The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 24 1845

be placed upon some one favourite plan, as likely to afford an
effectual remedy for the admitted evils; whereas we feel certain
that such substantial and permanent relief to the distress still
prevalent in Ireland, can only be hoped for from a combination
of measures adapting themselves to the varying circumstances
under which the owners and occupiers of land are placed in dif-
ferent parts of the country.
We find that the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the
nature and extent of the several bogs in Ireland, and the prac-
ticability of draining and cultivating them, appointed under the
49th George 111., c. 102, made four several reports in 1810,
1811, and 1814, in which they express their entire conviction
of the practicability of cultivating with profit an immense ex-
tent of land lying waste in Ireland. They confine their re-
commendations to the legislative removal of the obstacles to
the improvement of these lands, which arise from the uncer-
tainty prevailing with regard to the boundaries of contiguous
estates, and from the existence of various rights upon them,
which are claimed by the neighbouring tenantry ; and to
which obstacles they considered that the uncultivated state of
these lands was chiefly to be ascribed.
In the year 1819 a Select Committee of the House of Com-
mons on the state of disease and employment of the poor in
Ireland, regretting the small extent to which the recommenda-
tions of the farmer Commissioners had been acted upon, and
pointing out the great evils of a redundant population, recom-
mend the adoption of measures for the clearing, lowering, and
embanking of rivers, by which so much low ground in various
parts of the country is flooded, and for the drainage and re-
clamation of bogs and marshes. They also strongly urge the
opening of communications through the mountain districts, and
with the fisheries on their coasts, on principles similar to those
applied in the case of the Highlands of Scotland.
The Select Committee of the Commons, in 1823, advert to
the misery among the poor, arising from the want of employ-
ment. This want they considered might be supplied, in part
at least, by the extension of the linen trade to the south of
Ireland—by the continued encouragement of fisheries—by the
erection of piers and the formation of harbours—by the open-
ing of mountain roads, and by any other works of public
utility ; all being aided and encouraged by public money, "given
by the nation to stimulate private exertions."
The Committee also express their concurrence in an opinion
stated in the report of 1819, of the necessity of passing a general
Drainage Bill for Ireland.
The reports of Committees of both Houses of Parliament,
in 1825, contain a great variety of suggestions made to them
a ith reference to the political and social state of Ireland,
which they press upon the attentive consideration of Parlia-
ment ; but as these suggestions are rather reported as points
for consideration than as being supported by the opinion of the
respective Committees, it does not appear to be necessary to
state theaa at length in this place.
In three reports in 1826 and 1827, from the Select Com-
mittee on emigration from the United Kingdom, the condi-
tion of Ireland, and the state of its poorer classes, are par-
ticularly referred to, and emigration advocated as the only
effectual means of removing the evils of over-population,
pauperism, mendicancy, and destitution which prevail in
that country, and of obtaining the advantages proposed to
be effected by the Irish Subletting Act, then lately passed
(7 Geo. IV., a. 29.)
In 1830 a Select Committee of the House of Commons, on
the state of the poorer classes in Ireland, took a large body of
evidence on the condition of the people of that country, and in
their report laid before the House a summary of that evidence,
with their observations upon it.
In speaking of the peasantry generally, the Committee state
" a very considerable proportion of the population (variously
estimated at a fourth and a fifth of the whole) is considered to
be out of employment." Great distress is described as ensuing
from the want of demand for lakaur ; but notwithstanding the
misery in many districts, there is said to be evidence of great
improvement in the state of the peasantry of late years, and
every indication of its continuance.
The next topic reported on by the Committee is the law and
practice in the relations between landlord and tenant. After
describing the extent to which the subletting and subdivision
of farms and lands had been carried during the war, and under
the influence of war prices, and the change in the system of
managing lands which took place at the peace, they speak of the
misery occasioned to the ejected tenantry by the consolidation
of farms. Still, however, being of opinion that such consolida-
tion was absolutely necessary, the Committee proceed with a
summary view of the state of trade—the effects of steam navi-
gation—the state of manufactures—the state of the savings'
banks, and the charitable loan societies—the health of the
pour, as shown by the admission to fever hospitals--and the
state of the country, as described by the criminal returns ; and
after an account of the laws which affect the poor, and of the
charitable institutions of Ireland, both public and private, they
state the remedial measures which they propose for adoption,
of which the following appear to come within the scope of our
inquiry :-
1. The extension of public works upon the principle of loans
repayable and adequately secured.
By extracts from former reports they prove that for a long
period admissions have been made by Parliamentary authori-
ties, that the then system of carrying on public works had been
long open to serious objection. They describe the system
pursu?rl in the Highlands of Scotland, and the beneficial results
attending it, and state their conviction that equally rood effects
would ensue from the adoption of a similar system in Ireland,
founding that conviction on the great improvement produced
in various parts of the country by public works, effected by
public grants or loans in aid of local funds, or upon the security
of local taxes.
2. The extension of inland navigation on similar principles.
3. Improvement of the grand jury laws.
After referring to the importance and nature of these laws,
the Committee turn to the question of the applotment of the
assessments, and express their decided opinion that the county
assessments should, in whole or in part, be imposed upon the
landlords. In support of their view, they quote from reports
made by former Committees, and the evidence taken before
them on the subject.
The Committee advert to other proposed amendments in the
grand jury system, relating to the more equable distribution
of public works, and a more convenient period for their exe-
cution—viz., when there is least demand for agricultural la•
bour, and to the establishment of money payments is all pub
lie works.

