AT a time when public attention is anxiously fixed on. one of the most difficult problems ever put to a statesman-the Irish. Land Question-some suggestions on the subject emanating from a Liberal Irish, landlord may not be wholly useless or uninteresting.

In approaching this question it is well to survey at the outset the present position of political parties with regard, to it; to see what concessions have been made, and what those concessions involve.

It is now acknowledged by both Liberals and Conservatives that the circumstances of Ireland are exceptional, and that she stands in need of exceptional legislation. This of itself is an important confession. Bat the House of Commons at least lias gone, further. Through leading statesmen of both parties it has virtually sanctioned the principle that a tenant ought to receive compensation for his unexhausted improvements. The significance of this admission can hardly be overrated. It marks in fact the abandonment of the hitherto accepted theory of Government, that the State ought to abstain from interference with private contracts. Parliament has now almost pledged Itself to protect the tenant against the consequences of his own weakness or improvidence; to make for him a bargain which he has teen too feeble, too timid, or too careless to make for himself.

Now, when we are on the point of committing ourselves to so serious a departure from established economical principles, we may fairly ask, whether the end, if attained, will justify the course we are about to adopt, and whether that course will, so far as can be foreseen, lead to a successful issue.

The true end to be kept in view I take to be nothing less than the pacification of Ireland by the final settlement of the Land Question; and for the attainment of such an end scarcely any sacrifice would, be excessive. But are the measures which have been proposed adequate to such a task ? I think not. No one who knows Ireland will for a moment delude himself with the belief that a law securing to tenants

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compensation for their improvements (even if It could be got to work) would appease, much less uproot, the deep discontent of this much injured country.

Now the point that I would insist on is this, that if we are to throw over our old doctrines, and engage in political experiments (as indeed we must), we ought at least to make sure that, to counterbalance the inconvenience and risk to which such a step will undoubtedly expose us, we shall be rewarded by winning the cordial approval and support of those for whose benefit we are about to make so great an innovation, and whom it ought to be our chief aim to conciliate.

What then is the popular wish that we should endeavour to meet ? This question is easily answered; for one cry, "fixity of tenure," rises clear above the din of discussion and complaint, which has long assailed, and at last penetrated the ears of our statesmen. Must they peremptorily repudiate it, or can they with prudence entertain it, and see whether it may not be possible to make some advance towards gratifying the desire of which it is the expression ?

This demand for fixity of tenure is not, as is often supposed, a mere cry of disaffected and impracticable Socialists. It springs from a vague but true perception of the causes of the depression under which the agricultural interest, and with it the whole prosperity of Ireland, labours. These causes are, I think, ultimately reducible to two ; want of security for improvements (whether those improvements be effected by the landlord or by the tenant), and want of freedom in the circulation of land.

That these evils are not necessarily inherent in our present system of land-laws is proved by the experience of England, There the landlord is compelled by the healthy state of the land-market to take upon himself most of the permanent improvements; and the settled and orderly condition of the country affords him a sufficient guarantee that he will reap the fruits of his expenditure. And if neither the occupancy nor the ownership of land passes from hand to hand as rapidly as might be desired, stagnation, is at least prevented by a free exercise on the part of the landlord of the right, accorded, by custom as well as by law, of selecting his tenants and managing his property at his own discretion.

But in Ireland the case is different. The landlord has usually neither the capital nor the enterprise required for even those works which are absolutely indispensable to progress; nor indeed can he be much blamed if, having the necessary capital, he hesitates to sink it in a country periodically threatened with hasty legislation, and visited by disorder and lawlessness. And the excessive competition for land relieves him of obligations which in a better-balanced community would force themselves upon him. Thus the burden of improving the land is east upon the tenant alone. But the law affords him no security for his outlay. The consequences are natural. He frequently executes no improvements to which he is not driven by stress of circumstances (and it must be owned that the uncertainty of his position supplies to the cautious a reason, and to the indolent an excuse for inaction); and if he practically has a good prospect of enjoying the

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fruits of his Industry, he too often owes it mainly to the apprehensions which, occasional but significant outrages have excited.

The remedy usually advocated for this deplorable state of affairs, namely, a firm and impartial administration of the existing laws (which arc founded, I freely admit, on reason and justice), is, no doubt, adequate and wholesome. But it must of necessity be very slow in its operation, and the danger and discredit brought upon the Empire by the condition of Ireland seem, to call for a more summary treatment; and it supposes a consistent firmness on the part of successive governments on which it would be unwise to reckon.

