The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-05 00:00:00

in other parts of Ireland there were not legalised
bands of Orangemen going about, as in Ulster, inti-
midating and overawing the people. Then he had
not entered into the question. It had been said that
the great population of Ireland was an evil; but
would the House of Commons give its sanction to
that opinion ? The people of Ireland were
solely dependent upon the land ; there were no
large manufactories, and very few persons employed
in commercial pursuits. The people of Ireland
must live, but if they were to be exterminated at the
will of the landlords, why let that rule be at once
openly proclaimed, so that the people might know
what they had to depend upon. With respect to
tenant-right, it had been shown that in those
provinces where that system existed there was also
great prosperity. Tenant-right did not supersede the
necessity of leases, it was simply this—that the tenant
should not be turned out of his occupancy without ob-
taining the means of going elsewhere. He did not wish
the House to pass a law compelling all parties to pay
a sum for tenant-right at so many years' purchase,
what he wished was that the parties might have the
full benefit of going into the open market, and ob•
taining the full value for their tenant-right.
The House had it in its power to allsy
the present large amount of bad feeling
which existed in the country on the subject.
He thought that this measure was most desirable for
Ireland, that it was more looked to than the question
of repeal, and he was sure that if the House was
anxious to wean the people of Ireland from agitating
the repeal, they could not adopt a better course than
giving their sanction to this measure.— (Hear.)
Lord CASTLEREAGH trusted the House would
allow the second reading of the Bill to take place, in
order that the measure might go to a Committee up
stairs. If the Hon. Gentleman the Member for
Rochdale, however, would not allow the Bill to go to
a Committee up stairs, he should, however reluc-
tantly, believing that the Hon. Member had brought
in the measure with the best intentions, feel com-
pelled to vote against the second reading of the Bill.
Captain ARCHDALL denied the statements that
had been made by the Hon. Member opposite (Mr.
John O'Connell) with respect to the Orangemen of
Ireland, but asserted that there were still plenty of
members of that body ready to put down the poi-
sonous agitation that his conduct had given rise to.
Sir J. WALSH opposed the second reading of the
Bill, believing that the general alteration of the law
of landlord and tenant in Ireland could never be
productive of any good to that country. He be-
lieved that no system of legislation could by any
means satisfactorily settle the question, but of this
he was convinced, that it would never benefit the
tenant. Leave the tenants to themselves, and
they would never attempt to effect improvement
in the land, and he, therefore, called upon the
House to consider before they inflicted injus-
tice upon the landlords by passing this Bill. Many
of its clauses were, iu his opinion, most impo-
litic, and he was very much afraid that if other Bills
passed into a law it would have the effect of in-
creasing rather than mitigating the evils of the sister
kingdom.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. F. O'CONNOR highly approved of the
general tone cf the speech delivered by the Hon. and
Learned Member for the University of Dublin,
notwithstanding it was regarded by the Hon. Member
for Limerick as teeming with acerbity. He denied
the statement of the Hon. Member for Limerick, that
if they passed the Bill they would he inflicting a
juggle upon the people. On the contrary, in his
opinion, it would confer considerable benefit upon
the Irish nation ; and if they analysed the
arguments of the Honourable Member, the
House would find that they in no way
militated against the Bill. He had no desire
to deprive the landlords of Ireland of their just
rights, but the House must not forget that the tenant
had rights too. He directed skill, capital, and in-
dustry to the improvement of his landlord's property,
and it was nothing but just that he should be com-
pensated whenever he was deprived of his holding.
The Honourable Member for Limerick said they
ought not to legislate upon this subject, but, in his
opinion, that was a most socialist argument, and one
that ought not to be entertained. If they were not to
legislate upon this subject, how was the poor tenant
to obtain redress for his wrongs? The Bill under
discussion, in his estimation, did not go far enough.
