The Sun.
London, England, 1869-11-30 00:00:00

'WOMEN AS TOWN-COUNCILLORS.

The enfranchisement of the women as burgesses
has not' to their thinking been altogether complete.
A Mrs. Thomas, baker and confectioner, of Totnes,
has been stopped in her aspirations by the stern
barrier which the law of man has placed across her
path. She wants to become town councilloress
of her town ; obtained a nomination for the place,
but the Town Clerk has declined to insert her name,
"as (he says) he Act of Parliament is clear on the
point that although women can vote, they cannot
hold the office of town councillor." There is at
least one thing ladies at our local boards might do—
they might perhaps shame our councillors into mode-
ration of language—a consummation devoutly to be
wished.

EVICTIONS.

Lord Lucan imagines he has settled the land ques-
tion, or at least a great part of it. In answer to
the statement that there is no legal protection for the
Irish tenant, his lordship affirms that by the Land-
lord and Tenant Act, better known as Mr. Card-
well's Act, " every defendant in a civil bill ejectment
is entitled to every defence at the hearing of such
civil bill which he might have had at law or in
equity." Lord Lucan adds that during the thirty
years that he has owned and managed an Irish estate
the Assistant Barrister's Court has tried 99 out of
100 eviction cases. Lord Lucan seems to overlook
the main point at issue. It is not so much a question
whether a court exists for the trial of eviction cases,
as whether the power possessed by that court
be reasonably sufficient. It is a fact that
noo suchaward
ar
inta
l as
has at present the power
t
compensation for unexhausted im-
provements • and therefore the existence of the
tt ?
e
As-
sistant Barrister's Court proves nothing.

NARROWING THE ISSUE.
According to another letter in the Times from Mr.
Buxton, M.P., the conflict of rival schemes for the
settlement of the land question has been materially
simplified. Mr. Caird's plan, the Ulster custom, not
to speak of fixity of tenure and the like, have been
disposed of. There remain now in the field only
the proposal for tribunals of arbitration,
andof preasr.os i
Butt's
all cases of occupation t,e scheme, assuming the existence
ex-
tending over three years. U,nder the former
plan the State gives legal security of tenure for terms
of years, but provides machinery for its premature
extinction in certain specified cases. Under the
tribunal scheme the State does not give legal
security; what it does is to provide machinery for re-
straining improper eviction. The tribunal system looks
preferable at first sight, but Mr. Buxton thinks
it would not really prove so. The security of tenure
would be for a fixed term; the landlord would know
exactly what was before him. But he would never
know what the Arbitration Court might award. Its
operation would be attended with perplexity, uncer-
tainty,but not least—publicity. Land-
lordsnd such interference intole-
would find
intole-
rable. Moreover, as the Economist sagaciously
remarks, if Tribunals of Arbitration are really to give
security of tenure by, so to speak, cancelling evic-
tions where they think fit, it will be a vital necessity
of the scheme that the landlord should also be for-
bidden to raise the rent -without the consent of those
tribunals. Otherwise, the law would be a mere dead
letter. All the trouble and expense which must
attend this plan would be avoided by the alternative
of converting a tenant-at-will into a leaseholder for
a term of years.