The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY MORNING, JtLY 16, M 46,

THE BISHOP OF EXETER.
(From the TVe.stcrn Times.)
The exigencies of political events have compelled us ,
to postpone a notice of Mr. Shore's case, and also that of
Mr. Bowden, who has been shut out from Plymouth be-
cause he wont preach baptismal regeneration. Tho ec-
centricities of our Right Rev. diocesan have added a
new feature to the former case—by the light which the
new debate throws upon the grounds of his displeasure
with Mr. Shore. The Bishop has been the instrument
for closing the chapel at Plymouth, in which, up to a
few weeks since, a minister of the Established Church
was wont to discharge the important functions of his sa li
-
cred calling. It is now some eight or nine years since
we first heard the Bishop lament the great spiritual des-
titution of Plymouth. He had then just discovered, or but
just proclaimed, the " astounding fact" that there were
80,000 souls perishing for lack of spiritual nourishment
in the Plymouth district. He was then moved with a new-
born zeal, and determined, by the celerity with which he
prepared to repair the defect, to make some amends
for his extraordinary oversight and delay. We
thought it extremely strange, to use the mildest term, to
see the Bishop only then making the discovery of all
this spiritual destitution. Ile ha come to the diocese
some years before, and received, from the very day of
his taking possession, some two hundred pounds per
week, as his wages for discharging the important duties
which he took upon himself as the Bishop of the diocese.
He had to conciliate the opposition, and overcome the
contempt, which naturally followed his recent conversion
to the measure of Catholic Emancipation ; which in
spite of his pamphlets, he had just then helped to carry,
by his vote for Sir Robert B el at Oxford. We will
suppose that the first hours of his official life were spent
in prayer to a higher power to smooth the way for his
ministry, and to overcome the prejudices which English-
men naturally feel against rats, one of which the per-
verse people of the diocese persisted in calling him.
After having, as it were, adjusted the cushion
of his episcopal throne, so that he might occupy
his seat with ease and comfort, there arose the
care of providing for his family. It took some time
to quarter that son of his in Worcestershire. There
was a squabble with the Chapter, who refused to
appoint the young man Precentor. Then there was
the time spent in thinking about the appointing
of old Luxmoore, who held the living of Bridestowe,
which it was thought he would have to vacate into the
hands of the Bishop, supposing that the Bishop should
nominate him to the office of Precentor. Whatever was
thought, (and something was said about it), no arrange-
ment took place in this quarter. The affairs of the young
man were quite at sea, till the Rev. Thomas Hill Lowe
turned up. This gentleman was the holder of a brace of
fat livings in Worcestershire, Hollow-cum-Grimley.
Him did the Bishop nominate for Precentor, and him
did the Chapter accept, and the young man was hence-
forth transferred to Worcestershire, where as the rector
of the united parishes of Hollow-cum- Grimley, he showed
to an admiring world, how soon the merits of a young
divine are seen, when his father happens to be a
bishop. We cannot follow the Old Gentleman
through all his arrangements, but there were
some very clever. The Government were deprived
of their patronage of the Deanery, after having
possessed it for some 300 years, the Precentor Lowe
became Dean. Then we have young Mr. Phillpotts
made Precentor, and " our son-in-law," Mr. Stephens,
made Sub-Dean, and sinca r, joicing with the substantial
seal of the episcopal approbation set upon his labours, in
the shape of the goodly living of Dunsford, which is
situate within an easy walk of his commodious and
beautiful residence at Culver—a location in short, worthy
in every respect of the dignity and piety of one who
has had the grace to woo and win the heart of a Bishop's
daughter. Then there was our other son-in-law,
De Bouilli. This reverend gentleman was for some
years unprovided for. He was Bishop's son in-law,
without any consolation made to him in the shape of
preferment for the sacrifice of that supreme fitness for
the ministerial duties which celibacy imparts, save the
barren business of Bishop's curate. Ile was the curate
of the Bishop's own living at Shobrooke. How this
young man came to be ransomed from that " inferior
clergy" state of slavery—that was a clever affair I
The Chapter, on the death of Dean Landon, acting
under the advice of the Bishop, resisted the
Government in the exercise of their patronage,
which for 300 years they had enjoyed. Those
honest gentlemen claimed by virtue of the Popish statutes,
the right to administer the patronage themselves. By
these statutes they were required to live in common—to
preserve themselves chaste, and to keep their vows of
celibacy. They permitted a Protestant Government to
absolve them from those galling regulations, and as
jolly priests who 1: ad passed many years in the solace of
holy wedlock, they must have laughed at the folly of
their predecessors, who had in their monkish nonsense,
foregone the substantial blessings of matrimony. But
notwithstanding that they have been well content to
receive and enjoy the immunity from monkish slavery.
which Protestant institutions gave them, they still fell
back on the popish statutes, in resistance of the Queen's
" authority spiritual" over all order:, civil and ecclesiasti-
cal, and refused to take the nominee of the Crown for their
Dean. The old gentleman, who then as now enacted the
part of Bishop of the diocese, patted them on the back,
gave them council to prolong the litigation ; so they held
the Crown at arm's length, and succeeded in carrying
the election of their Precept' r, by which Bishop Phill-
potts secured the appointment of a very go id-natured
man, touch given up to the promotion of the Bishop's
interests, to be their chief—and thus was Mr. Precentor
Low now elected in secret conclave to the office of Dean