4. Drainage and embankments.
The Committee, strongly impressed with the advantage of
this class of improvements, recommend the trial of one or two
experiments in the reclamation of waste lands, on a limited
scale, at the public expense.
5. A correction of the abuses incidental to the system of
tolls and customs.
7. Emigration.
Emigration is considered by the Committee to be pecu-
liarly applicable, as a remedial measure, to the present state
of Ireland, and of the relations of landlord and tenant there.
They recommend that facilities should be afforded by Go-
vernment to such peasants as were disposed voluntarily to emi-
grate, and who could, either by themselves or their landlords
(it being for the interest of both that farms should be consoli-
dated), provide funds to defray the expense of their passage and
location in America.
10. A correction of the abuses incidental t) eustodiam writs.
11. A cheap and effectual mode of determining disputed
wills, legacies, and intestacies, for small sums.
It is proposed by the Committee to give power to the as-
sistant barristers to adjudicate in those matters, in respect to
sums of a limited amount.
The report conclude's with the enumeration of a series of
measures, proposed with the view of carrying out the recom-
mendations contained in it.
As a means of alleviating the distress occasioned by the re-
moval of tenants, it is proposed by the Select Committee on
the state of Ireland in 1832, that public money should be given
in aid of such sums as may be paid by a landlord to a removed
and destitute tenant, with a view to its being employed in
emigration.
The Select Committee, in 1835, on the amount of advaeces
made by the Commissioners of Public Works, in their two
reports, urged the importance of an extension of public
works, on the principle of loans and grants; and of an ex-
tensive system of drainage and land improvement under the
Board of Worksthey proposed several amendments in
the law, to gives additional facilities for the attainment of both
these objects.
Among other matters not embraced by the commission
under which we are acting, the Commissioners of Poor Inquiry
(in their third report, 1635) recommend the adoption of mea-
sures to promote emigration from Ireland, partly by aid from the
general funds of the empire, and partly by rates and contribu-
tions in Ireland.

With a view to the improvement of land in Ireland, they
rocornmend the appointment of a Board of Improvement, with
extensive powers for th, drainage and reclamation of unculti-
vated and partially cultivated lands. They propose to combine
in some respects the operations of this new board with those of
the Board of Works, and that the fund at the disposal of the
latter should be increased ; they also recommend that additional
powers should be conferred on that board, with a view to the
promotion of all public works; and in order to remove some
of the obstacles which have hitherto stood in the way of ex-
tensive improvements, they propose to give to tenants for life,
&c., in Ireland, certain leasing and charging powers not now
possessed by them.
The Committee of 1836 directed their inquiries into the
duties, salaries, and fees of the officers paid by the counties,
and into the presentments compulsory on grand juries. They
recommend the union of some offices, more particularly of
the Clerk of the Crown and the Clerk of the Peace, and that
the duties of the united office be performed in person by a
resident officer ; also the appointment of assistants to the
county surveyor, and the reduction of the class of compulsory
presentments. .
The Commission of 1840, appointed to revise the several
laws whereby moneys were then raised by grand jury pre-
sentments, recommended, among many other changes, that
magistrates qualified by property within the barony, and the
elected guardians of the poor, should alone form the dis-
trict presentment sessions' court, of which there was to be but
one in the year; that there should be a finance committee and
road wardens to pay the contractors quarterly; that the
Board of Works should have a corps of assistant en-
gineers under it for the more effectual control of new roads ;
that the offices of clerk of the peace and clerk of the crown,
and those of treasurer and secretary, be united ; that. a judicial
committee of the Privy Council be appointed as a board of
appeal from the decision of grand juries and of the Board of
Works, and that the Privy Council should make rules for the
management of all gaols.
Lastly, the Committee of 1844, on the townland valuation,
recommended that the system of valuation which had been
adopted on the suggestion of the select committee of 1824 on
the survey and valuation of Ireland, and under the provisions
of the 6 and 7 Wm. IV., c. 84, should be discontinued, and
that a tenement valuation according to the net annual value for
a fair average term of years, and applicable to the imposition
and levy of all local taxes, be substituted.
They then proceeded to suggest that the county cess and the
poor rate should be levied together, and that the same prin-
ciple of payment between landlord and tenant be applied to
both taxes.
The principal measures which appear to have followed from
those various Committees and Commissions have been, the
townland survey, the valuation Acts, the several public works
Acts, the drainage Acts, the Act for the abolition of custodiam
writs, an extension of the civil bill jurisdiction to legacies of
small amount, and the alteration of the grand jury system by
the Acts of 1834 and 1836.
At this stage of our report, and before adverting to those
details to which the course of our inquiries has directed our
attention, it may be proper to make a few observations of a
general nature, and having, as we conceive, an important
bearing upon every part of the subject under consideration.
Whatever difference of opinion may be put forward or enter-
tained upon other points,. the testimony given is unfortunately
too uniform in representing the unimproved state of extensive
districts, the want of employment, and the consequent poverty
ai.d hardships under which a large portion of the agricultural
population continually labour.
The obvious remedy for this state of things is to provide
remunerative employment, which may at once increase the
productive powers of the country, and improve the condition of
the people.
By what means and under what arrangements for the occu-
pation of land, this object can be most certainly at+ained—what
difficulties and impediments may be removed—and what assist-
the interference of Parliament or
rice can be properly given by
the exertions of individuals, are points well worthy of considera-
tion by all those who have the welfare of Ireland at heart, and
upon whir's it will be our duty to offer some suggestions ; but
we wish, in this place, to record our decided opinion, that agri-
cultural imnrovement, that is, an increased and improved culti-
vation of toe soil of Ireland, is oae of the first and most im-
portant steps towardsimprevement in the condition of the people.
Another general remark which our tour through the country
and an extensive intercourse with the farming classes enables
us to make, ic, that in almeat every part of Ireland unequivocal

symptoms of improvement, in spite of many embarrassing and
counteracting circumstances, continually present themselves to
the view ; and that there exists a very general and increasing
spirit and desire for the promotion of such improvement, from
which the most beneficial results may fairly be expected.
Indeed, speaking of the country generally, with some excep-
tions, which are unfortunately too notorious, we believe that at
no former period did so active a spirit of improvement prevail,
nor could well-directed measures for the attainment of that ob-•
ject have been proposed with a better prospect of success than
at the present moment.

