The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-09-08
The Arrears OF Rent Bill.

The Arrears bill is founded on +ba
assumption that considerable pronor-
ton of the Irish tenantry are insolyent
and their incapacity to meet their oblioa.
tons extends to other creditors beside
the landlord. The Land act of last wear
by creating the salable interest or tenant.
right, gave all the tenants creditors
security previously unrecognized by law
except In Ulster. This, it was arcned
at the time, would give the landlord a
substantial guarantee for his rent. With
respect to the arrears or any part of
them, this supposed security has been
taken away, so lar as the landlord IS
concerned, by the exclusion of tenant
right from consideration as an asset
where the inclusion of it would lead
to the sale of the tenancy and tbe
dispossession of the tenant. But Other
creditors besides the landlord can sell
the tenant-right as easily as stock or
household goods, and dispossess the
tenant by the simplest and swiftest
! process. The value of the tenant-riobt
as a security for the other creditor, Is
I obviously increased by the suspension of
the landlords first charge. IL the
tenants are unable to pay their way-as
/ it is TO be presumed they are if they have
any concern with the Arrears bill at all
the creditors will be under a strong
temptation to proceed to realize the
security. especially when it has been
cleared from circumference by the opera
ton of the Ministerial measure and the
advance of public money. 1t is extremely
I probable that the settlement OF arrears
under the bill may be immediately
followed, at the instance of the petty
! shop-keeper, the '.gombeen-man, and
( the banker, bv the very results-the sale
4 and dispossession of the ;enant-which
4 Mr.. Gladstone has strained more than
/ one point to prevent the landlord carry
/ ing out. The tenants who are sold ap'
I will find little consolation in the factthat
4 the purchasers of their interests, very
/ possibly the shop-keepers and gombeen-
\ men themselves, will be able to apply TO
/ the Land Court and get the rent reduced,
( OF the probable tender mereieS of the
1 creditors the less said the better. The
/ gombeen-man has always the cruel cour-
I age of rapacity. The bank-which in
Ireland is often little more than q gtori7
I fed gombeen-man. taking charge of the
farmers money ats a low rate of in7
( terest and lending it ont in small
sums at high rates-is projected against
( terrorism and compassion alike by the
( proverbial imperturbabihty OF corpora
ton 1t would be too much to expect
that Irish men of business SHOULD not be
warm in support of policy at once in
volving incidents of this kind and es-
tablshing a claim upon the Imperial
/ Treasury. One of the most remarkable
/ characteristics of the recent agrarfan
I agitation is that shopkeepers and gom-
4 been-men, not celebrated, to say the
least, for generosity toward their debtors
among the small farmers. and even
T guilty in their own persons of the heinous
/ offence of '.land-grabbing, have been
conspicuous among the organizers Of
Land League branches. They knew
what they had to gain. and when they
have won the game they viii not throw
up the stakes through any scrupulous
/ delicacy or tenderness of conscience.
/ These men will use the power the law
I leaves them to its utmost limits, and the
Government must contemplate the posi-
bility in large number of cases of
having to provide for tenants relieved OF
their arrears of rent By the bill, bat
'.sold up and driven from their hold
I ings BY the creditors. whose guarantees
have not been impaired - Lonst0a Times.