of Exeter. What passed in the solemn conclaves of the
reverend b' at that time will probably never be re-
vealed to the present generation; but we will just glance
at what took place out of doors. The dignitaries of the
Chapter held in rotation certain pieces of patronage ;
by virtue of their appointments, it is just as much theirs
as any private property, subject to the conditions under
which they are entitled to share their patronage. This
patronage consists of certain livings, which are none of
the worst ; and as the incumbents of these livings die
off the patronage is distributed to the dignitaries in
turn. During this contest, which was maintained with
the Bishop's approbation and by his help, the living of
Thorverton became vacant It fell to the " ball" of
the Reverend Chancellor Martin (" Ball " is
the technical phrase used by members of the
Chapter). By the conditions annexed to the
patronage, the patron dignitary is compelled to
nominate his protege wnhin the space of six months.
The Worshipful Chancellor Martin receiveti his piece of
aatrouage, and proceeded in due course to nominate his
friend. The Bishop reminded him that the body was
not yet complete, and therefore no nomination could be
exercised till the Dean was appointed. The litigation
proceeded—six months are soon passed over in law pro-
ceedings, much sooner than the suit is settled ; and
when the Reverend Chancellor next proceeded to norni-
nat-, he was told that the living had lapsed to the
Bishop by law. The Bishop by this chance came into
the possession of the living of' Thorverton, and all the
world thought the reverend dignitaries had been " jolly
green" to have played his game, which ran the Bishop's
chance against their patronage, without taking secu-
riiy from him that he would not avail himself of any
windfall which lapse of time might place in his way.
I For, be it observed, they made tho lapse in fighting off
I the Government appointment, in which the Bishop was
as much (if not more) interested as they were. They
cught certainly to have stipulated with the Bishop that he
should not take advantage of any lapse which might
arise, through the want of a Dean, which want they
had incurred in the pursuit of an interest common to
both of them. But how did the Bishop act, having thus
got the living through negligence of the "jolly green"
Chapter? Why, he rave it to the Rev, Dr. Coleridge,
of Lawhitton. Dr. Coleridge vacated Lawhitton, which
by the vacation fell into the hands of the Bishop, who
gave it to his son-in-law, De Bouilli, and the Bishop's
living at Shobrooke was thus unencumbered of the pre-
sence of the son-in-law—for we may suppose that
though the son-in-law had only a curacy there, yet as
curate to his father-in-law, the Bishop, he got more for
it than the old gentleman would give to an ordinary
curate. But it must be observed here that the old gen-
tleman did not tutee advantage of Chancellor Martin's
lapse, as he might.have done, by giving the living to his
own son-in-law. No—in order that he might be above
suspicion, he gave it to that most exemplary divine and
tolerably sound Tractarian, the Rev. Dr. Coleridge.
Nothing can be clearer than that it was not till he got the
second living of Lawhitton that he thought of his son-in-
law, and exalted him. Who can blame him for possessing
natural affection ? Well, but all this time, where was
baptismal regeneration ? Softly, good reader, not quite
so fast. A man's mission is two-fold—first, as to him-
self and his natural affections ; next, as to the outer
world of mankind at large. He who neglects his own
family is worse than a heathen, and the Bishop did not
commit this unheathenish sin of neglect. We pass
over " our" nephew, then at Pinhoe, Hawkins by
name, and who is now settled in some other part of
England, but whether by some secret swop, or by virtue
of his own merits, we will not say, though we will as-
same the latter, and therefore say nothing more about
him. Nor will we enlarge upon the case of that
meritorious young man, who, albeit he is nephew
of the Bishop, is now enje sing a comfortable living
in the neighbourhood of Falmouth. Well, next we
have our son John, appointed Bishop's chaplain and
rector of Stokeinteigehead. There was a swop here,
it was thought, but that was a mistake. Dr. Col-
lyns vacated it for Farringden, in order to get nearer
Exeter, where he had passed some pleasant days in
the character of instructor of the youth in the Free
Grammar School, as many of them probably recollect.
But here " our son John " was comfortably located, near
his Right Rev. father, his guide and comforter, whose
pleasant palace of Bishopstoe is withiu easy access of
Stekeinteignhead. We shall pass over in silence the
elevation of young Mr. Woolcombe to the very hand-
some living of Kiugsteignton, as a popular delusion
existed here on the sudden elevation of this young mite,
which delusion has been since made manitest by his
marritiee; and we shall not dwell on the transfer of "our
son William " to the Archdeaconry of Cornwall, in op-
position to the Bishop's hasty and unripe conclusion,
before the vacancy occurred, that the post was too great
for one man's Wit nets. This William is also in posses-
sion of the good living of St. Gluvias, worth an annual
round sum, as the clergy of Cornwall know. There are
sotre minor affairs of a family nature, which it is not
worth while to go into ; but we have given these details
because the Bishop, having lately pushed Tractarian
doctrines w.th great zeal, and having backed up
all those ministers who have made themselves
obnoxious to their parishioners by the introduction
of obsolete customs, and being now engaged in the
worthy task of endeavouring to extrude as schismatical,
those ministers who will not preach the doctrine of the
baptismal regeneration, it appears to us that this doc-
trine, by the Bishop's own showing, is of very secondary
importance, and certainly not of importance enough to
warrant him in thrusting out from the ministry any
man who by his self-denying character, his practical be-
nevolence and his piety, has rendered himself acceptable
to a united parish. For it is lamas; ou the face of