It is obvious that it is to the decrease of competition for land alone that we must look for a recovery from the morbid condition which, I have described. But how is this healing process to be set in action, and to receive an. impulse that will stimulate it to produce visible results, not after the lapse of two or three generations, but in our days? This might be brought about by the stroke of some great calamity, or the advent of some unexpected good fortune-such as the failure of the potato in 1846 on the one hand, or the discovery of mineral wealth on the other. But it is idle to speculate on such chances. It might be effected, at the cost of infinite suffering and bitterness, by a resolute and unsparing exercise of the rights of the landlord. But the pressure of public opinion, and the determined resistance of the tenants, have long ago rendered such a solution impossible. There appears however to be another way to the same end. If the transfer of holdings by their occupiers, instead of being prohibited, as is now almost universally the case, were freed from restrictions, the superfluous tenants (those I mean who could not hold their own in fair competition) would be peaceably but surely eliminated, their interests being bought up by their more solvent or more enterprising neighbours. The process would be gradual, but probably not very tedious ; and it would give birth to no angry feelings, no fierce sense of wrong. And the very first step in the direction I have indicated would involve the concession of all that reasonable Irish tenants desire; for the power of transfer implies the existence of a right or property capable of transfer, in this ease a definite and valuable interest in the land.*

Now I venture to think that by the plan which I shall develope in this letter such an interest would be conferred on those of the tenant farmers who, by the possession of a moderate amount of capital or credit, might have shown themselves worthy of the boon; and that without demand on the Imperial Exchequer, risk to the popularity of Government, or pecuniary loss to the landlords.

The chief feature of my plan is the establishment throughout Ireland of a legal right founded on, and closely resembling, the privilege which custom has secured to the Ulster tenants. This is by no means a novel suggestion, for " Ulster Tenant-right" was at one time a The first thing to be done is to give the tenant a definite interest. The evils of permitting the sale of indefinite interests, such as tenancy from year to year, are too evident to need comment.

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popular cry ; but I am not aware that it was ever embodied in the form of a practical proposal.

In addition to this "tenant-right," and with a view far as possible all eases, I propose" to offer to tenants who may be un-able or unwilling to acquire the full tenant-right (or perpetuity) herein-after described, the choice amongst a variety'of leases. But since it is the offer of a perpetuity that will probably appear most startling, and will therefore require to be carefully explained, and somewhat elabo-rately supported by argument, I will devote the greater part of my atten-tion to this branch of my subject, and pass over with a short notice the subsidiary portions to which I have alluded. And this arrange-ment may conveniently be adopted, because one set of principles per-vades the whole plan, and the observations which I shall have occasion to make on the larger proposition will, I think, be found applicable mutatis mutandis, to the minor ones, which are in a manner included in it.

I have now to explain, the mode in which I propose to put tenant-right (or perpetuity) within the reach of tenants, and for this pur-pose I proceed to state:-I. The nature of the right to be acquired. II, The persons by whom it may be acquired, III. The mode and conditions of acquisition.

I. Tenant-right should be the right of occupiers to hold their farms tor ever at a fixed rent (which should be the present fair letting value) and to sell or bequeath their interest, subject to the conditions stated below. II. The persons who should be entitled to acquire tenant-right should be all tenants of bona fide agricultural holdings, holding by lease or yearly tenancy, on the 1st January, 1870, with the following exceptions:-

(a.) Tenants of demesne lands.

(b.) Tenants in Ulster of farms, the customary tenant-right which can be shown to have been bought up by' the landlord, so that the present tenant entered into possession without making payment with the privity of the landlord.

' (c.) Tenants of farm held by custom (such as prevails in some parts of lreland) on very short terms, who, as a matter of course, vacate their farms at the expiration of such terms.

(d.) Tenants who do not reside within (say) ten miles of the farm.

(e.) Labourers habitually employed by the landlord, and occupy- ing holdings with house set apart for them as such labourers.

(f.) Middlemen, and generally all persons whose principal occu- pation is not farming, as agents, bailiffs, clergymen, &c

III. The mode of acquisition should be by statutable form of lease for ever, to which persons having the next interest in trustees, should be parties.

The conditions should be the following:

The tenant, unless he be an Ulster tenant such as is referred to be-low should pay to the immediate landlord, or to trustees for the rever-

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sioner, in a lump sum, or by Instalments, a sum of money equal to four years' rent of his holding, calculated at its fair letting value.

The rent and arrears should be (as by the custom of Ulster) a first charge on the tenant-right, and no transfer of the tenant-right should be valid without notice having been given to the landlord, who, that he might he enabled to recover his arrears without having recourse to law, should have power to insist on the purchase-money being paid through him.

The landlord should hare power to compel a sale of the tenant-right, or (in the event of the selling 'value being insufficient to compensate him for the loss sustained) a surrender of the farm, in ease of non payment of rent, subdivision, subletting, or the erection of more than one dwellinghouse on a farm; also in case of waste, which might either be specifically defined, or held generally to he any act or neglect of the tenant, whereby the landlord's security might be impaired. But the tenant should he empowered to build one substantial labourer's house for every acres (or perhaps for every , pounds of rent), and to let with it by the week or month a quantity of land not exceed ing one statute acre, and should not be liable to penalty provided the house was occupied by a bona fide labourer and kept in proper repair, and that such labourer held under a written agreement, to be produced to the landlord when required.