We regret, however, to be obliged to add that in' most parts
of Ireland there seems to be by no means a corresponding ad-
vance in the condition and comforts of the labouring classes. A
reference to the evidence of most of the witnesses will show
that the agricultural labourer of Ireland continues to suffer the
greatest privations and hardships ; that he continues to depend
upon casual and precarious employment for subsistence; that
he is still badly housed, badly fed, badly clothed, and badly
paid for his labour. Our personal experience and observations
during our inquiry have afforded us a melancholy confirmation
of these statements; and we cannot forbear expressing our
strong sense of the patient endurance which the labouring
elasses have generally exhibited under sufferings greater, we
believe, than the people of any other country in Europe have
to sustain.

TENURE.

The expression, " tenure of land," may be used with re-
ference either to the landlord's estate, or to the interest which
an occupying tenant has in his farm. In this latter sense it
has been commonly used by the witnesses, and is generally
understood in Ireland; and in this sense we consider it to
form the principal subject of our inquiry ; but we think it ne-
cessary in the first instance briefly to notice a few cases in
which the nature of the landlord's interest may have an influ-
ence upon the dealing with his tenants.
It will be observed that we sought the opinion of most
of the witnesses in reference to impediments in the way of
improvements, arising out of the nature of the landlord's
interest.
The number of proprietors of land in Ireland is small when
compared with its extent and the amount of its agricultural
population. This circumstance, while probably it is one of the
causes which has led to the want of that personal attention
to the condition of the tenantry, which is at once the duty and
interest of landlords, renders also the impediments in the way
of improvement, arising from the nature of the proprietors'
tenure, a matter of more urgent public importance in Ireland
than elsewhere.
It frequently happens that large estates in that country are
held by the proprietors in strict limitation; and the pecuniary
circumstances of the landed proprietors generally, arising, in
some cases, out of family charges, and resulting in others from
improvidence or carelessness possibly of former proprietors,
disable many, even of the best disposed landlords, from im-
proving their property, or encouraging improvement amongst
their tenantry, in the manner which would conduce at once to
their own interest and the public advantage. Many of the
evils incident to the occupation of land in Ireland may be at-
tributed to this cause.
The removal of impediments, as far as it is possible to re-
move them by legislation, has formed the subject of inquiry
and remark by the Committee in 1835, on the public works,
and various suggestions upon it have been offered to us in the
course of our inquiry.
In accordance with the recommendation of that Committee,
we are of opinion, that for the permanent improvement of an
estate—confining that expression to such operations as may
properly be considered of an agricultural character—tenants for
life, and other persons under legal disability, should be em-
powered, subject to proper and efficient restrictions, to charge
the inheritance, to an amount not exceeding three years' in-
come, for such improvements, being bound to repay the prin-
cipal by instalments, and to keep down the interest.
This is no new principle. In Scotland, by the statute, 10
George 111., cap. 51, commonly called the Montgomery Act,
tenants for life are empowered to charge the estate, to a certain
extent, with monies laid out by them in improvements ; and
in many instances in which it has been found impracticable, or
very difficult, to comply with all the requisites of that Act, the
principle has been fully recognised by the Legislature, which
has passed private Acts with the same object. It is well known
how greatly the agriculture of Scotland has improved under a
liberal expenditure •f capital, and how much the improvement
has contributed to increase the property and promote the pros-
perity of the country.
In England and Ireland powers are frequently given by Par-
liament to trustees and others to grant long leases, or
even to compel sales of land, for purposes considered to be
of public interest, where the instrument under which the estate
is held Ihas given no such power. We may confidently state
that neither the improvement of land in Scotland, nor any
of the objects for which the powers last referred to have been
given, were of such paramount importance as an improved
system for the occupation of land in Ireland is at this
time. It must never be forgotten, that an improved cultiva-
tion, with the consequent increase of produce from the soil,
and of comfort to the occupier, are not matters of private
or individual interest only, but are intimately connected
with the preservation of public tranquillity and the
general prosperity of the whole empire. It may also be ob-
served, that in the statute 1 and 2 Wm. IV., c. 33, commonly
called the Public Works Act, and also in a still more recent
statute, 1 and 2 Vic., c. 55, the principle of enabling persons
having partial interests to make charges for purposes bene-
ficial to the estate has been recognised. We hope, therefore,
that an effective measure, founded upon the principles to
which we have now referred, may soon become the law of the
land.

