Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-11-08

| them. And the great, the invinci
bic objection to Mr. Parnell's pro
posal, suppOsing it were otherwise
/ feasible, is not merely that it would
stereotype the miserable conditions
of farming life in Ireland, but
would lend to remove the poor
/ checks that now do in some meas
ure prevent those conditions from
becoming worse. Let us suppose
the tenants of Ireland transformed
| into proprietors. There are now
moresthan 10000 holdings in the
country of not exceeding acres
each, and we may hope these would
not be sub-divided; but there are
l67 900 holdings between 5 and Is
acres, and III 900 more between 10
and 80; so that out of total of 585.-
600 holdings in the country, 424 900
are less than 30 acres each, and who
cannot see the danger that these
300, 900 holdings of from to 80
acres each would become in another
generation SOC, 900, with an average
brought down to the minimum? a
vigilant landlord may use his pow
er to prevent subdivision, although
with the certainty of being hated
and the risk of being shot in conse-
quence but if the tenants could be
made pr0prietors, subject to certain
mortgages or rent-charges to the
State, no machinery the State could
establish would be efficient to him
der subdivision, and consequent
degradation of the well-being of the
people. Does not Mr.. Parnell's own
manifesto contain within itself a
proof that the popular ideas of Ire
land pay no regard TO the economic
laws on the observance of which
the condition of people depends ?
lie refers to the dreadful experience
of the famine, and to the millions
"Who perished in or fed from land
in which God intended they should
not die of hunger" 1t is not in ac-
cordance with the economy of the
universe that any one should die OF
hunger or of drink; but there are
laws the violation of which exposes
man in one case to famine and in
another to deti3'ittm trenle1as. The
popular morality of Ireland, which
Mr.. Parneil faithfully follows, re-
fuses TO accept the doctrine that the
population of a country can be ex-
cessive, and in this morality lies the
certainty of an increase of the ills
of the country supposing a peasant
proprietary established within it.
The example of France and of the
Low Countries is often cited as evil
dence on the other side, but the
economic condition of the peasant
nm Oh ic hx
means uncheckered, and SO far as
well-being is maintained among
them it is by the practical repudia-
tiOn of the beliefs cherished by the |
Irish people.
We have not dwelt on the me-
chanical difficulties of Mr.. Parnell's |
plan, because if its leading motive |
is unsound we need not discuss the |
obstacles that would practically be-
set its adoption, 1t is, however,
worth the while of those who have |
up and repeated Mr.. Bright's !
for the creation of a
peasant proprietary in Ireland to |
some of those difficulties. |
The experience of the present year |
ought to open our eyes to perceive
the dangers attendant on plans for
the State the incumbrancer
Of small holdings. Suppose land
lord bought out with money ad-
vanced by the Treasury and his
tenant invested with ownership, |
subject to the obligation of payinga
certain annuity for definite num-
Der of years. This is the plan which
has been shadowed out by many
persons; +; and by going through the
manRuvre of lending money to the
tenant with one hand at an easy
rate, and of borrowing it from him
with tho other at high rate, we
are able to make believe that he is
paying off debt when he is, in
truth, only paying his accustomed
rental. Even, however, under this
generous arrangement there is an
annuity to be paid to some agent on
behalf of the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer. Would it be paid in bad
There are not many men
who come forward now to tell ten
ants not to pay rents unless their
landlords make reasonable reduc-
lions, but the agitation to reduce
the payments to the EXchequer
would be political cry few would
be ashamed to re-echo. All the
blame now heaped upon landlords
would then be directed against Gov
without hesitation or re-
morse. The Exchequer agent might
not be shot, as that forcible style of
would be unnecessary
0ut the situation would become one
If intOierable strain, and the pros
Dect of it might make the most con-
ident hesitate before doing any
hing to bring it about.