Leaseholders might acquire tenant-right by surrendering their leases and paying the usual fine of four years' rent (calculated at the fair letting value of their holdings), less the amount which the landlord would gain by the immediate surrender of the lease, supposing such lease to be a beneficial one.

The landlord should have power to resume possession in certain exceptional cases explained below.

The time during which the right to acquire the tenant-right should last should be limited to (say) four years from the passing of the Act. After the expiration of that period, landlords (whether limited owners or not) should be permitted, but not compelled, to sell tenant-right to their tenants.

The "fair letting value" should be determined in case of dispute by arbitrators, or by Government valuators; and such, arbitrators or valuators should take into account the value of the existing improvements made by the tenants, and should allow for them on principles to be laid clown by Parliament, The outlay of the landlord also should be into account. But all. holdings which have been, let, or of which the rent has been revised since 1855,* should be presumed to be let at their * My reason for fixing this date is this. By 1855 the convulsion produced by the famine was over, and the high prices caused by the Russian war, coupled with a. succession of good harvests in '56, '57, and '58. raised the price of land (I speak trader correction) to a point as high as that at which it stands at present.

It might scent at first sight that the presumption that rents fixed since 1855 repre sent the present fair lettingValue would tell unfairly In favour of landlords who syste- matically let their lands at the highest possible rent. But in such cases the tenants would, doubtless, appeal, paid it Is "evident that the maximum that a Court would allow to the landlord would be the average receipts of a number of years, good and bad. Thus a very close approximation to the real value would readily be obtained.

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fair letting value. In all cases, however, either landlord or tenant might appeal to a court of law.

With, reference to these points, it Is necessary to make a few ex-planatory remarks.

The landlord would retain, all his present rights, except those ex-pressly taken from him.

He would also have the right of resinning from the tenant, on pay-merit of the current tenant-right value for the time being, any land which he could prove to be required as building ground, sites for mills, sites for agents' or labourers' houses, turbaries, &c ; together with such quantity of adjoining land as might be needed in connection with the buildings, &c. Provided that, in case the land so taken lip should not within a reasonable time be used for the purposes for which It .had been taken up, it should revert to the tenant on his repaying the amount which had been paid to him by way of compensation. No serious difficulty would be encountered in ascertaining the current value of the. tenant-right in such cases. For it would involve only two simple questions-the letting agricultural value of the laud, and the average number of years' purchase at which tenant-right might happen to be usually sold in the neighbourhood.

The interests of parties entitled to the reversion of settled estates would be protected by the purchase-money paid by the tenant being handed over to the trustees of the estate. Similarly the purchase-money paid by the under-tenants of middlemen would be handed to a trustee in trust to pay the Interest of it to the middleman during- the continuance of his term, and, after its expiration, in trust for the head landlord.

In cases where a leaseholder should surrender his lease and take out tenant-right, the landlord, If a limited owner, would be accountable to the reversioner for four years' rent, if he should live to reap the full benefit of the surrender of the lease ; if not, then for a sum less in proper proportion.

The payment by tenants of the purchase-money should be so arranged, that the whole sum should be paid up by the end of the four years allowed for the operation of the Act. Tenants who, having paid part of the purchase-money, should find themselves unable to pay the remainder^ should be entitled to repayment, without interest, of the amount paid up, the interest going to compensate the landlord for the inconvenience and uncertainty he would have undergone.

During these four years, it would be necessary to suspend the land- lords' power of evicting (except, for non-payment of rent, subletting, subdivision, or waste) any tenant who should give notice of his inten tion to purchase, and who, as a guarantee of good faith, should apply to have, his farm 'valued with a view to such purchase. " - At the expiration of the four years all exceptional legislative Inter ference between landlord and should absolutely cease, and the pre sent laws should be in force,* "

* It would be most desirable for the sake of landlords who might desire to sell their remaining interest, and for the sake of tenants who might be able to purchase that interest, but most of all for the sake of the public, that the power to tie up land

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The case of Ulster tenants who now enjoy the custom of tenant-right, is peculiar. Having already purchased the interest in their farms with the consent of the landlord, they cannot be called upon to pay for it a second time. I apprehend that the Ulster landlords must be held to have parted with the customary tenant-right for valuable consideration. Their tenants therefore ought to be able to acquire the legal tenant-right, either without purchase or at a very low rate. But as much ill-will and opposition would he provoked if the Ulster landlords were deprived, without compensation, of their legal right to raise their rents without making any compensation to the tenant (even though that right cannot he enforced with justice, or without danger), it would perhaps be expedient to give them some small compensation. And, considering the importance to the Empire of a settlement of the Land Question, it would hardly be too much to ask that such compensation should be provided out of Imperial funds, or, failing that, out of the produce of a special tax on Ireland.