Amongst other measures calculated to facilitate such opera-
tions, we think it would be desirable that the Bank of Ireland
should be empowered, like the Bank of England, to lend money
on landed security.
In adverting to the character of the landlord's tenure in
Ireland, it is our duty to observe upon a species of tenure,
scarcely known elsewhere, which prevails very extensively
in that country, one-seventh of Ireland being said to be held
under it. We allude to the tenure by lease for lives, with a
covenant of perpetual renewal on payment of a fine, some-
times merely nominal, on the fall of each life. The origin of
this tenure is said to he traceable to the condition and state
of property, consequent upon the extensive confiscations to
which nearly the whole of Ireland has at different periods been
subjected ; the grantees, being generally absentees, and desi-
rous of securing a recognition from time to time of their pro-
prietorship, as well as the power of recovering their rents, are
supposed to have originated this form of demise.
This tenure, though manifestly intended to be perpetual,
has proved a source of frequent litigation. Various construc-
tions have been put upon the covenants for perpetual renewal.
We cannot more clearly exhibit the extent of this evil than by
citing from Mr. Lynch's" Measure for Ireland " a quotation he
has given from a judgment of the late Sir M. O'Loghlen,
when Master of the Rolls in Ireland, in reference to this sub-
ject. " Every day's experience shows how very uncertain the
duration of an interest under such a tenure is. Forfeitures of
the right to enforce a renewal daily occur, through the neglect
of tenants, or the dexterous management of landlords. Cove-
nants treated in some cases for more than a century as entitling
tenants to renewal for ever, have been construed by courts of
justice as not conferring that right. Any person who is much
engaged in the investigation of titles under leases of lives re-
newable for ever, will find in almost every abstract of such
titles a statement of the result of one or more suits in equity
for enforcing the right. The usual statement is—the right to
a renewal having been questioned, it became necessary to file
a bill in equity." In addition to this high authority, we may
refer to the evidence on this head.
To remedy the inconvenience and ill effects which arise from
this species of tenure, we recommend that powers should be
given to the lessor and lessee in all cases to commute the
tines into an increased rent, and thus to convert the tenure
of leases of lives renewable for ever into an absolute perpe-
tuity—a power being given, as in the Church Temporalities
Act, to distrain and eject in case of non-payment of the
reserved rent, and to refer to a court of equity all questions
as to the pecuniary value to be placed on any reservations
by covenants which may interfere with the proper cultivation
of the land.
We also think it would be desirable that extended leasing
powers should be given, under proper and equitable restric-
tions, to tenants for life, and to boards or corporations whose
powers are restricted by law, such as incumbents as to their
glebe lands, the provost and fellows of Trinity College, the
trustees of Erasmus Smith, the Board of Education, and the
trustees of Sir P. Dunne's and Wilson's hospitals.
In the account given by witnesses throughout Ireland, of the
mode in which occupiers hold their land, the most striking
peculiarity is the custom prevalent in the northern counties,
called the tenant-right.
The origin of this custom has been the subject of much spe-
culation, but is now rather a matter of curiosity than of present
interest. It dates from a very early period, having probably
sprung up, as we have already noticed, as a natural consequence
from the manner in which property was generally granted and
dealt with in that part of the country.
Large tracts having become the property of public bodies,
or of individuals resident at a distance, the landlords were
well contented to let their farms to those who would under-
take the cultivation and entire management, reserving to
themselves a rent, but making no expenditure, and exercising
little interference with the land.
Under such circumstances, it seems neither extraordinary
nor unreasonable that a tenant quitting a farm, either at his
own desire, or from any difference with his landlord, should
obtain from his successor a sum of money, partly in remunera-
tion of his expenditure, and partly as a price paid for the pos-
session of land which the new tenant would have no other
means of acquiring.
From this state of things a feelinj of proprietorship appears
to have grown up in the tenant, which continues in a great de-
gree to the present day; and the extent to which it prevails
may be seen by reference to various parts of the evidence
taken in the province of Ulster.
Under the influence of this custom, the tenant claims, and
generally exercises, a right to dispose of his holding for a
valuable consideration, although he may himself be a tenant-
at-will, and although he may have expended nothing in perma-
nent improvements.
We found that in various parts of that province, sums equal
to ten, twelve, or fifteen years' purchase upon the rent, are
commonly given for the tenant-right; aid this, not only where
the rent is considered low, but where it is fully equal to the
value

Proprietors generally have been enabled to place a restric-
tion upon this tenant-right, so far at least as to secure a power
of selection with respect to the tenant, and to place some limit
upon the amount to be paid ; wisely judging, that a tenant who
pays a large sum of money (part of which he probably borrows)
in entering upon a farm, will be crippled in his means for the
proper management of it.
Anomalous as this custom is, if considered with reference to
all ordinary notions of property, it must be admitted that the
district in which it prevails has thriven and improved, in com-
parison with other parts of the country • and although we can
foresee some danger to the just rights country
from the un-
limited allowance cf this " tenant-right," yet we are sure that
evils more immediate, and of a still greater magnitude, would
result from any hasty or general disallowance of it, and still less
can we recommend any interference with it by law.

The increasing interest which many landlords, particularly
some amongst the largest proprietors, take in their estates, the
improved intercourse with their tenants, the liberal expendi-
ture made by some of them in permanent improvements, all
tend to place the relation of landlord and tenant upon the foot-
ing most advantageous for both, and in proportion as feelings of
confidence grew up, the evils of an unrestricted tenant-right
will be avoided, and the beneficial results which, under a modi-
fied form, it is calculated to produce, will be secured.
Both with respect to the district to which we have now
been referring, and to ether parts of Ireland, it would be easy
for us to direct attention to many instances of estates upon
which the good effects of a steady and judicious management
are becoming daily apparent, but we feel that if we were to do
this we must also, in justice to the whole subject, point towards
other properties with respect to which there is much that re-
quires alteration and amendment ; and we should thereby em-
bitter and prolong those feelings of distrust and irritation which
it is our duty to allay.
We shall, therefore, throughout this report, make our obser-
vations as general as possible.
Speaking generally with respect to the occupation of land in
Ireland, we find that it is usually held under terminable leases
for various terms, or by tenants from year to year.
a lease for ever is more commonly to be
the haying
las
found in in person
class landlords than of occupants.
It was formerly the practice with most landlords, particu-
larly those who were absentees, to grant long leases of a large
tract to some
individual who was answerable for the rent, and
who undertook the responsibility of dividing and underletting
the land. Those lessees were usually designated " middle-
men." _