things, that if the doctrine had been of much consequence,
it would have been the Bishop's first care to have seen it.
enforced ; but for years he went on, attending to his
own matters and the matters of his household, exalting
his son:, and the husbands of his daughters in the
Church, before he directed his attention to these things;
and though it is no business of ours to interfere with the
authority of our right reverend diocesan, and• to discuss
points of theology with the old gentleman,we must say
we think he is pushing matters rather inconsiderately;
in making the enforcement of these doctrines a stum-
bling block in the way of the faithful. ' •

TENANT-RIGHT.

TO THE OCCUPYING TENANTS OF ULSTER.

My Friends,—From the part which I have hitherto
taken, in advocating the rights of the tenantry classes
of Ireland, I feel it my duty to call your attention to a
Bill introduced by her Majesty's late Government, and
now lying for a second reading on the table of the
House of Commons. The title of this Bill is, " A Bill
for providing compensation, in certain cases, for tenants
in Ireland, who shall (shall) build on, or drain, farms,
and to secure to the parties respectively entitled thereto
the due payment of such compensation."
The Bills which have been introduced by the late
Government, in the last and the present session of
Parliament (the first by Lord Stanley, in the Lords,
and the second by Lord Lincoln, in the Commons),
afford a practical acknowledgment of the great
principle for which I have long contended,
namely, the right of the tenant to compensation for
all labour and capital expended,. in increasing the value
of the premises in his occupation ; hut, when I say this
much, it is all I can say in favour of these Bills, for, in
truth, neither of them does more than acknowledge this
great principle, whilst, at the same time, the complexity
of the details, and the limitation of the benefits, practi-
cally swamp the principle they acknowledge. Truth com-
pels me to declare this opinion, as well of Lord Lin-
coln's present Bill as of Lord Stanley's put one ; at the
same time, I wish to express my conviction, that they
emanated from a kind feeling on the part of the Govern-
ment who introduced them, and who had great difficul-
ties to overcome, in offering any proposition, on this
subject, to the Legislature. It is also fair to remind you,
that the limitations contained in these Bills are founded
on the recommendations contained in the report of Lord
Devon's Commission. I shall now proceed to notice,
briefly, the most prominent features of the Bill now before
Parliament.

Firstly—This Bill does not provide compensation for
any tenant who, previously to the making of the im-
provements for which he claims compensation, shall not
have made agreements, by voluntary arrangement, with
his landlord, as to the objects and extent of the exp,ncli-
ture ; or else, in case the landlord_ objects, he has ob-
tained an award, by arbitration, in favour of his proposed
improvements. This necessarily involves a complication
of details, which no tenant, in humble life, can be reason-
ably expected to master, and cuts off existing interests
from any benefits of the Bill.
Secondly—The Bill limits compensation for improve-
ment of the soil to thorough-draining alone ; and for
buildings, to dwelling-houses and out-offices ; —no ex-
penditure in enclosing, fencing. or hedging, or creating
arable ground, by quarrying out of rocks, or any other
work of improvement, of any description, is admissible
fur claim.