It did; not provide for the performance of the
duties of those landlords who forsook their native
land for the sunny clime of Italy ; but he would,
nevertheless, be satisfied with the Bill as it stood,
and he warned the English landlords of that House
that it would ultimately turn out for their interest
that it should be passed into a law. The truth was,
the Hon. and Learned Member for Limerick had
mistaken cause for effect, and confounding the Bill
with that of the Secretary's for Ireland ; he
had fallen into the error of making a
most splenetic speech upon the rights of
the tenants of Ireland. (Hear, hear.) Much
oppression had been inflicted by the English nation
upon Ireland, but he could not conceal from himself
the fact that England had been no less oppressed by
the Irish representatives in that House, and the ma-
jority of them were following up that system of
injustice towards England by trying to convince her
Members that this measure was a mockery, a
delusion, and a snare.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.")
If Lord Clarendon's plan of sending lecturers through
the country were adopted, great good could not fail
to ensue—not mere theorists, who travelled through
the country with " white feathers and cockades,"
but practical men.—(Loud laughter.) Let the
landlords do their duty—but they were too
proud to do so, too proud to identify :them-
selves with agriculture.—("No, no.") He was glad
to hear it; but in his time the landlords were
proud, they were] even ashamed to own the
possession of cows if they encountered theta whilst
hunting; in fact the words of Sheridan
were very applicable to this country, namely, that it
was a " poor and a proud one." He could not sit
down without recommending the House not to be led
away by the speech of the Honourable Member for
Limerick.
Sir G. GREY said, as the Secretary for Ireland, on
the last day on which the Bill was before the House,
entered fully into the reasons that induced the Go-
vernment to withhold its assent from the Bill, he
would not now needlessly occupy the time of the
House. He bore testimony to the practical speech
of the Honourable Gentleman the Member for the
University of Dublin.—(Hear.) The next question
was fraught with great difficulties ; but if they
thought that they could pass a law to settle all ar-
rangements between landlords and tenants in all parts
of Ireland they were much mistaken. When a tenant
took land at 10s. an acre, which he believed he could,
raise to the value of 305., he should stipulate to take
the land for a given period.—(Hear.) To him it
appeared that the interests of the landlords and
tenants were identical ; and it was most essential that
they should act togethr for the promotion and pro-
tection of their common interests. The Right
Honourable Baronet then read an advertisement
which had been published in some of the Queen's
County papers, issued by Mr. Price, the agent of the
Marquis of Lansdowne, land Mr. Fitzpatrick, stating
that tarms were ready to let for terms of 21 or 30years,
on conditions which would secure to the tenant fair
value for his improvements. When the Landlord
and Tenant Bill came before the House, he should be
prepared to show the facilities which it gave for
adjusting such matters between landlords and tenants.
He certainly could not agree in the proposal that the
mere tenancy- at- will occupancy of any person
should be sufficient to give a claim upon the land.
lord for compensation upon a change of tenancy,
for such was one of the provisions in
the Bill now before the House. He felt certain
that such a principle was not one which the House
would recognise, and it was his opinion that if such
expectations were held out by its consenting to the
second reading of the Bill, the most injurious results
would be the consequence. He was also of opinion that
any attempts at legislation upon the question in its pre-
sent form would only lead to the most extensive litiga-
tion. Upon these grounds, therefore, he trusted that the
House would agree with him in the opinion that it
was not advisable to allow the Bill to proceed any
further. In answer to the appeal which had been
made to him by the Hon. Member for Limerick (Mr.
J. O'Connell) to know whether armed bands of
Orangemen were allowed to wander about the north
of Ireland, he was sure that it was almost unnecessary
for him to say that there was not the least shadow of
foundation for any such assertion.
Mr. FAGAN said that he had not been able to
discover what there was in the speech of the Hon.
Member for Limerick calculated to call forth the
denunciations of the Hon. Member for Nottingham
(Mr. F. O'Connor). He thought that that Hon.
Member had gone considerably out of his way to
make that attack.
Colonel BLACKALL opposed the second reading
of the Bill. With respect to the question of the Ulster
tenantsright, he begged to state that he was connected
with some property in the north of Ireland where
that right was acknowledged, upon which he had
been compelled to bring snore ejectments than upon
other property where the tenant-right of Ulster was
not recognised. He thought it much better that no
legislation should take place upon the subject of
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