This was generally done so as to secure a large profit, and

the poor occupiers were frequently exposed to great oppression.
The evils consequent upon such a system have been fre-
quently exposed in authentic reports, and every writer on Ire-
land has dwelt upon them.
The practice of letting land to middlemen is now rare; but
the system has entailed upon the country the most injurious
consequences, and has been a fruitful source of the difficulties
which embarrass those who endeavour to place the occupation
of land in Ireland upon a safe and wholesome footing.
We must recur to this subject hereafter, when speakir, more
particularly of the circumstances that usually attend the falling
in of one of those long leases held by a middleman.
Looking generally through Ireland, we believe that the
larger proportion of the land is occupied by tenants-at-will.
There has been of late years, from various causes, an indisposi-
tion in many landlords to grant leases ; and it appears from the
evidence, that in some cases, where the landlord is willing, the
tenants decline to take them out, influenced to a certain degree
by the high stamp duty.
Upon some wall-regulated estates, the property of intelli-
gent and liberal landlords, who are upon the best footing with
their tenants, no leases are given ; but we cannot forbear to
express our opinion that, as a general system, it is more for
the interest of both landlord and tenant that leases of a mode-
rate length should be granted. We feel, however, that this is
one of the points which must be left to the discretion of indi-
viduals, and we cannot recommend any direct interference by
the Legislature.
The most general, and indeed almost universal topie of com-
plaint brought before us in every part of Ireland, was the" want
of tenure," to use the expression most commonly employed by
the witnesses.
It is well known that the want of "fixity of tenure" has, for
some time past, been sedulously put forward as one of the most
prominent grievances of the Irish tenant.
Some few of the witnesses before us have given to that term,
a meaning wholly inconsistent with any regard for the most
generally admitted rights of the proprietors of the soil, but this
is not common ; most of them have referred to this subject in
much more moderate and nasonable language.
The-uncertainty of tenure is, however, constantly referred to
as a pressing grievance by all classes of tenants. It is said
to paralyse all exertion, and to place a fatal impediment in the
way of improvement.
We have no doubt that this is the case in many instances.
In some, probably, the complaint is put forward as an excuse
for indolence and neglect.
IMPROVEMENTS.
Before we proceed further in dealing vk ith this part of the
subject, it may be necessary, in the first instance, to give some
explanation of the particular expresoon,—" Improvements,"
—the want of which explanation would probably lead to much
misconception on the part of persons unacquainted with rural
affairs in Ireland.
It is well kno;vn that in England and Scotland, before a
landlord offers a farm for letting, he finds it necessary to pro-
vide a suitable farm-house, with necessary farm-buildings, for
the proper management of the farm. lie puts the gates and
fences into good order, and he also takes upon himself a great
part of the burden of keeping the buildings in repair during
the term ; and the rent is fixed with reference to this state of
things. Such, at least, is generally the ease, although special
contracts may occasionally be made, varying the arrangement
between landlord and tenant.
In Ireland the case is wholly different. The smallness of the
farms, as they are usually let, together with other circum-
stances to which it is not necessary to advert, render the intro-
duction of the English system extremely difficult, and in many
cases impracticable.
It is admitted on all hands, that according to the general
practice in Ireland, the landlord builds neitherdwelling-house
nor farm-offices, nor puts fences, gates, &c., into good order
before he lets his land to a tenant.
The cases in which a landlord does any of those things are
the exceptions.
The system, however, of giving aid in these matters is be-
coming more prevalent.
In most cases, whatever is done in the way of building or
fencing is done by the tenant, and in the ordinary language of
the country, dwelling-houses, farm buildings, and even the
making of fences, are described by the general word " im-
provements," which is thus employed to denote the necessary
adjuncts to a farm, without which, in England or Scotland, no
tenant would be found to rent it.
Under the same common term of improvements, are also
included various agricultural operations, such as draining, deep
trenching, and even manuring, which ought to stand upon a
very different footing from buildings.
It will be seen by reference to the evidence, that many
witnesses of various classes have spoken of the discouragement
to improvement that arises from the want of some certain
tenure in the land.
Some of these refer to the necessity for enforcing the
grant of leases, as a remedy for this evil, with respect to which
we have before expressed our opinion; while others again seem
to think that the same end will be as effectually obtained by
some legislative provision, securing to the tenant, under certain
circumstances, a fair remuneration for any expenditure made
by him of labour or capital in permanent improvements on the
farm.