Thirdly—All claim for C-!ompensasion,even for buildings,
is proposed to be ty tally extinguished, by an occupancy
of twenty eight years after -the agreement being made
for such improvements or buildings.
Fourthly—ln no case can a claim for improvements,
of any description, be established beyond the amount of
three years' rent. These are the most important pro-
visions of this Bill, and, in my opinion, demand your
serious and instant attention.

It may be said, the Bill was introduced by a Govern-
ment now extinct, and, therefore, not likely to be pro-
ceeded with. But even so, you may expect, that some
measure will be introduced, either this session or the
next, by the new Government ; and if you do not ex-
press an opinion to the contrary, it will be considered,
that you are satisfied 'with the provisions of the Bill now
offered to you.
You are, no doubt, aware, that I introduced different
Bills, at different periods, in order to establish, by legal
enactment, the right of the tenant to compensation. I
met with great opposition, at first, on the principle; and
afterwards, when its justice began to be acknowledged,
on the details. I endeavoured, by altering the details
in each succeeding Bill, to render the proposition more
acceptable to the opponents of the measure ; conse-
quently, these Bills are not to be taken as the true
index of my own views, or as comprehending the full
extent of your just claims, but rather as an attempt, on
my part, to get the greatest amount of benefit for the
tenant class which circumstances would admit of. After
the rejection of Lord Stanley's Bill in the House of Lords
last session, I introduced a Bill in the Commons, with a
view of keeping the question alive in the mind of the
country. This Bill differs from the Government Bills,
chiefly on the following points:—Firstly, it requires
no previous registration or consent ; the sole test is
the increased value of the premises by the tenant's im-
provements, which the tenant is required to prove ; and
the compensation is to be proportioned to the increase
of value so proved. Secondly, there is no limitation as
to the nature of the improvement, provided increased
value be obtained. Thirdly, the power of claiming com-
pensation for buildings continues without any limitation,
no matter how long the occupancy, valuing according to
the age and existing condition of the buildings. With
regard to improvements of the soil, the Court or arbitra-
..

:ors were allowed to exercise a discretion, f ,unded on

the length of the tenant's occupancy, and the profits de-
rived from the improvements. This Bill went as far as
the principle of compensation for improvements would
fairly admit of ; but, as I shall hereafter explain, I
grant to you, that something more would be necessary,
to give you the tell benefit of " tenant-right," as known
and practised in the prol ince of Ulster.
You, the tenantry of this iyirtion of Ireland, are at
present, to a certain extent, protected by a kind of social
compact, called " tenant-right"—held, not by law, but
by sufferance of the landlord. This custom is seldom
violated; but, at the same time, we know that it is not
always secure, and that, in some estates, regulations are
adopted tending to its disparagement, if not to its abso
lute destruction. My object, then, would bet to place the
right of the tenant on a Just and legal basis, and to give
him the power of enforcing them by law, instead of being
in the dependent position of condescending to seek that
from a landlord's favour which the laws of the state
ought to confer upon him as his right. My former pro-
positions were directed to the object of compensation, on
the broadest basis ; but, I perceive that this principle is
made a pretext for limitations, which may endanger the
loss of the benefits you at present enjoy ; and I, there-
fore, would join you in contending for the broader prin-
ciple of " tenant-right."
But a question may be asked, and often is asked, espe-
cially by Englishmen, what is " tenant-right?" You
understand what it is; but, for the satisfaction of per-
sons who may read this, and do not understand
"tenant-right," I shall endeavour to show the meaning
of the term.

I think this can best be done by a practical example.
Suppose a tenant takes from a landlord a plot of land—a
bare scd, without a building on it, unimproved, but im-
provable—agreeing to pay a rent fully equal to the ex-
isting value of the soil. He puts up, on this bare sod, a
dwelling-house and-offices, and drains, fences, improves,
and manures the land, solely at his own cost, as is the
custom in Ireland; and suppose that, in doing so, he
has sunk capitsl to the amount of 5001.; and suppose
the tenant has a lease for a term of twenty-eight

years, which is that term which, by Lord Lincoln's Act,
would cancel all claim for compensation. By
this expenditure he has created a beneficial interest, by
which he possesses the means of comfortable lodging

