravagance of the rent which he paid,
his landlord should compensate him for the
improvements he had made in the land, or continue his
tenancy at an equalized rent.—(Hear.) That was what
the Bill provided, and seeing much of the distress and
crime which prevailed in Ireland was attributable to
there being no law in existence of this nature, he was at
a loss to understand how the House could refuse to read
the Bill a second time.—(Hear, hear.)
Sir -EMERSON TENNENT bore his willing testi-
mony to the perseverance and ability with which the
Hon. Member for Rochdale had from time to time
introduced this subject to the House, and he regretted
that his efforts would have to be followed up by a Bill
of other parties.—(Hear, hear.) He at once admitted
that the principle of compensating the meritorious te-
nant was sound and just, but the Bill, in attempting to
put that principle in operation, encumbered it with so
many novel and cumbersome provisions that he wus
bound to oppose it passing into . a law.—(Bear,
hear.) The tenant right of Ulster was believed, aud
he concurred in the belief, to be based
upon equity and justice, but those who enjoyed it were
apprehensive that if it was extended to certain parts of
Ireland that could not sympathise with it the system
would be eventually„cripplecl, if not abolished.—(Hear.)
The fact was this right or custom could not be made
the subject of a law, and in attempting to legislate
upon it he was afraid, if they did not proceed with ex-
treme caution, they would render the existing state
in Ireland more disagreeably complicated than it had
ever been.—(Hear, bear.) For instance, this Bill at-
tempted to solve in a few words a problem that bad oc-
cupied years in its discussion, and upon which volume
upon volume had been written, namely, it defined the
meaning of the term of " a fair rent." It must have
required some courage to induce the Hon. Proposer
of the Bill to venture upon that definition, and
although he admitted the ingenuity of the definition he
was bound to confess that it was so indefinite that it
would of itself render the Bill inoperative, supposing it
was carried.—(Haar, hear.) It would, however, be
impossible to work such a Bill without some such
definition, and he confessed that he was not
prepared to propose a better than the one
contained in this Bill ; but still this defi-
nition (was extremely uncertain, being liable to
various constructions, and again he repeated that as the
success of a Bill of this nature must depend upon the
simplicity of its provisions, it was useless to pass a Bill
the very mainspring of which must inevitably give rise
to endless discussions and disputes.--(Hear, hear.)
Looking, therefore, at these defects, he did not think
it would b© prudent to pass the Bill, because
it would disturb the stability of landed property, if it
did not in fact altogether destroy its value; and if the
House wished to see the land maintain its position in the
estimation of investors, it would :unhesitatingly with-
hold its sanction to this Bill.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble
Viscount the Member for the county of Down had
taunted the Government with a want of courage to meet
the question with a direct negative.
Viscount CASTLEREAGH did no such thing—
what he said was this, that in the absence of the Go-
vernment Bill the House had a perfect right to adopt
its own.—(Hear, hear.)
Sir EMERSON TENNENT repeated that the Noble
Viscount threw out a taunt.
Viscount CASTLEREAGH rose to order. An Hon.
Member had no right to make an accusation against
him when he had disclaimed the imputation which it
conveyed.
Sir EMERSON TENNENT had put a natural con-
struction upon the language of tho Noble Viscount, but
as the Noble Viscount disclaimed the meaning which
they conveyed, why, of course, there was an end of the
matter.—(Hear.) But he was authorised to state that
the Government measures were to be introduced with
as little delay as possible, and, in conclusion, hs begged
leave to move that the Bill be read a second time this
day six months.—(Hear.)
Mr. KEOGH said that had it not been for the speech
which they had just heard ho should not have felt it
necessary to address the House. He had heard with
great pleasure the conciliatory speech of the Right Hon.
Gentleman the Attorney-General for Ireland, but the
speech of the Honourable Gentleman had been
marked with so much asperity that ho could not
help throwing back the insinuation that on
that side of the House there was any desire
to treat the subject in any but a conciliatory tone. The
speech of the Hon. Gentleman had been directed en-
tirely against the details, :and not as it ought to have
been, against the principle, and he could not help sus-
pecting that the speech was intended really for the mo-
tion of going into Committee. The laws of England
and Ireland were very different; in England landlords
were accustomed to let their farms just as they would
furnished house!, while in Ireland tenants were

thrown on a naked soil, and everything which they could
get out of the soil by their own industry was extracted
from them in the shape of rent, and no compensation
whatever provided. He appealed to this country whe-
ther in a time of expected invasion they would not put a
stop to a system which in a space of ten years had
diminished the population of a fertile island by more
than two millions.

GRATTAN was astonished at what had
taken place. He thought it was unknown in the pro-
ceedings of Parliaments that the principal
law ;officer of Ireland should come forward
and approve of the principle, and another subordinate
Member get
.up a short time after and find fault with
that principle. All that the Right Hon. Gentleman the
Attorney• General had said had been ruined by his
friends, and it was a great pity that there had not been
some one on the Treasury bench to keep down the lion.
Member for Lisburn.

Mr. B. OSBORNE regretted that a debate which had
commenced so auspiciously should, in some way or
other, he knew not why, have turned all at once into a
spirit of bitterness. As a friend to Ireland and :her in-
terests he should vote for the second reading of the Bill.
He was not, however, so steeped in party prejudice as to
resume his seat without expressing his admiration of the
wise and sincere statement of the Right :Hon. :Gen-
tleman the Attorney-General for Ireland, and if the
subject were taken up in the same spirit by the
other Members of the Government, he did not
despair of seeing the question of tenant-right
effectuatually settled. If he could hear from that Right
Hon. Gentleman an assurance that a Government Bill
would be laid on the table of the House at as

--
early a period as possible, het should then consider it
better not to press for a division on the present occosion;
if not, however, he should certainly vote for the second
reading of the Bill now before the House.
Mr. WHITESIDE said that with all due deference to
the Hon. Gentleman, ho was called on now to give his
vote on the merits of the Bill before the House. He
(Mr. Whiteside) quite agreed that some measure on the
subject was necessary, a measure which ought to be:founded
upon a just appreciation of the rights of property. The
present Bill, however, had no such foundation, but was,
in fact, completely opposed in almost euery one :of its
clauses to the fixed principle of the rights of
property.—(Hear.) The ground of his objection
to the Bill was, not that he was unwilling to do
what was fair and equitable to Ireland, but
because it was an incomprehensible and impracticable
measure, unjust to landlord and unjust to tenants. It
was the earnest object of the Government to introduce
not a flimsey
Bill, but to pass as soon as possible a law
on the subject, such as would be beneficial to the country
and creditable to the House.
?dr. BUTLER moved the adjournment of the debate.he l'
• EOGI-T1 seconded the adjournment.
division raoe •
.tion was,however, negatived without a

Mr. BATESON (who was received with loud cries of
" Divide, which which rendered him for some time
inaudible) was
understood to say the
r
was not whether
Compensation. question
should be
given to tenants for
the tenant might effect bland improvements which
that
ltand on which all were
agreed—but whether or not
compensation should
be fixed by one-sided arbitration!
was addressing the House when the hour 221 ottecmlocakn
anived, and the Speaker declared the
Souse adintned.