We think that no person acquainted with Ireland, or who
,akes the trouble of referring to the evidence collected by us,
can doubt the importance of encouraging agricultural improve-
ment throughout the country— including in that term improve-
ment of the dwellings and farm buildings, as well as the better
cultivation of the soil.
Undoubtedly when a landed proprietor is possessed of an un-
encumbered estate, or has the command of money, he may
give assistance and encouragement to his tenants in the most
advantageous manner; and a duty belongs to his position in
this respect, which we find to be most faithfully performed in
many cases.
I
In some instances the tenant may have capital which he will
readily expend upon the land, if he can only be assured that
he shall enjoy an adequate return for his expenditure, in
the length and certainty of his tenure, or can have secured
to him a fair compensation for his outlay and labour on quitt-
ing the farm.
On the other hand it not unfrequently occurs that the only
capital which the occupier of the soil possesses is to be found in
the labour of himself and his family ; if you show to him in
what matter the application of that labour may be rendered
most conducive to his own comfort and permanent benefit, and
assist him with money or materials which his labour cannot
supply, you will generally find the Irish peasant ready to co-
operate with you in effecting improvements beneficial alike to
himself and to the country.
It is because we believe in the concurrent testimony of many
witnesses that the attainment of these desirable objects is im-
peded by the feeliugs of distrust and insecurity that toe often
prevail amongst the tenant class in Ireland, that we venture to
recommend come legislative interference upon this point.
The state of Ireland in this respect has not unfrequently en-
gaged the attention of Parliament : in the years 1835 and
1836, and again in 1843, Bills were presented to the House of
Commons, of which the object was to secure for tenants com-
pensation for any outlay which they may make of a permanent
nature upon their farms.
Although it is certainly desirable that the fair remuneration
to which a tenant is entitled for his outlay of capital, or of
labour, in permanent improvements, should be secured to him by
voluntary agreement rather than by compulsion of law ; yet,
upon a review of all the evidence furnished to us upon the sub-
ject, we believe that some legislative measure will be found
necessary in order to give efficacy to such agreements, as well
as to provide for those cases which cannot be settled by private
arrangement.
We earnestly hope that the Legislature will be disposed to
entertain a Bill of this nature, and to pass it into a law with
as little delay as is consistent with a full discussion of its prin-
ciple and details.
We are convinced that in the present state of feelings in
Ireland, no single measure can be better calculated to allay
discontent, and to promote substantial improvement
throughout the country. In some cases, the existence of
such a law will incline the landlord to expend his own capital
in making permanent improvements. In others, he may be
called upon, on the eviction or retirement of tenants, to pro•
vide the amount for which their claims may be established
under the Act.
The power which we have already recommended to be
given to enable persons under legal disabllities, to charge
their estates for certain purposes, will assist in rendering
effectual the provisions for compensation here referred to, and
in providing against an undue pressure on existing landlords
from their operation.
We do not express these opinions without having come
to the conclusion from a careful examination of the whole
subject, that a satisfactory enactment may be framed for this
purpose, which should contain some such provisions as the
following :

1. A.'-power to register with clerk of the peace, agreements
between landlord and tenant, relative to improvements on
farms, by draining, or otherwise, and on farm buildings, &c.,
with a power to assistant barrister to enforce same, with an
appeal to judge of assize.
2. In cases where parties do not agree, a power to tenant to
serve notice on landlord of any proposed improvement in farm
buildings, offices, or exterior fences, the suitableness thereof to
be reported on by mutually chosen arbitrators, with power to
the assistant barrister, on such report, and after examination,
to decide and certify the maximum cost, not
_exceeding three
years' rent.

3. If tenant be ejected or his rent raised within thirty
years, the landlord to pay such a sum, not exceeding the maxi-
, mum fixed, as work shall then be valued at.
4. Provisions for the registration of such adjudications—
, works to be completed within a limited time from date thereof
—and landlord to have power to execute, charging five per
cent. on outlay, not exceeding estimate stated therein.
CONSOLIDATION OF FARMS.
The removal of large numbers of tenants or occupiers of
small portions of land from their holdings, has long been the
subject of observation and complaint.
Former reports have remarked upon it, and adverted to the
causes that led first to the multiplication of occupiers upon the
land, and subsequently to their removal.
The Committee of 1823, in particular, when touching upon
this subject, say that during the war, partly from political
motives, in adding to the number of voters, and partly from the
ease with which high rents were paid for land, an extraordinary
sub-division of farms took place.
The Select Committee of the House of Lords in 1825 also
refer in their report to the minute subdivision of land, the
extreme difficulty of preventing it, and the number of persons
intervening between the head 'landlord and the immediate oc-
cupier. And they state that they observe with satisfaction
that the increasing intelligence of landlords is now endeavour-
ing to apply a gradual remedy to the subdivision of land,
and that they entertain a confident expectation, that for the
mutual benefit of both landlords and tenants, this remedy will
be as extensively applied as circumstances will permit.
The Committee on emigration in 1826 and 1827 speak of a
growing conviction (already almost universal) among the
landlords in Ireland, of the 'mischief of the system of an
under-tenancy, and of the excess of population which at-
tends it.
In like manner, the Select Committee of 1830 describe the
advancement of agriculture during the war, the consequent
demand for labour and augmentation of the population, the in-
creased value of land, and so the temptation to subletting.
After alluding to the wretched condition to which the sub-
division of land and an over-population had reduced the people,
their report proceeds—
" Such was the state of things so soon as a fall in prices
occurred after the peace. A change then began to take place
in the system of managing lands. The great decline of agri-
cultural produce prevented many of the middlemen, as well as
the occupiers, from paying their rents ; an anxiety began to
be felt by the proprietors to improve the value of their estates,
and a general impression was produced in the minds of all per-
sons, that a pauper population spread over the country would
go on increasing, and the value of the land at the same time
diminishing, till the produec would become insufficient to main-
tain the resident population.
That evil became so obvious,' continues Dr. Doyle, that
the proprietors thought some remedy ought to be applied;principle of which
and
they did accordingly apply remedies, of the
I highly approve; but I thought, and still
tink, that those
laws ought to have been accompanied by some provision for the
poor.'