and comfortable subsistence for himself and his family,
paying, at the same time, the fair rent which any solvent
tenant could be expected to pay for the land. The lease
expires. The landlord desires to serve his own pur-
poses, by demanding the surrender of the premises.
He says to the tenant (supposing Lord Lincoln's Bill
to be law), " You have had twenty-eight years' enjoy-
ment ; turn out—yoti have no claim on me." Then
what is the condition of the poor tenant ? This tenant,
who, I will suppose, offers to hold the premises, pay-
ing the full improved rent for the soil, and relying for
his compensation on the means of increased subsist-
ence, which his expenditure on the soil had created,
and asking no other compensation from the land-
lord but the continuance of occupation, this industrious
man is turned out—a beggar—leaving behind him
his 5001., sunk in the premises, without a farthing
with which to purchase or improve another farm, and
his former landlord or the in-coining tenant enjoying
all the advantages of his sunk and lost capital, and, at
the same time, he sustaining the additional loss of the
profitable interest, which yielded him the right of com-
fortable living. Now, the tenant-right of Ulster is the
remedy for this—it is based upon this principle, that no
tenant in occupation, paying or willing to pay the fair
rent for the soil, shall be dispossessed, ‘tithout receiving
from the in-coming tenant or the landlord the full value
of his beneficial interest ; and this beneficial interest is
a mixed quantity, consisting of the value of his capital
expended, and the value of the future means of sub-
sistence which
claims -continuanceto be
permitted of occupation
to en
enjoy,
ol d
ffr
to o
cell to
to
highest bidder (such person
being quali-
fied as a solvent tenant), or else to be paid for it by
atshe the
the landlord, in case such landlord refuses to permit
him to sell it, or refuses to continue him in the
occupation; and the measure of this value is the amount
uually paid for such interests by the custom of the dis-
trict. This customary right could be legally established
by a simple and short Bill, of the following nature:—
Firstly, declarincr the right of the tenant, if ejected, to
receive from the landlord, or from the incoming tenant,
compensation for his improvements, and his beneficial
interest in the premises, according to the custom of the
country ; and secondly, permitting him to plead that
right in any Court from which an ejectment might issue,
and giving to such Court an extended power of equi-
table decision, by all such means as are usual in like
cases, and to withhold execution till the amount awarded
by the Court be paid. But then, it will be asked, how
is the value to be determined, if a tenant comes into
Court to claim his compensation? I answer, by the
same means, and with the same ease, as any other ques-
tion of value. Where land is taken up, for any public
purposes, the claimant proves his case by evidence. The
tenant, in this case, proves the value of his interest,
according to the custom of the country, which value will
bo greater or less, according to the value of his improve-
ments. His business is to prove what price a solvent
tenant would give for the premises, such tenant paying
the fair rent for the same, according to the usual letting
value of the country, or of the estate, or perhaps accord-
ing to the rent determined by the public valuation, and
the Court will decide according to the evidence produced
—just in like manner as the qualification f r the fran-
chise is now proved, by showing what rent or value a
solvent tenant would pay for the premises from which
the franchise was claimed,
hive said, in a former paragraph, that something

