New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-14
LANDLORD AND TENANT.


now TIE LATE KNIGHT OF KERRY DEALT WITH
HIS rENANTs-CHARACrrR or THE GOVERN
MINT SCHOOLS ~ HE soUrn AND WRIST %
TRANSPORTATION OF TENANTS FOR ROADS,
RIVERS. RAITtO .Ds AND sCA-BEACH.
tFRoM TTrF SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE
DurLlv. Avg 21--The part OF Mrs. Par
tincton with her broom driving back the inunda-
ton of democratic IDEAS in Ireland was performed
for many years by SIR Peter George Fitzgerald
Baronet. the nineteenth knight Of Kerry. lie was
sick when / visited his estates in Valencia; and ne
now lies buried there. The dead Knight was 50
pIoud % his ancient Irish title thar when thr
| Queen offered him baronetcy he oil not hesitate
! to express a reluctance 20 accept 1t. But. local
gossip SAYS, he took it for his wifos and his sons
sake-or It gave to his wife the title Of Lady, and
the title OF Baronct dcscends to his and future
hoIs.
The Knight was ono Of the last survivors Of the
Irish nobility to whom honor was due, because ne
never degraded lis rank and history ny turning
them into stepping stones to reach aud piucS Royal
tsyors All the pride Of tie old Irish lristo.racy
dashed up and sputt red as thc cam le burned low
y In his vehement and audac0us doienccs OF Irish
! landlord prerogatycs. and I'm his sharp but un-
scrupuous replies 90 me assaianls or their pow D.
/ Whoever assailed IL anywhere. le assaulted. lm
sorry the old Knight Is dead. FOX had p,'oared 10
" draw him ont" As 1t is, peace % hi shes ana
! only such report about him as his own recent o'-
ton and the oulouum OF his admirers cNto.t or
compel I'm the interest of the classes who opproi-
/ sors be defended
The population OF Valencia Island is about
! 600. There are 100 families in it. Trnir Col
! leec owns about ole-tenth Of the soil. aod draws
! about one-f ftcenth Of be rent OF the island TIE
! Knzlt owns ali the rest. 4 Mr. ~potts"oode and
! sir James OConnell once leased lar estates on
| Valencia from the knight. OConneu a. relative
OF the LiberatQr, charged reasonable rents. As sooa
as .lc leases expired. the Knight raised the rents.
! and charged q tax seasand and seaTned on al
tenant that used them to manure thcI lands. iie
also took away from his tenants the r2ht oI grass
/ on the bleak mountains. These poor privileges th'
| middle men had never int,riered with. and the
/ peasants hie--hard enough under thrm-wds maze
! more VI rcAed sill when the Don QuiXoto Of the
! landlord, war came 30 hi own again. The same
statement is true of the mluacIlgnt 81 the Trinity
! COLLEGE estates Middlemsn are often guilty OF
/ hcarte,s extortion: but however severe their ex-
| tortions may have been. have never yet heard Oh
even one instance in which. when thair Asses eN-
ored. the best OF landlords did not continue, Il
they did not Increase them.
SELF HNEss OF THE LANDL ROs.
Irish landlords have no public spirit There Is
! only one exception 20 TINS rule that have heard
of-thc elder Guinness, who is a muniiccnt patron
of Dublin. as indeed. pa lin is a no less mu1ihcont
| patron of his Dublin stout but Lord Ardilann
has bad reputation a landlord Ia the west. al
though he decorats parks and restores churches IN
/ the east. The Cable Company needed two acres OF
land for Offices in Valencia. The lob,e Knight
ru,ned eagerly to AID them. hut ne charged hem
400 yeaf Tor the ground rent Of two acres Of land
on which their Offices are built Yet Irish land
! .I,. leu 70 tuIL If
centaqes charged by the gombeen men or West
/ of ireland money lenders
The knight contributed to the public relief of his
tenants by selling them. at reduced rates twenty
tons of seed potatoes. Trinity College gave 800
| oniv to the Relief Committee Of Valencia. and
| little indian meal.
What pro portion OF the tenautry of the knight
of Kerryland Trinity College asked Of resident
familiar with tho facts. were supported last all
winter AMI spring by the Relief Committeesf
aNine-tenths OF them was the reply; indeed
there are only one or two exceptions"
What has Trinity College done for education
! in Valencia IslandT
Absolutely nothing"
Gould the people pay their rents this year y
Very few of them have a single shilling
II there had been no relief from abroad. What
would have become OF the people in Valencia -
They would have starved-the whole popnla-
tionl Valencia got as q free gift in money and
goods over G1,O00"
The Knights rents are nearly double Grfiths
valuation Yet in October last. he issued to Ms
tenant farmers on his Valencia estate pronuncia-
ment0 that was widely copied by the landlord
organs as an admirable illustration of proportional
benefcence. In this paper he carefully AVOIDS
reference To his extOrtiOnate rents measured by
Government sworn valuation, aud speaks OF terms
and conditions by which rents were fixed, as If
the tenants had been voluntary parties TO the
tract or had been consulted about it. The truth
,sra Valencia gentleman said, " the tenants had
either to pay the price asked or 90 to the work
bcuse' Again the Knight insists that If he reduces
rent in lean years it would ne right fer him &c
increase in fat years" | have no doubt that,
out, lie of Ireland this sentiment seemed the voice
of benevolence BuC visit Valencia and you will
find that. even IN the fat years, the people by
the most incessant toll were not able to do more
than earn the coarsest the most rutimentary food;
that they were never rich enough to buy shoes tor
their wives and children aud that. although the
Knight is esteemed decent landlor'l-simpy he
cause he recognizes some feudal dutles-ye his eX-
actions are driving all the young folks TO America
-" all of them from sixteen years Of age upward"
The Knight built good cOttagrs for his tenants.
OF course he charges rent for them but 1t is so
usual for an Irish landlord to take the slightest in
terest III the welfare Of his tenants that the act is
worthy of "A notice The Knight. also. is accredited
with having built OF helped to build sch0Olhouse,
and heard that he gave hOuse-rent free to
teacher This is in admirable contrast with
Trinity College The cabins of the peasantry OF
Trinity College at the village Of Donnybrook are
not tit for the lowest order of beasts
EDUCATION Is WESTERN IRsGAND.
But although the College does nothing for edu-
cation on Valencia Island. there schools enough
tor all the children IN it-three for boys and three
for girs-and the priest told Inc that they had gooC
Teachers These are National schools. ] don't re-