" The new system of managing lands was that of consolida-
ting farms, and bringing the lanlord and tenant more imme-
diately in contact. It is stated to lead to better husbandry, to
a greater certainty of the potatoe crop, to farm buildings and
more comfortable habitations, to the gradual improvement of
the quality of the soil and the quantity of produce. Lower
rents are assumed, but, on an average of years, larger rents
are paid ; and a race of yeomanry is likely to spring up and to
be encouraged. These benefits are so strongly felt, that all
the witnesses concur that they are universally recognised by
landlords and agents, and are carried into practice as far as
t
circumstances will admit. The risk to be apprehended is no
that the proprietors of land should be insensible to these consi-

derations, but that they should, in some cases, proceed with
too much rapidity.
" So far from its being for the interest of the landlord to
sublet, and so far fiom there existing any inveterate habit of
subdividing farms for the sake:of acquiring higher rents, expe-
rience has shown that personal interest imperatively prescrite sz
a contrary mode of proceeding. It is a mistake to imagine that
these clearances of estates have originated with the Subletting-,
Act, or with the statute that raised the franchise; on the con—
trary, they existed more than ten years before those measures
had been adopted; bet it is undoubtedly true that both statutes
have given motives or afforded facilities for pursuing a course:
previously adopted on the ground of priva'e interest. If tho
condition of the landlord and of those tenants who remain its
p session of the soil are alone considered, the change is un-
doubtedly one of unmixed good. But the situation of another
class remains to be considered, that of the ejected tenantry, or
of those who are obliged to give up their small holdings it,
order to promote the consolidation of farms. Their condition is
necessarilyenost deplorable. ' It would be impossible for language
to convey an idea of the state of distress to which the ejected
tenantry have been reduced, or of the disease, misery, and even
vice, which they have propagated in the towns wherein they
have settled; so that not only they who have been ejected have
been rendered miserable, but they have carried with them and
propagated that misery. They have increased the stock of
labour, they have rendered the habitations of those who re-
ceived them more crowded, they have given occasion to the
dissemination of disease, they have been obliged to resort to
theft and all manner of vice and iniquity to procure subsistence;
but, what is perhaps, the most painful of all, a vast number of
them have perished of want.'
" Your Committee cannot help hoping arid believing that
the foregoing powerful statement is one which describes an
extreme case ; still, there can be no doubt that in making a
change, in itself important and salutary, a most fearful extent
of suffering is produced.
" The change is unavoidable, and could not have been de-
layed ; a postponement could not have averted the evil day,
which would eventually have come, and have been attended
with pressure, aggravated by reason of the postponement.
6" Had the evil gone much farther,' continues Dr. Doyle,
' the misery would of necessity have increased. It was, indeed,
essentially necessary to the good of the country that the sys-
tem should be corrected, and every wise man applauds those
measures which were taken for the correction of it; but I be-
lieve there are very few people who now witness the sufferings
of the poor in Ireland, who would not be inclined to say,
that along with those acts to which I have referred, there ought
to have been a provision made for the ejected.'
" Your Committee " (the report continues), " conceive
that it is the imperative duty of individuals, of the Government,
and of the Legislature, to consider what means can be devised
to diminish this mass of suffering, and at the same time to
secure for the country a better economic condition, pro-
moting a better management of estates, and regulating the
relations between landlord and tenant on rational and useful
principles."
And in 1832, the Select Committee on the state of Ireland,
in searching for the cause of distill bailees in that country, re-
fer to the removal of tenants from farms at the expiration of
old leases, as one of them, and add, " But the subject involves
so many important considerations, such as the rights and duties
of landlords, the obligation of tenants to fulfil the covenants of
their leases, and the claims of tenants on humane and indul-
gent treatment by their landlords, that the Committee have not
been able to discover any plan by which the tenants removed
may be altogether protected from being exposed to severe
hardship."
Feeling this subject to be one of vast importance, we have
been very anxious to acquire correct information upon it. In
our prinied queries we directed attention to the consolidation of
farms and the eviction of tenants; and in the oral examinations
we constantly addressed questions to the witnesses upon these
points. The answers to such questions, together with nume-
rous explanations which such answers have called forth, arc in
the Appendix.
Upon a revie a- of the whole subject, we feel bound to express
cur opinion, tl:at there has been much of exaggeration and mis-
statement in the sweeping charges which have been directed
against the Irish landlords.
In common with the Committee of 1832, whose language we
have quoted, we feel the impossibility of providing any direct
remedy by legal enactment for the suffering described in the
preceding extracts.
The evil arises from the abuse of a right, of which the ex-
istence is essential to the maintenance of property; but, although
we cannot recommend any interference by law with the right,
it does not follow that we should hesitate to expose the abuse,
or to point out the means which, in our opinion, may and
ought to be adopted to mitigate the evils resulting from it.
A considerable period has elapsed since the consolidation
system first commenced, and the recent instances have been
comparatively few. Much, however, of the evil caused by
former clearances still remains, but we trust that the increased
care and attention given by landlords to their estates will pre-
vent its recurrence.
It is certain that the removal of a number of poor occupiers
from the dwellings and the land which they have long held,
must be the cause of much individual suffering; and no humane
landlord will adopt such a course without using his best endea-
vours to alleviate that pressure.
It may be useful to consider the circumstances under which,
at the present time, such removals of tenants occur.
We find no reason to believe that they are usually prompted
by feelings of a religious or political character.
Individual eases occasionally arise in which the operation of
such motives may be traced ; but we think that all who look at
the evidence with an impartial eye, will concur in the general
conclusion at which we have arrived.
The cause which most frequently, at the present day, leads
to the eviction of a number of tenants on a particular estate, is
the wish of the proprietor to increase the size of the holdings,
with a view to the better cultivation of the land ; and when it is
seen in the evidence, and in the returns upon the size of farms,
how minute those holdings are frequently found to be, previous
to the change, it cannot be denied that such a step is, in many
cases, absolutely necessary, and called for by a due regard to
