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

TENANT-RIGHT..
TO 'um OCCUPYING TEN NTS OF ULSTER.
Friends,—Froto 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 shad (shall) build on, or drain, farms,
and to secure to the parties re,pectively entitled thereto
the tine payment ..t' such compensation."
The Bills which have been introduced by the late
Government, in the last and the present session of
Pirliament (the first by Lord Stanley, in the Lorth,
and the s. e'ed by Lord Lincoln, in the Commons),
afford a praetie.A Reknewlvdotent of the great
prieeipic for which I have long contended,
namely, the right of the tenant to compensation for
alt lattoar and capital expend tl, in increrasing the value
of the prouises in his oceup;:thin ; but, when I say this
much, it is all I can say in tavour of these Bilis, tor, 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, prsc:i•
cull}' swamp t to, pi i. cipl. they ack,uiwhalge. Truth c..m-
ras me to declare this opinion, rt well of Lord Lin-
coln's present Bill as of L.,rd Stanley's pact one ; at the
same tun,, I to express my conviciion, th'tt they
emanatt-d from a kind feeling on the part of the Govern-
ment who introduced them, and who had great difficlll-
- to overcome, in offering any prtposition, on this
subject, to the Leei,lature. It is also fair to remind you,
that the limitations contained in these Bills are founded
on the r, commendations contained m the report of Lord
Dt von's Commission. I sh,ll now proceed to notice,
briefly, the most p7ominent 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 agreetreat, by voAmtary arrangement, with
his landlord. as to the object, and extent of the expendi-
ture ; or else, in case the landlord objects, he has ob-.
taint d 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
for claim. _ _ _

Thirdly—All claim for compensasion,even ;or buildings,
is proposed to be t,Aally 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 chscription, be established beyond the amount of
three years' rent. These are the most important pro-
visions of this Bill, and, in my opinion, demand ,our
serious and instant attention.

It may be said, the Bill was introduced by a Governs
ment now extinct, and, therefore, not likely to he 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, iu 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 sues. eding 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 tie,
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. Secondty, there is no limitation as
to the nature of the improvement, provided increased
value he 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-
tors were allowed to exercise a discretion, funded 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, es I shall hereafter explain, I
grant to you, that something m ire would be necessary,
to give yies the tull benefit of " tenant-right," as known
and practised in the pros ince of Ulster.
You, the tenantry of this p ortion of Ireland, are at
present, to a certain extent, protected by a kind of social
compact, called " tenantsright"—held, not by law, but
by snfferance 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 be 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-
fin e, 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 capital 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—you 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 500 L, sunk in the premises, without a farthing
with which to purchase or improve another farm, am
his former landlord or the in-coming tenant enjoying
all the advantages of his sunk and lost capital, and, al
the same time, he sustaining the additional loss of the
piofitable interest, a h:ch yielded him the right of corn
fortable living. Now, the tenant-right of Ulster is the
remedy for this—it is based upon this principle, that nu
tenant in occup Ition, paying Cr willing to pay the fait
rent for the soil, shall be dispossessed, without 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 vulue of the future means of sub-
sistence which the continuance of occupation would
afford. Ilia he claims to be permitted to enjoy, or
to sell to the highest bidder (such person being quali-
fied as a solvent tenant), or else to be paid for it las
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
u,ually 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, declaring 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
eases, 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
stinc 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
b
tenant would gvefo r the is
s
ineegnrts His businessieater9r less according to the value of his improve-
ptoremi
prove what
tenant price
the fair rent for Nss'hucaht
the same, according to the usual letting
value of the country, or
ing to the rent r ofthe estate, or perhaps accord-
determined ay the public valuation, and
the Court will decide
according to the evidence produced
—jest in like manner as the. qualification fer the fran-
chise is now proved, by
et, nt tenent sv. iete showing what 'rent or value a
Pv for the premises from which
the franchise was claimed,
I have said, in a tsirmer paregrapb, that something
more than compensation for expenditure was include
under the name of " terialit-right." The explanation
have given of that term shows this, because the value on
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-
pencture and the ri tit. This is the beneficial interest
of which the incoming tenant is the purchaser, under
the name ~f " tenant-right;" and no Bill, merely for the
purpose of compensatien for money laid out in improve.
wants, can be a substittve for the full benefits of tenantright. I did not intend my Bills to act as setting aside
the ,temtrright, but i mob gan94oad t 4" Ow Bill§