more than compensation for expenditure was included
under the name of " tenant-right." The explanation I
have given of that term shows this, because the value of
" tenant-right" includes not only the value of the actual
expenditure, but the value of the profitable income
enjoyed by the tenant, over and above both the ex-
penditure and the rent. This is the beneficial interest
of which the incoming tenant is the purchaser, under
the name of " tenant-right;" and no Bill, merely for the
purpose of compensation for money laid out in improve-
ments, can he a substitute for the full benefits of tenant-
right. I did not intend my Bills to act as setting aside
the tenant-right, but I much apprehend that the Bills
which have Knee been proposed are intendel to have
that operation.
I would say to the landlords, that by demanding such
vexatious restrictions and limitations as there contained
in the Government Bills, the tenants are forced to stand
upon their " tenant right." The landlords say, they
ought not to be responsible for improvements they have
not sanctioned, because works may be done of no real
value. I would remind them, they were never required
to pay fcr any works which did not create value ; but,
on the "tenant right" principle, there is an indisputable
test of value ; the tenant claims that which a solvent
tenant would pay, by actual sale or valuation, for the
tenant's interest in the coneern—this is the test whether
the tenant's improvements are of value or not ; op this
test he rests his claim, and on this principle the landlord
need not have one farthing to pay if it he not his own
fault. The tenant never refuses to pay the fah* rent—l
know this feom my own experience, as well as from my
knowledge of the general practice of the country ; and if,
in such case the landlord perseveres in ei(cting, why
should not the tenant receive, without any drawback, the
full value of that beneficial interest which he, by the
expenditure of his capita and labour, has created for
himself ? To refuse him this, is nothing else than
legalised robbery.
But, it is alleged that, although the landlord may not
pay, directly, the value of the " tenant-right," he pays
it indirectly—that is an abstraction either from the value
of the fee, or from the rent, or from both. In answer
to these allegations, I would ask, in what part of Ireland
is the purchase of the fee of land so high as in the north-
ern counties of the province of Ulster, and especially in
the county of gown ? In what part of Ireland is the rent
of land so high, in proportion to its quality, as in those
same districts ? It cannot be disputed, that the pur-
chase of land is at the highest, in the part of Ireland
referred to ; and with regard to the rent, the evidence of
Mr. Griffith, the Commissioner of Public Valuation, is
equally conclusive on that point ; and yet, in this same
p,,rtion of Ireland, the " tenant-right" has its strongest
hold, and the tenant's improvement show the greatest
progress. Thus, the value of land, the rent of land, and
improved cultivation, all rise in conjuction with this cus-
tomary right ; and the pros, erity, both of the tenant
and the landlord, is insured, by the mutual confidence
and kind feeling created.
My Friends,—Eleven years back, when I first raised
this question in Parliament, I sought on your behalf
(and you would have been satisfied with) a very modified
measure of protection : this was objected to.. It was
said landlords' rights must be upheld, tenants' rights
must be kept in abeyance ; but times are changed, and,
as in all cases wherein just reform is withheld, a greater
measure of reform is claimed and obtained. So with
your case. You have now the great moral power of
public opinion, both in England and Ireland, in your
favour. You stand on high ground, from which you
cannot be driven, except by your own fault. You
ought to demand, and accept nothing short of, the full
and simple measure of justice, which I have described
to you •, and here permit me to remark to you, that, in
England, long established customs become what is called
"common law." In England, customs prevail, in par-
ticalar districts, by which the outgoing tenant is corn-
pensated by the incoming tenant, for all unremunerated
expenditure ; and this custom becomes law, and can be
pleaded and enforced in a Court of Equity. Your cus-
tom of " tenant-right" is as well established as any cus-
tom
in England. Why, then, should it not be made
equally valid in law, as it confessedly is in justice ? De-
mand, then, that your custom be made law.
In doing so, you stand on a practical basis, the utility
of which is proved experimentally—not on the mere
fiction of theory. It may be said by some who have PICK
rightly considered the question, that this is a strange
advice to come from a landlord. I would say to such
persons, do you suppose I am proposing to s :vamp my
own interests, to serve the interests of the tenant ? I
have no such intention—l do not claim the tribute of
popular applause, on the doubtful merit of self-immola-
tion. I tell them, that in advocating this principle, I
feel that I am placing my own interests in a position of
the greatest safety, and the most certain advancement.
By giving security to the tenant, I create that spirit; of
improvement, from which, in due time, I derive an im-
proved beneficial interest as well as my tenant. I form
a stem of partnership, furnishing to the tenant the raw
material on which he expends labour and capital—he
yielding to me, in the form of rent, a fair proportion of
the increasing profits, which, by supplying the raw ma-
terial, justly falls to my share; and I securing to him,
that, at the termination of the partnership, if such should
occur, the amount of his labour and capital sunk in the
establishment, with a fair proportion of the profits, shall
fall to his lot. This just bond of union is the basis of
our mutual prosperity, enhanced by the improved social
condition of the whole community in which we live.
Such are the views I entertain of the relationship which
ought to subsist between landlord and tenant, and which
I trust I may yet live to see placed on the stable founda-
tion of just laws.—Your faithful friend,

WILLIAM SHARMAN CRAWFORD.
Crawfordsburn, July 8, 1846. •

AN OLD IRISH HARPER.

Donis A. Ilimpsey, or Hempson, was another interest-
ing model of the old school of Irish harpists. lie was
born shorely after Carolan, in 1695. His antiquarian
ta,te led him to prefer those venerable strains of Ireland,
which had long survived tlle memory of their composers.
Bunting informs us that he had an admirable method of
playing leg: to (bound or smooth), and the rtaccato
(divided or marked), in which he cou'd rim through rapid
divisions in an astonishing style. Hempson's system of
harp-playing, which may be regarded as the model of
the antique style of the Irish harpist, comprised as ex-
tensive a range of effects "as has ever been devised by
the most modern improvers." The following notice of
this bard is taken from a letter of the Rev. G. Sampson
(historian of Londonderry), and published by Miss
Owenson, now Lady Morgan, in her admired novel,
" The Wild Irish Girl." His father possessed the
whole toWnland of Tyrcrevan. The bard was born in
Craigmore, Londonderry ; and at the age of three years
he lost his sight by the small pox. At twelve he was
taught the harp by Bridget O'Cahan, for, as he said,
`• in these old times, women as well as men were taught
the Irish harp in the best families, and every old Irish
family had harps in plenty." Afterwards, he had lessons
from Garragher, L. Fanning, and Patrick Counor, from
Connaught, which was, he said, " the best part of the
kingdom for Irish harpers and for music." He travelled
through Ireland and Scotland fur about ten years.
During these peregrinations, many amusing incidents
lighted up his path. Ile was about fifty years of age
when he made a second tour to Scotland, in 1745. At
Edinburgh, he performed before Charles the Pretender:
the tune called for was " The king shall enjoy his own
again." _ _ _

- " I hope to see the clay
When the Whigs shall run run away.
And the king shall enjoy his own again."