the interest of both landlord and tenant.
Some witnesses, who put forward most strongly, as matter of
complaint, the consolidation of small holdings, into what they
call large farms, in answer to the further questi, n—" To what
size were the farms brought ;" describe them as enlarged to the
extent of 25, 20, or even 10 acres. We give this, of course,
only as the general result of our inquiries. There have been,
undoubtedly, cases in which large numbers of tenants have
been removed, with a view to create much larger farms, or with
a view to the occupation of land in some manner more agree-
able to the landlord ; but these are the exceptions, and not the
general practice. In either case, the feeling that is engendered
amongst the parties removed and the surrounding population,
as well as the opinion which impartial persons will form, must
depend, in a great degree, upon the mode in which the removal
is conducted.
It now frequently happens that upon the expiration of a long
lease, a landlord finds his property occupied by a multitude of
paupers, who had obtained an occupation of a few roods or
acres, either through the want of a clause against subletting
in the former demise, or the failure of the landlord through
some legal defect, or his own neglect to enforce that covenant,
if existing. Many of these poor people are found living in a
most miserable way, and quite incapable of managing their
land properly, or so as to derive from their small holdings a
sufficient supply even of food for their subsistence.
It becomes absolutely necessary, with a view even to the con-
dition of the people themselves, as well as towards any general
improvement in the country, to make some change.
A humane landlord, finding himself thus circumstanced, i f
he is resident, or if he has an intelligent and active agent, will
have much communication with the individual occupiers. He
will inform himself of their respective position and character.
He will select a sufficient number of those best qualified to
occupy a farm, and will establish them in holdings of such size
as will enable them, with industry, to live comfortably, and to
pay a reasonable rent. He will encourage and assist some who
may be willing to emigrate. He will aid others in settling
themselves upon waste land belonging to himself, or will assist
them in procuring it for others, and, for some of the poorest, he
will find employment as labourers.
In this way he will be enabled at the same time to improve
the condition of his property, and to benefit the population
with which he has had to deal.
Instances of successful proceedings of this nature have
been brought before us, affording examples well worthy of
imitation.
On the other hand, if a landlord, finding a portion of his
estate thus overrun with pauper tenants, looks only at the
benefit to be derived from a new arrangement of it, without a
sufficiently close attention to the effects of this upon indivi-
duals, a great extent of misery will often be produced.
Arrangements hastily adopted—rules arbitrarily laid down
and Enforced, for the remodelling of estates, grounded perhaps
on some pre-conceived theory in regard to the size of farms—
will often be found to disappoint te expectations of the pro-
prietor, and to produce much individual misery, however lavish
the expenditure. The worst consequences may thus result
from a want of due caution and careful attention to all the
circumstances. Perhaps the agent, after selecting a sufficient
number to remain on the farm, advises the giving of a sum of
money to the rest. But it is difficult to say what compensa-
tion, apart from land, will be adequate in a country where
land alone affords a permanent security for food.
The money is soon spent in the temporary maintenance of
the family. They may be willing to labour, but can find no
employment.
Some of them may be ready to emigrate, but require the ad-
vice and assistance of a kind friend to put them in the way of
taking this step with advantage.
Others may be desirous of exerting their industry in the re-
clamation of some waste land, but know not where to apply, or
by what means to encounter the first difficulties of such an un-
dertaking-.
Thus it is, that a proceeding which under the existing cir-
cumstances of Ireland is often indispensable, may become a
source of comfort or of misery, according to the spirit in which
it is carried out.
RECOVERY OF RENT.
Our inquiries have been also directed to ascertain what is
the course most usually adopted by landlords in Irelandfornn
re-
coveryo of rent against defaulting tenants. The evidence
this point shows the practice to be so different in differentcuracy,
placesracy that;
ageneral pretenudntoongiit.
give, with any degree of ac.
u
we
cannot
statement
The remedies opentooesas
by civillandl bill,orcl area d thednistr more indirectess, action in the
superior courts, or process
method by ejectment. . .
; it,under particular circumstances, has been made the
As the power of distress is liable to be, abused, and the exer-
cise of um
subject of complaint, we have given much consideration to the
question whether this power could be abolished
to the tenant and safety to the landlord, and we have come to
the conclusion that this would not be a beneficial change for
either party.
The right of distraining, whether derived from the feudal or
the civil law, has always been a part of the common law of
England and Ireland. It has been regulated and varied by
several statutes, and there is now little difference in the present
state of the law in this respect as it prevails in both countries.
We believe that the abolition of the power of distress would
greatly weaken the just rights of property, particularly with
respect to the smaller class of tenants; and we think that the
change would operate injuriously as regards the poor population,
because proprietors would be unwilling to intrust the possession
of a cabin or an acre of land to a tenant, if they were deprived
of those means of protecting themselves from loss which the
right of distress affords.
Although we do not recommend the abolition of the right to
distrain for rent, yet we think that some alterations may pro-
perly be made in the law which will render the enforcement of
it less severe upon a tenant.
We recommend that the right to seize growing crops by way
of distress for rent shall be altogether taken away.
This power
.was introduced into the law of Ireland by a
statute of comparatively recent date ; it is very liable to be
abused, and although it may sometimes be useful for the re-
covery of rent from a particular class of tenants, yet we think
that the evils growing out of it greatly overbalance any advan-
tage which it can be shown to possess.
The statute 6 and 7 William IV., c. 75, requires a notice
to be given to the tenant of the amount and particulars of rent
for which distress is made, but it appears that no particuia is
ir
time is fixed for giving such notice, and that the want of it
utondae,ta double p
no objection to the validity of a distress.
We recommend that it shall be made
person making a distress, to serve, or cause
and that the want
a notice at the time of making theh 1, imopetroatbivoesuorp,oend,esvnecrby
of it shall render a distress illegal.
It
at
present the occupying
unisidtdhlaert_ornbeye,ssthof i mesne landlord, is in some cases
In or
distress. He ought to be pro-
tected The particular mcde
exposed tenant,lt appears
consideration, but we have
of doing t
just
rights that it may be effected without dagger to the just
byhisstawtitilth cfro
requirem thisfurth
further
danger.
no doubt
ribhts of any party.