The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1880-02-19
NO. SO
had reached when there was no such coinpe
titlon and the tenant was protected BY corn


titlon and the tenant was protected by corn
laws. Il fEN
This state OF affairs has led to a surrender
OF many leases and there are no applicants
for the farms An English friend in Decem-
Der last 1873 in letter to the writer stated
that the Earl OF 4abergavenny had seven
teen farms thrown upon his hands in the
county of Kent, and the Duke Of Marlbor-
ough 1000 acres in Oxfordshire. This same
Duke.John W. ChurchviIe,is now Lord-lien-
tenant of Ireland. and is charged by Mr..
Parnell with the partizan distribution of the
funds raised by voluntary contributions, Ia
America and elsewhere for the relief OF the
starving Irish. Many Of those tenant lar
mers who have the capital are leaving or
preparing to leave England to become citi-
zens of the Uuited States. Heaven be,
praised, there is plenty of land here, room
for all. zfffs
We have recently seen a statement OF one
of the great landed propretors of the reasons
which prevent his pursuing more liberal
course towards his tenantry. 1t is in sub
stance, that his rents could not be reduced
because in addition to bis own family, many
others derived an income from his landed
property. Tenants naturally enough reply.
that they do not care to cultivate land at a
loss to themselves, merely for the purpose
of supplying old dowagers and younger sons
with the means OF living in idleness and
luxury at their expense.
At meeting OF his tenantry which re-
Gently took place, the Marquis of Ailsbrry
told piteous tale of how he was encum-
bered with whole park OF poor relations.
| He said
s'Protecton had been talked of as a reme-
dy for tho present distress, but he urged
| them not to expect it. Protection was alto
gether out of the question. No Ministry
| would dare to attempt it, for it could not be
| introduced without causing revolution in
| the country. A tax on the food Of the peo-
pie was an imposs ibil ity, He had come into
an estate which was most heavily mortgag-
! ed, and. in addition to large family. he
had three dowagers to provide for, who, it
should be remembered, would not take
twenty per cent. off their allowances be-
causes time were bad, and he had reduced
rents that extent. AS consequence he, of
course, had very little to live upon."
| Consequently the heavily burdened Marquis,
with his three country seats of Tottenham
| Park, in Willis, Jerveux Abbey, in York
| shire, and East Sheen, in Surry, and his
| London mansion, could not do what he
| would have wished to do, namely abate
something considerable from the rents OF his
| tenautry.
| What an unfortunate nobleman His es-
| ing up four establishments, that he may be
| said to s'ive pretty much like gentleman"
| with the further payment OF thousands TO
| three dowagers, and these old ladies deter
| mined on maintaining their style and state,
on keeping their coaches, buffers, footmen,
horses and dogs, no matter how hard the
times, how depressed the agricultural inter-
est, how impoverished the tenants, how nig-
| gar,lly the wages of farm laborers. Bat the
| Mo- -
| He is still further weighted by number of
younger sons who must have their allow
ances that they too may be considered gen
| tlemen Our readers may wish to know what
| gentleman Is in this tight little Island :
| This is the picture of ali English gentleman
| drawn by one of the greatest of English
| men:
''Perhaps you think Ishould not class my
| self among gentlemen, and yet | have as
good right to the name as most OF the set.
| [ belong to no trade follow no calling
rove where list, and rest where l please.
| In short, l have no occupation but my irdo~
| !ence, and no law but my will. Now, sir,
may not call myself gentleman ?"
Ask one of the dowagers to reduce their
establishment by couple Of fiunkeys and
carriage or so in consideration Of the i'm
poverished state of those who furnish them
the means of maintaining il, and you'll get
an angry negative. Ask one OF these young
er sons to live upon less income and he
will tell you the idea is preposterous.-
ssDemme, you insult me. How can gam
BILE for large sums on a diminished income"
| Let farmers, laborers and all connected with
the land go to grief, come to the poor house,
be driven from the country, dowagers ana
Younger sons and others planted upon the
land will have their uttermost farthing.
Neither the Marquis Of Aisbury with
three dowagers on his back, and with 1.-THE
collectors, tax gatherers and younger sons
at his heels, and overweighted tenants Wor-
rying his lands, nor those under him can
compete with the United States in grain
growing and cattle breeding, and therefore
the end IS close at hand.
| Nothing but thorough repeal OF the land
laws will render the soil as productive ana
remunerative as it might be. Some means
should be adopted for preventing thousands
and tens of thousands of idle and useless
persons being quartered upon its product
t man should be enabled to buy an acre
, of land as easily and readily as he can q
! | leg of mutton. That mischievous law of
' primogeniture which places immense es-
Jates iu the hands OF one person, who must
i, either provide for number of others out OF
i | its revenues, or by quartering them lndi-
r rectly on the public, should be abolished.
e In Alfred A. Walton's history Of the
, landed tenures of Great Britain and Ireland
i he remarks on this subject:
e s'There can be no doubt that considera'
i BILE portion of our operative classes and man
It ufacturing population, as well as portion
= Of the manufacturers themselves, would
O have been employed in agricultural pursuits.
: had the land not been to great extent
II locked up against their enterprise and indus
try. And this must continue so long as the
o usurpation of the soil by the few to the ex-
e clusion of the many continues and the
1t agricultural population kept stationary OF
e non. Increasing, which is the social effect Of
e our present territorial arrangements, while
e the surplus population, as it is termed, If
= compelled to take refuge in our large towns
:. and centres of industry. 1t will therefore
is be seen that the freedom OF the soil is OF the
II highest importance to the whole communl-
II ty both to the operatives, the mechanics
). and artizans of our large towns as we'll a:
:. the trading community, and likewise to the
q farmers and laborers in the rural Districts
|. Every man, therefore, be he landless o.
e landlord, is more or less interested In tn
IS laws affecting the ownership, the transfer
J. and cultivation of the soil. In the present
9 condition of affairs, English tenants canno
J. compete with foreign farmers, the system
: tends to pauperise the landlords as we'll a
e. those dependent upon them. 1t encourag e
the breeding OF a race of high class pauper
ID that are too lazy to work themselves. bu
lie not too proud to live upon the labor Q
Of others. They are a curse to the country
le In word, however, priced by the priv
al lodged few, the land laws must be repealed
e, Such are the views of the mass of the BIRTHS
" people, whether English, Scotch or Irish.
"a But all the evils OF the system in Englan!
a are intensified in Ireland. 10 that unhappy
in country there 20, 600, 900 acres OF Landau
in 5000, 900 of acres are owned by 1872 persons
and IA persons own 9,6l2,0oO, or nearl
" one.half of Ireland is owned by less thai
$, 800 persons. And there are twelve 81 mel na
Y, who own 100000 acres or about loS,oo
IN acres each. AID the 3 or millions of pee
to pie who are the tenants of these grea
10 landlords and tenants at will, having n
s. lease, and liable to have their rents RAISED
D. or to be turned out at short notice. Wors
er still, these great landlords do not live
IL Ireland, but receive and spend the rents the
~ extract from their tenantry in other cour
er tries And the absentees acquired the