Hempson was introduced to the Pretender's presence
by Sir Thomas Sheridan and Colonel Kelly, of Ros-
common. Hempson was kindly and considerately re-
ceived by most of the principal families in Ireland. These
and other interesting anecdotes were related to the nar-
rator when the venerable bard had attained the age of
108 years ; and having known him when he himself was
a boy, he called to see him in 1806, two years before the
minstrel's death. The wen at the back of his head was
much increased, so that he was called "the man with
two heads." " General Hart, who is au admirer of
music, sent a painter to take a drawing of him, which
cannot fail to be interesting, if it were only for the
venerable expression of his meagre, blind countenance,
and symmetry of his tall, thin, but not debilitated person.
I found him lying on his back in bed, near the fire of his
cabin; his family employed in the usual way, his harp
under the bed-clothes, by which his face was covered
also. When he heard my name he started up (being
already dressed), and seemed rejoiced to hear the sound
of my voice, which, he said, he began to recollect. He
asked for my children, whom I had brought to see him,
and he felt them over and over; then with tones of great
affection, he blessed his God that he had seen four
generations of the name, and ended by giving the
children his blessing. lie turned to the old time-beaten
ha justnessrp, his solace d andl,„;oo
good
bedfellow,taste .T and played
tunes
whichwithhe astonish-
ingplay played
dwere his favourites; and he, with an elegance of manner,
said at the same time, I remember you have a fondness
for music, and the tunes you used to ask for I have not
forgotten;' which were 'The coolin,' The dawning of
harperstthhee draey; regulation, en
Belfast, a
h
except the third, were the first tunes which, according to
of Irish music. Mr. Bunting, the
aptattrhoneo.
eßuoipiodllite;:dhCeean Dubh Dilis,' B,:c. These,
a gefamousceloe
fb
r celebrated
t someed meeting
amateurs
musician
of that town, was here in 1793 (the year after the
meeting), at Hempson's noting his tunes and his manner
of playing, which is in the best old style. He
said with the honest feeling of self-love, When I
Vayed the old tunes, not another of the harpers would
play after me.'" Having learned that his friend and
benefactor, the Rev. Sir H. Harvey Bruce, Lad come to
visit him, he desired to be raised up in bed, aad the
harp placed in his hands. Having struck some notes of
a favourite strain, he sunk back, unable to proceed,
taking his last adieu of an instrument whit'' had been
his companion and hourly solace during a long life, lie
died in 1807, aged 112 years. " The last of our bards
now sleeps cold in the grave," was the cry which arose
Iwhen his death was announced.—Mr. M. Conran 's .117a-
tional Music of Ireland.

PROSE FROM THE Sourra.—Of this original and
striking work, a first edition is already nearly sold,
so power
ful a sensation has it excited. A recent critical authority
says, "In noticing, the other day, Mr. Dickens's book on
Italy, we could not help feeling its entire want of all know- '
ledge of the subject. It was a sort of quaint version of a
road-book, with here and there fine passages. To Mr.
Reade's Prose from the South,' this objection cannot be
made; he displays considerable reading, and of the right
sort. He has cultivated his own taste so as to be able to
speak with some confidence of sculpture, painting, and archi-
tecture. All who traverse the Alps should carry these vo-
lumes along with them, as we feel assured they will better
relish the scenes, pictures, palaces, and people among whom
they move, than they would ever be likely to do without
them."—Sunday Times.
A letter from Naples, of June 27, states that Mount
Vesuvius was in full eruption, and vomiting forth masses of
lava with great noise. During the night the flames pre,
sented a magnificent spectacle. The heat was 24 degrees of
Reaumur (86 Fahrenheit).

