The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-07 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 7, 1870

Jockey Club can do in the way of reforming handi-
caps, sustaining the stamina of horses, and th•
other excellent objects which the committee will

gravely consider.

THE passing of the third clause is a great event
in the history of the Land Bill. It is the keystone
of the whole measure, and it has been latterly dis-
cussed in a spirit which marks a disposition to make
progress. The word " progress " may sound
absurd in connection with a bill which has been on
the way for weeks, and of which only two clauses
out of sixty (the second was postponed) have been
disposed of. But this third clause involves the
great principle of the measure. Once settled, only
minor considerations remain, and only lesser
delays may be anticipated. By this clause it is esta-
blished that a landlord has not such uncontrolled
property in his estate as to be allowed to evict a
tenant at pleasure. Non-payment of rent, or other grave
offence, is an excuse for dispossession; but unless there
be some such just plea, eviction is to be treated as a
civil injury for which compensation may be claimed.
A maximum sum is fixed, the smaller the holding
the greater being the scale of award. Thus the
occupier of land valued at £lO a year may
possibly secure a sum of money equal to
seven years' rent in case of arbitrary eviction, whilst
the occupier of a farm above one hundred pounds
cannot at the utmost receive more than one year's
rent. These are the highest figures, and will be
awaded only in the most flagrant cases. All the
circumstances will be taken into consideration,
and the amount will be adjusted by the
Court, so as to make good, as far as possible, the exact
loss sustained through the arbitrary eviction. For
instance, if the landlord offers a lease which the
tenant does not accept, such an offer will be valued
as a set-off against the claim for damages, in case the
landlord afterwards thought fit to deprive the occu-
pier of his holding. This compensation scheme
clearly introduces a startlingly novel principle into
the English law. Nothing of the kind exists at
present in any part of the British Islands.
Hitherto the land has been considered as
within the absolute control of the owner ; his power
to dispossess tenants is limited only by the original
bargain ; and if the occupier makes a bad bargain, so
much the worse for him—he has no redress. By the
Land Bill the proprietor's rights are decidedly
curtailed. No matter what contract he may
make with his tenant in the first instance, he cannot
evict at will without running the risk of paying a
sum of money—perhaps a large sum—as the price of
the luxury. This great principle—and in the present
circumstances of Ireland it is a just and necessary one—
has been maintained with slight modification by
Mr. Gladstone. But the struggle was most desperate.
The clause was openly assailed, and covertly under-
mined. The Opposition united against it ; and even
the present discipline of the Liberal party wavered
to such a degree that on one memorable night
several of the Government supporters went over to
the other side, and many more left the House. This
third clause, with its rude blow against what are
called the rights of property, has met with more
reluctant acceptance than the whole of the Irish
Church Bill.

Nothing, in fact, but the unanimous protests of
the press, and the stern attitude of the constituencies,
succeeded in getting the clause through unimpaired.
The electors of Newcastle, in particular, have de-
served well of their fellow-voters by the promptitude
with which they brought Mr. Headlam to account.
This unfortunate representative earned a good deal
of temporary infamy by an amendment which was
one of those neat contrivances for taking the
• sting out of a thorough measure, in which the House
of Commons so much excels. It is not that Mr.
Headlam's conduct was more obnoxious than that of
other Liberals—Mr. Fowler for instance. It is not that
ho shewed a disposition to assert the independence
of the Liberal party. For it would be a grave
misfortune indeed if all that the Government
proposed were to be accepted without demur,
and the country thus fell under the rule
of an irresponsible bureaucracy. Mr. Head-
laufs error lay in proposing an amendment designed
t) grievously r strict the operation of the compensa-
tion clauo, after amendments to the same purport
had been rejected again and again. Nothing could
be more exhaustive than the battle on this
point. In every conceivable way the reluc-
tant property-holders of the House strove to curtail
the efficiency of this intervention with their ancient
privileges. And though it is true that the question
raised by Mr. Headlam was new in the letter, it
embodied the same principle as that of many pre-
vious amendments, Mr. Fowler's, for instance.
Surely, after so much loss of time, the country had a
right to complain of any further frivolous and vexa-
tious intervention. No servile acquiescence ought
to be required of members ; but after this remark-
able provision had survived so many persistent
attacks, it would have been well if the House had
gracefully accepted the result. It is to be hoped that
the good rule of not fighting the same battle again
aed again will be observed in future.

The Queen, with their Royal Highnesses Louise
and Beatrice, and possibly Prince Leopold, attended by the
suite, will leave Osborne this day (Saturday), en route for
Windsor Castle, via the London and South Western Rail-
way. The Queen comes to London on Monday, and goes
to Claremont about Tuesday.

Prince Arthur may be expected to arrive home
from Canada with the Ist battalion Rifle Brigade, in her
Majesty's ship Crocodile, early in July.
'the Lord Chancellor has made an order that the
offices of the Court of Chancery be closed on Saturday, the
28th inst., for the celebration of her Majesty's birthday.
Mr. Boucicault is to have the direction of both
the Adelphi and Princess's Theatres next season, though
they still remain in Mr. Webster's hands.

Mr. Liston, of the Olympic Theatre, bas made an
engagemant with Miss Bateman to appear at that house on
the 23d inst., in " Mary Warner."

Max M. Von Weber, son of the composer of " Der
Frieschutz," has been made Counsel to the Ministry of
Commerce of Austria.—Musical Standard.

A telegram from Port Said announces the arrival
there, on the afternoon of the sth inst., of her Majesty's
Indian troopship Jumna, all well, after a satisfactory passage
through the Suez Canal.
It is believed that on the occasion of the anni-
versary of the birthday of her Majesty the Queen several
civilians who have lately retired from the Admiralty will
receive the honorary distinction which public rumour has
already bestowed upon them.

The Cunard steamer Siberia, which loft Liver-
pool for Boston on the 19th of April, was spoken on

_ .
the 30th by the steamer India. The Siberia was put-
ting back to Queenstown under canvas with a broken
shaft.

Last evening Captain R. C. Cutting, late com-
mander of the Guion steamship Idaho, committed suicide
by' shooting himself through the head at his office, Alex-
andra-buildings, James-street, Liverpool. The motive for
the fatal act is not at present known.

DEATH OF SIR JAMES Y. SimPsoN.---Last night,
shortly before eight o'clock, Professor Sir James Y. Simpson
died in Edinburgh from disease of the heart, with symptoms
of angina pectoris. Sir James was born in 1811, and was
appointed in 1840 to the Professorship of Midwifery in the

University of Edinburgh, for his discoveries in connexion
with chloroform, which are well known.

The nomination for the candidates for the repre-
sentation of Mallow took place yesterday in the Court-
house, which was crowded with a riotous and desperate mob.
Scarcely a word uttered during the proceedings could be
heard. The tumult in the body of the Court was almost
bewildering, and the partisans of the rival candidates at-
tacked each other fiercely, and the fighting continued with
little intermission during the proceedings. Major Knox
and Mr. Waters, Q.C., were nominated, and the show of
hands was in favour of :Mr. Waters. A poll was demanded
for Major Knox.