, 1881-01-16
IRISH LAND QUESTION.


|
| The den,ltatiOn OF Advanced Liberals, who
I have presented It memorial 10 Sir. Gladstone In
relation to land reform in Ireland, have rccom-
1le,.lcd Il comprehensive scheme Of PEASANT
| pruprictorshp accompanied by tho "thrce Fs u
| and RECLAMATION Ut waste lands. These phrases
| represent In Il general way tho maximum Of
| remedial legislation which the Irish people can
ob:nin 1T Westminster, and should be examined
in detail.
l. Proprietorshlp-At present thore ara COCO
| la,ld-uwNers ai,d about 6NoO tenants. repre-
scnilny fron, .;,A tV' to 3 s0U of population. So
lung as the rights Of property are the rights of
50 su,,i II minority the land system will be n
permanent source OF distnlltent. agitation. and
disorder This principle ;ia, Is recognized ;1s BY
hour or serious study or contis,stel tho
tnisfortunes of the Irish tenant WIN the thrift
belgium aud Frncc. The fright clauses of tho
1.;ll!d ACT Ut 1870 were designed to Increase tho
number of landowners by Il system Of State
MD. and We tnlcr fron, tho Queens speech That
Parliament will be asked to enlarge those pro-
visions, and thus rcntlor them operative. Such
from Dublin l,y Joseph T. Pm, in which tho cs-
fahlishllent Of Land Commission Is advocated.
This body would be empowered to advance, not
two-thirls. which tho bright clauses allow, but
so MUCH OF the pnrehasc-!noncy ~ the faru.
nny b.. co:lsidercd adequate security for. This
u,lvnuce would be repaid by half-ycarly in
stalItnents, Ringing oycrn period OF thirty-flve
years, interest being calculated ut tho rate
Of s.! prr cent; and The purchaser would be al
lowed to fore:tal! tho extingt.ishment OF the
principal by additional payments ut his own
ptt;isure. TITO lnaiIi objection 70 these systems
or Stutr aid Is thar they are not easily UNDER
81 'nf es sro rins Which pnSy nts
arc To ic tn,ic is OF necessity long one, and
Impoverished tenants fnil to discriminate be-
twten an interest chArge by tho State and HI cS-
tor;ionatc rent: nud Ii whole genera tion is a
long tiuse to wait before ownership will become
Il reality. Lord Du!Yerin llns recently urged tho
system, but hc must have known thut the
suits Of Imperial grants to enfranchised peas
nlts have fallen short OF popular expectation.
The growth Ut new social c!ass is Invariably
slew. and there have hccn few Instances iii
a4r:1run history in which it has been ar1iiicially
H. E5es y ag IS tho first suggestion
which Charles Russell, one OF tho ablest t}yo-
Gates Of land reform, makes itl I'M elaborate
would abolish every system Of settlement or
entail. SO that there would niways be real owner
with absolute power to sell luld and make
+sood title % It: and In all cases where land Is
held by miatl!e1ntn he would enable them either
TO buy out their landlords compulsorily nr 20
dispose Of their interest to the owners on fair
abandoned existing settlements would be hrr,-
ken up. trustees would be enabled to p'!y OF
permanent charges. embarrassed landlords
would I've allowed to sell portions of their cs-
tntes, nnd there would be 4 real owner for every
acre OF land., 1t is scarcely necessary to ndti
thnt 50 radical plnn for interfering with entails
-
English Iallde1 arstocracy.
III. Fair Rents aud Fixity OF Tenure.-Mr.
Russell would make ton years occupation OF Il |
holding tho condition Of perpetual fec-fnrm |
grant or lease, ut rrnt to be liked either by
land commission or by Judges OF County Courts.
Tenants who acquired these grants would hnve |
fix!ty Of tenure and ut the same time be left |
free to purchase with or without State MD. |
There would be, however, very little induce /
lncnt to purchase, SO long us the tenant had tho
right to reulain on tho ground Indemnity and !
pay rent which he might consider reasonable. |
1t is extremely doubtful whether it would be |
l,osSihle for either land commission Or the i
local magistrates to make satisfactory terms |
landlord and tenant. Pructicalty, |
it would ha found more convenient to !
make temporary Arrangement at tho !
outset, So that the representatives IT tho State
would lie forced periodically 10 revalEe tho /
holdings and keep the peace between owner t
and occipier Fixity OF tenure at Il fnir rent is J
II sInontb phrAse, but it involves one Of the most
complex Agrarinn problems.
IN Reclamation OF Waste Lands.-Tkis IS per-
haps the simplest element Of the remedial |
scheme for ireland. The Government would be |
expected to purchase property Of this class. !
Train nnd improve #, and then divide it into
lots nl,n sell it hy auction. The merits Of this
plan are obvious. It would extend the area ut'-
lcr cultivation and enrich both landlords and
tenants, bcsitts Ntli1l2 tn the number ut land
owucrs. The Land Commission intr,lstcd with
the reclamation Of 'slich property could also
nortIuged for threc-f -fourths Of their value; nnd
lie owners could lie paid in lalld bonds with
Government SECURITY