The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-01-05
grave danger, should nothing be

TlVeu. IL was just pOSSlDle CnaC the
Liberal party might have pulled them
selves together by that time They
might be in office and in power. They
might appoint the land commissioners,
and they might appoint them from a
class very different to those in Office
now. All this of course was in the
future and uncertain. But the Irish
weather might be relied upon with
implicit confidence. Bad seasons will
come, and crops will suffer. Every
where he went in South Tyrone he
was met with this argument, IF we
cannot buy our land as the others have
done, you must reduce the judicial
rents to the same level rs the pur-
chase annunities." This assuredly
would be the cry. OF course the two
things We're essentially different. But,
1.-The cottier digging in slough" would
not chop logic. The landlords would,
and must, resist it. And then there
would be discomfort, disorder and the
well-known and squalid appurtenances
of land war. He was for anticipating
all that by a great act of state policy,
which would end the trouble, and end
ing it would end others forever.
His fourth reason was founded upon
the very success of the voluntary pur-
chase acts. Already they had by
means of state loans created some
$4,000 occupying owners in Ireland.
The state had suffered no loss. But
what of~the neighboring estate, where
the tenants were keen to buy, but
where the landlord, feeling that his
rents were safe, would not sell? He
would now face the undoubted diff
culties of compulsory sale. These diff
ticulties mainly conferred around the
position Of Irish landlords. All
through the plan Of campaign period
he was engaged battling for landlords
rights. But his position toward the
landlord class is this. They had had
long day. They had missed, or
grossly misused, golden opportunities.
They had been overtaken by social,
economic and political revolution. The
country is full of bankrupt properties,
managed not, by the owners, but by
the land judges court. No duties of
property are recognized in these cases.
1t means simply the extracting of rent
for mortgages and membranes. In
numberess other cases the facts are
hardly distinguishable from bank
ruptcy, and ruin is impending upon
nearly all.
Now, apart altogether from the
landlord class, such Il state of affairs
was intOlerable. 1t must be brought
to am end by some means or other.
Every statesman declared purchase to
be the final solution. He desired to
hasten it. But the ending of the land
trouble in Ireland would be of such
untold benefit to the country that no
price would he too high to pay for it,.
The first difficulty was the heavily EN-
numbered properties. There were many
estates in Ireland past all help. He
knew several cases where, were the
landlords to get twenty-five years
purchase of the first term rents, the
proceeds would simply clear the prop
erty. and leave nothing for the owner,
as lie is called. But how do the NOM
innl owners live under present crcum-
stances? DO the incumbrancers get
their interest in full now? Are all the
chargeants paid in full? He suspected
not-and if not. if they were content
to accept Il composition undcr-to use
stances" why should they not do so
under winding-,lp scheme? Most of
these people on business principles
would be glad to do so. But where
this was not the case: where the
chargeants were paid in full, and the
mOrtgagee's interest is being paid in
full to the last shilling. what about
the rents? Had these been fixed i'll
view of the value of the land, and
what ii is possible to take out Of it.,
or had they been fixed in view of the
debts incurred by the landlords pre-
dcccssors? Any way YOU like to take
it, all these estates We're clenfly bank
rupt! The sooner they reached Mr..
Justice Ross court the better for all
parties concerncd 1t was hopelessly
impossible to make any terms for
such properties.
But when they came to estates either
clear or not heavily dipped. the case
was entirely different The landlord or
the agent sits down and opens with lie
Il sort Of debtor and creditor account
Look here" they say this will never
do" They assume the purchase terms
to be twenty years of the judicial rent
and this is how 1t works out. They
place the judicial rent on one side of
the ledger. This they regard as per-
manent and sacred. Your Irish land
lord is proof against any reasoning,
and his capacity for shutting his eyes
is amazing. They allow nothing for
the management of the property, moth
ing for rates or taxes. nothing for
bad debts, nothing for general outgo-
ings. They simply place f100 on one
side. and prove that twenty wears of