The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-06-02


communication published in Il recent
issue "f The t'rcrnan's journal of
Dublin. points ont how the pcasun,. of
Ireland are robbed by the landlords
With the sanction and ronnivuncu of
the British government. He says:
find by your leader in yesterdays
Freeman that Irish I.and Purchase
prices have advanced from IL. years
purchase before 1903 to a,,.4a years
purchase. the bonus included There
is evidently some mistake in the Par
liamrntary Blue Books, as the sale
prices. said iu average 2o.7, increased
by l2 per cent. would reach not 2A.H.
but .J,.a2l years purchase. ll"nrc
there must be an rrrur or fHllucN in
the statistics.
When the late government intro
ducrd the Land Purchase Fill in 1908.
With the bonus clause of c1o,000. 900.
they, having every opportunity of
knowing the accuracy of their state
mcnt. declared the purchase value at
current prices of all the then unsul,!
trlGnnted land in Ireland To be cl0O,-
900. 600
Assuming that statement to be cor
rect. with reduced sinking fund. bonus,
and zones. il sells To-day at G145,22O.- :
600, though the average price of farm
pr"ducr meantime has gone down. and
is going down.
And we should not forget that n,l
every G that the tenant -fnrmcr Dor
rows from the Government. he must
pay in principal and interest CO As lOd.
Thc average price that the Danish
landlords receive for the fee simple of
their lands is ~. years purchase.
The Irish landlords receive 25A2i
years p,lrcllasc-iuSt 1913 per cent
more than the Danish landlords OBJ
Iinmcntnry statistics ana Blue Books
If we seek for u reason why the
poverty stricken small farmers of Ire
land have to pay 1903 per cent. more
than the prosperous farmers of Den
mark for the fec simple of their hold
i1lgs, naturally we should conclude
that II is because in Denmark thcii
laws are enacted by those who in tho
true sense OF the word represent tn,
Danish people.
But for ireland her land laws and
other essential ana vitnlly important
laws are made by strangers Hence
lreI;ind's poverty ana dcpnpulatinn
lrclands representatives. where there
is question of such laws, being i'll
vhrinbly found in the minority. BE-
sides. the fingers on the one hand
would outnulnbcr the friends of tn,
| Irish pcnsontry in the elective
chamber that lcgisatcs for Ireland.
What seems the most unjust-per-
| hnps might say iniquitous clause in
the act is the zone system. with nom
inspection, by which poor, helpless
povcriy-stricken farmers. through
| threats of eviction writs or impending
| ruin of some sort may be virtually
but really, compelled to purchase thcir
holdings at more than 81 years Fur
chase, including the bonus Of second
these holdings. if justice hold tho
scale, are not worth 10 years purchase
The term judicial rackrents" may
seem abnormal. have no doubt that
II is unique ana confined to Ireland
They are judicial rackrcnts because
they are exorbitnnt rents. all virtually
when not actually fixed by Land
Courts, in which almost invariably the
controlling power at least is in the
their friends.
That they are exorbitant rents is
| clear--first, from the poverty OF the
average and industrious tenant farm
ers; second, from the well-known fact
that a great portion of their judicial
rackrents, in order to avoid evictions
is paid by the earnings of the farm
ers' emigrant friends; third, by what
is admitted by all who understand the
of poor or even moderate or fair
quality-viz., that occupiers cannot pay