The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-17 00:00:00

A PEASANT PROPRIETARY.

The Standard thinks it is astounding that Mr. Glad-
stone should have alleged the want of security of tenure in
Ireland as a reason for assisting the Irish tenant to pur-
chase and compelling the Irish landlord to sell the holding
Mr. Gladstone allows it would be better for the tenant, if
he had security, to spend his money on improvements.
The amplest security is given him by the bill, and yet he
is to be encouraged by these clauses to purchase the hold-
ing ; that is to say, upon Mr. Gladstone's own shewing, to
do what is is against his own real interest and the general
interest of the country. The practical inconveniences of
the plan were pointed out by Sir George Jenkinson and
Colonel Corbett. The honourable baronet chewed that
the result of the adoption of the adoption of the clause
would be to encourage he tenants to force by threats—
and if they failed, by acts of violence—a landlord to sell
his estate at such a sum as they might be disposed to
give for it ; and Colonel Corbett, after putting clearly
the great difference between the advance of public money
for the improvement of land—a matter of public and
general interest—and for the purchase of land by a parti-
zular class—a matter concerning that class alone—
pointed with force to the difficulties in which any
famine year, and he might have added any time of
disturbance, would put a Government which had practi-
cally by these advances become the mortgagee of so large
a number of small properties. Mr. Hardy eloquently re-
newed the protest which upon the second reading of the
bill ire made against a scheme which, unsound in principle
and unfair to the ratepayers of England and Scotland, is
equally unfair to the mass of the Irish people. It enables
a certain number of persons now incidentally occupiers
to become owners of land by advances from the State ; it
makes the condition of the Irishman who, when the bill
passes, is not an occupier of land, more hopeless than at
any period in Ireland's history.
The English farmers, says the Telegraph, do not need,
and do not ask, such powers of purchasing land as those
which the bill provides for the Irish tenantry. As for
the argument, that if we advance money to farmers we
must also advance it to operatives, it is sufficient to reply,
that the justice of the demand will be considered if it
should ever arise, and will be decided by considerations
entirely in accordance with those which govern the legis-
lation with respect to the Irish land. The effect of the
clause will be to create a peasant proprietary ; and the
wisdom of the proposal must be determined by the answer
to the question whether the existence of such a
proprietary does not do good to a nation. Mr. Gathorne
Hardy thinks that it does not. But we appeal to the
example of Belgium, France, Germany, Prussia, Switzer-
land, and Russia. Wherever we find a peasant
proprietary, there we also find industry, frugality, fore-
thought, sobriety, and the prudential virtues. Such
statesmen as Stein and Hardenberg have won undying
fame because they enabled the Prussian tenantry, by
means of State loans, to raise themselves from
a position of serfdom to that of owners of the soil. To
Prussia the gain is incalculable ; and we cannot place
limits to its extent in Ireland. The State, of course, must take
all the necessary securities to guard itself from the risk of
fraud. Money must not be lent to insolvent tenants,
and it would be injudicious to advance the whole amount
required for the purchase of a tenant's holding. As Mr.
Chichester Fortescue said, the Irish Board of Works is
never too ready to lend money ; and, at the suggestion of
Mr. Candlish and other members, the Government has
agreed to advance the tenant only two-thirds of the pur-
chase money, instead of three-fourths. Sir George Jen-
kinson and Mr. Gathorne Hardy fancy that the English
taxpayer will be despoiled in order that the Irish tenant
may gain. But the English taxpayer will lose nothing ;
he will gain. For the loan he will secure interest at the
rate of 20 per cent. on complete security ; and if the plan
should in the slightest degree tend to pacify Ireland, the
money lent to Irish tenants will be as good an
ins estment as the wit of English capitalists could
devise.