The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-01 00:00:00

thought it would be allowed that to put forth statements of
this nature would only have the effect of rousing an un-
founded
eu t of
tspirit
greatof b
question.—(Hear.)
tueerantei
os
us,.—ar
an dretard theHe ultimate
objected settle-
ment ttlhee-
ussection 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 ono universal measure of com-
pulsion. Whatever measure might be adopted on
this subject ought to be based on the great 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 now to a certain extent to
provide for the wants of the future, 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 eountry 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. He
quite agreed with the Hon. Gentleman opposite, that
they ought to provide just compensation to the tenant in
all cases of unexheusted improvement, and that when a
tenant did make improvements he 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 hail now an opportunity to eff_et for Ireland a
ereat 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 beieved
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 uny 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 he could assure the House
that the measure which he had prepared should be sub-
mitted to the Government at the earliest period. Ho had
shadowed forth the principal points of this measure,
and talked with his colleagues on the subject, though he
bad 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 he 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 ouch 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 lave 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 investigation and
appeal, for the purpose of defining agreements, and the
third would give compensation for improvement
where no agreement existed. These were the great
outlines of the measure, which, if passed, he believed
would go as far as legislation could go to benefit the
tenantry of Ireland. There was no exertion, no in-
dustry, no means of information which he would not
use diligently, and without any unnecessary delay,
in order to bring this question to a complete and
satisfactory conclusion. In regard to agrarian dis-
turbances in Ireland, the Learned Gentleman stated
' there was no power he could wield in his office
which he would not wield fearlessly, to put
down all criminal csnfetleracy with a high
hand and a strong arm.—(Hear.) He concluded
by expressing
a hope that, with the aid of the measures
he proposed, and the blessing of God, the condition of
Ireland might, be
greatly improved, and a 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; but all the evils of Ireland were not confined to
the Ribbon lodges. The Learned Gentleman said they
could not make a gcod landlord by an Act of Parliament,
but they might prevent a bad landlord from being
mischievous by it.—(Hear, hear.) Though ho listened
with great attention and pleasure to the first part of
the Learned Gentlemen'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.—(Hear, 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
Gentleman in his speech, and contained in the Bill
of Mr. Sharman Crawford, should be embraced in an
I Act of Parliament,—(Hear, hear.) The mainspring of
all the evils in Ireland was to be traced to the unsatis-
factory state of the land question. These evils might be
divided into three classes—first, the frightful decrease
of the population; secondly, the agrarian disturbance,
out of which arose the insecurity for life and pro-
perty; and thirdly, the vast accumulation of local taxa-
tion. The great increase of emigration and the dimi-
nution in the number of houses in Ireland clearly proved
the decrease of population. In regard to agrarian
crimes, he denied that the people did not respect
life, for why did tenants not shoot labourers,
or labourers shoot tenants? Though ho denounced
the perpetrators of agrarian crime as rank and
b'se murderers, he thought instead of strengthening the
law they ought to try and remedy the evils which gave
rise to these proceedings. Ile was one who be-
lieved that the increase of local taxation would
never be stopped unless the Legislature inter-
fered. Tenant farmers were the only class of
people in Ireland who had capital to lay out on improve-
ments, though he admitted they did not possess it in
sufficient abundance. There was, however, an immense
amount of property in the savings banks; but this would
never be applied to land except some security were given
to tenants for the ollay 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 they refused
to go into Committee upon it, the people of Ireland
would say that all their declarations and professions 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 House, 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
Bill at once on the subject.—(Hear.) A popular journal
had termed the Bill of thetHen. Member an annual claim
for the purpose of obtaining a false popularity, and not
with the view of benefiting the tenant farmers, but it
was his earnest conviction that the calamities of Ire-
, land were mainly to be alributed to the unsettled state
of the question. It wee 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 ho thought some parts of
it were objectionable. Ile scorned the idea of cozening
the tenant farmers by false promises, and of obtaining
support which ho did not deserve. It was
was not hetotem ahiswish to treat the question as a tenant's one
,imply for the settlement of it, he thought it was neces-
sary for the good of the landlord as well as the tenant.—
(Hear.) Thera 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 uny ex-
treme
the treasure
sui
nor be too severe in finding fault,
torremoreitiveiieswins upon i
„t,
which the Government pro-
posed to bring trecame before
them. At present,
however, he earnestly asked all parties in the House to
allow the Bill to go into Committee, so that the session
second
m referredr. rGe t al
tio
zut ihzge
N.
might not end without something being done for Ireland.
He owed it as a duty to his constituents to vote for the
.......I.Tlete
.coulld°
of having th© Government hill laid
the necessity
ll laid upon the table and
im-
portance which°autdrgereadti upon
o'n.f
Select Committee.
Mr. V. er
question, and the disappointment
the same relation to lorplaetioaf
itraeched. to
down
if this Bill was defeated, which they _
bear testimony to the
kstood •
England, and he knew for in
thlartelYanordkht did towards
fecor The rf ha ect cti:ftryomo feco
to the city of Cork
Bill. No doubt there people wore in favour of the
Bill. were defects in •
its details, but
he believed they were all
and he therefore insisted that its Principle,
agreed as to
read a second time, and its clausesthe Bill ought to be
Coleraine
and amendment. He was at ae left for discussion
the speech of the Attorney-General to understand, from
Government supported or opposed theorlreland, whether
of the Bill, and he hoped the Member who second reading
from the Ministerial bench would tell theritdressed
odu them
what course they intended to pursue
with regard
the Bill itself. At all events, whether they regard to
it or not, he insisted that the promised Bill oTpported
vernment ought to be introduced at once or imthe Gt
-el; raed
after Easter. A judicial move might deprive thenia°je
of the services of the Learned Attorney-General us
then what would become of the pledges and declarations
and
with regard to his proposed Bill. Why the Government
would treat them as mere moonshine; and again
t
ho urged the House to press for the immediate
pr eduction 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 50.—(Hear, hear.) As he understood
' this Bill its principle was plain and simple; it provided
indeed for no more and no less than this, that when a
tenant a ished 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
1 tenancy at an equal zed rent.—(Hear.) That was what
the Bill provided, and seeing much of the distress and
I 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.)
it 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 partieo.—(dear, hear.) He at once admitted
that the e principl
• ' of compensating the meritorious te-
nant 1,16.`,1 sound and just, but the Bill, in attempting to