HOP INTELLIGENCE
(From the illaiflsh me Journal of yesterday.)
MAIDSTONE.—AIthou4i our hop- plantations have had
such a severe blight to c intend with, they are now, with
the assistance of hot weather, doing all they possibly
can, and are showing Barr where it never was expected.
The grounds that arc clear are looking beautiful. In
many there aro hop to be found thus early. The land
generally is in a very bad state, the season having boon
so much against either winter, spring, or summer culti-
vation. We had rain on Friday last, which was very
acceptable.
The duty is ret;hly set as follows :—Rochester,
30,0C.0/.; Canterbury, 33,0001.; Sussex, 50,0001.; Wor- ,
cester, 15,000/.; Farnham, 10,0001.; Kingdom, 2,0001.
' Total, 137,0001.
BOXLET, AntSFORD, AND BURRAM.—The hops in
these parishes, humorously observes our correspondent,
are in deep mourning, I suppose for the serious loss they
have sustained from Sir R. Peel's last measure. Some
few of the plantations are endeavouring to put on their
former green garb, but the shock is so severe that it is
not very likely they will rally for a year.
OTIIAN.—Our best plantations do not look so well,
and certainly are getting much blacker ; the branches
do not look so healthy as they have done ; on some of
our lower grounds, where the fly and lice have been most
prevalent, there will be almost a total failure.
THORNIIAZI,-Tha hops in this parish are as bad as
they can be, many twos not a bin will be put into them.
BEARSTED.—Hops are very bad, with the exception
of a few grounis near and adjoining the turnpike road.
EAST F44l,El(2ff.—Tha greater part of this parish is
looking bright and beautiful; but there are exceptions.
WEST PARLF.IGII.—The principal part of the planta-
tions are very bad.
YAIDINCt.---.111) upper part of this parish on the hill
is very good—the lower very indifferent.
MEnEwonTn.—.l great improvement has taken
plaoc here. Since the late rains the bine seems to re-
cover, and the young shoots look healthy, and are
putting out burr very fast. Shoul I the weather prove
favourable, there is a prospect of three or four bags per
acre throughout the parish.
WEST PEcanam.—The hops are quite as good as at
Mereworth.

CHART, BOUGHTON, LANGLT, OTHAM, LEEDS.—The
lower grounds very bad. No chance of growing any-
thing. The upper parts of these parishes are better,
however, and will grow a small crop.
BRENCHLEY.—The major part of the plantations are
decidedly blighted, and in those which have hitherto
looked more favourably there is a fresh attack of fly.
ROLVENDEN.—In looking through this parish and
upon inquiries I find the hops partially improving ;
though some grounds cannot be calculated to do much,
there are some very good grounds among them, Messrs.
Bishops, Mr. Robert Radwells, Mr. A. Dunk, and Mr.
Corke, who may consider themselves favoured.
WRorIIAM—No alteration.
TUNBRIDGE.—The hops in this neighbourhood are
now looking in a woful plight, many grounds turning
quite black. The bine still continues loaded with ver-
min, which cover the young shoots as soon as they come.
In many places farmers say they will not be worth
putting bins into the grounds, for a farmer told us yes-
terday thero were places where they would not get 2cwt.
off the acre.

EYNSFORD, SHOREHAM, OTFORD, KEMSING, SEAL,
SEVENOAKS, CIIEVENING, SUNBRIDGE, BRASTED, WES-
Tr.nuA3T, lALSTED, AND CHELSFIELD.—We had hoped
to have made to you an improving report from the
heavy storm &c., of the last week, but, having
most carefully inspected the above- mentioned parishes,
we do not find anything like a duty of
even 120,0001., as mentioned by some of your
contemporaries, much less 140,0001. The result
of our observations is, that in all gardens where
the bine is strong, although there is an immense quan-
tity of vermin, there may yet be a slight top crop. In
the weak bine gardens by no possibility can there be
anything like a " tithe part of a crop." As we have
before mentioned, the clearer the plantation the better
the plant. In wooded districts, particularly those small
beautiful valleys found on the " Ridge," the whole of
which are bounded by oak timber trees, the
vermin are millions strong, the bine, although
strong and vigorous as a planter could desire, being
almost black, In the northern portion of Holmesdale,
upon the rich s( il, the hop-leaf is completely crum-
pled (many dropping off), and, with a few excep-
tions, entirely worthless as to a crop. The hops on the
Chalk Range are very slack, the bine poor ; the Mid-
summer shoot has not developed itself so well as could be
wished ;in cases is h. re there is bine a tenth-rate tap
crop may yet be expect d. The Low Hill (clays) hops are
generally bad. A few pieces on the Sandstone are lock-
ing tolerably well.
CANTERBURY.—The hops exhibit groat improvement
on the past week. The vermin is decreasing, the plants
are now tolerably clear, the bine is vigorous, and the
burr just showing itself. There are a few suffering
from honey dew. The duty is set at 135,0001. General
accounts state that the bine mostly looks healthy, and
bids fair for a moderate crop ,• and the duty is variously
laid from 140,0001. to 150,0001.

, -
FARNHAM.—Our town grounds are looking well and
clean; but the country is, in many instances, very slack
of bine.

CAUTION TO HOP-GROWERS.-All hop-growers will
do well to remetnbc r that during the present month they
must deliver to the proper officer of Excise a true entry,
in writing, of the number of acres in plant ; also all
oast-houses, oasts, and store-rooms intended to be used
by them for th,_ purpose of curing and storing hops ; a
neglect of which -will subject' them to heavy penalties,
under the Act 4 and 5 \Val. IV., cap. 51, s. 5.