I refrain, for the sake of brevity and clearness, from, entering on the discussion of various subsidiary questions which present themselves in connection with my proposal; as, for instance, whether tenants might be assisted by Government to purchase the tenant-right of their holdings; whether tenants who had purchased tenant-right might be assisted to purchase the remaining interest of the landlord; whether tenants who had purchased tenant-right might borrow from the Board of Works for improvements, and the like.

For the same reason I abstain from examining any of the various rival schemes for the settlement of the Land Question that have been advanced of late.

This settlement which I have sketched appears to possess some considerable recommendations. In principle it is simple and intelligible; in its working it would be rapid and final. It would limit State intervention to one occasion, whereas most of the plans that have been put forward involve repeated acts of compulsory valuation. Though permanent in its effects, it would be transient in its operation; and it would lead naturally and gently back to the sound principle that Government interference between contracting parties should be confined to enforcing performance of their contract?.. It would evidently obviate the necessity of attempting" to secure compensation for improvements by direct legislation; and every one who has had experience in. the management of landed property will know how unlikely such laws are to work. It is based on an existing custom* generally understood throughout Ireland; and it would introduce an uniform system into every part of the country. This I regard as a matter of much importance. For, so inveterate is the belief in the partiality shown by the State to the .Northern Protestants, that, however advantageous be the status bestowed by Parliament on the tenants of the parts of Ireland, there is reason to fear that these latter would fancy

by settlement should be abolished, and the transfer of land rendered as simple as possible. But this is a topic on which I need not here dwell.

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themselves less favourably treated than the former unless both held under an identical system, And the custom of Ulster tenant right is so cherished in. the North that it 'would be difficult and inexpedient to re-place it by some new and dissimilar right.

That an immense number of the tenants would he able to purchase their tenant-right will, I think, be admitted by most persons who are well acquainted with Ireland. It is notorious that very large amounts are hoarded by the farming class or deposited at low interest in the banks; that farmers' daughters often, perhaps habitually, receive fortunes of many hundreds of pounds, sometimes of thousands; that whenever the interest in a farm comes into the market numerous bidders present themselves, and tender for it sums frequently much in excess of the four years' rent which 1 .have suggested as the amount of the purchase-money of the tenant-right. Those who had not ready money sufficient would be able to obtain a large portion of the purchase-money on loan; for they would have in the tenant-right a valuable security to proffer.* That the proposed settlement would be received by the tenants with lively satisfaction I have little doubt. And in fact it would be extremelv advantageous to the tenant-farmer. By the payment of a moderate sum (which, be it remembered, can be recovered" at any time) he ac- quires a real though limited property in the land; he obtains a per- fect security for his outlay on improvements without being compelled to have recourse to uncertain and harassing litigation; he emancipates himself from political and social servitude! Should he see fit to ex- change farming for some other occupation, he could start on his new career with a substantial capital realized by the sale of his tenant-right. Should he wish to extend his farming operations, the circulation' of farms which the settlement would tend to promote would bring oppor- tunities within his reach.

Nor would the settlement be prejudicial to the landlord Ho would gam an excellent security for his rent and arrears, which he may now lose through the default of a tenant. He would indeed be deprived of the value of the prospective improvement of bis property; but he would receive ample compensation in the immediate addition "to tne capital of his estate (the present selling- value being taken as *the capital) of from 16 to 20 per cent. Moreover, he would be

* It is plain that a tenant who had thus borrowed would be under strong compul- sion to pay his rent punctually. For the lender, knowing that the landlord's claim would take precedence over his, would have a powerful inducement to see that the tenant did not fall into arrear, and would probably require the production of the landlord's receipts for rent at the earliest possible date.

I assume throughout that the value of land will either remain stationary or rise. Should land suffer any permanent depreciation, some of my arguments and calculations would fall to the ground. But I deem this contingency so improbable that I have not though it worth taking into account.

This may seem paradoxical; but I argue thus Land now at from 20 to 25 years purchase of its net rental; that is, it yields to the purchaser 4 1/2 per cent on the average Now persons will always be found to invest at par in investments which yield 4 1/2 per cent, provided the security be good and to accept a lower rate of interest if it be perfect. If then the security that an estate can offer, of which the tenant-right

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relieved of various expenses connected with the possession of an estate; and he might, If he chose, put into his own pocket the 5 per cent. which he now pays to his agent ; for the business of management enormously simplified. The addition to his income from these savings along would probably amount to 7 or 8 per cent.

I have not yet been about to discover any way of ameliorating the condition of the agricultural labourer by direct legislation. But the plan I have suggested 'would seem calculated to operate indirectly to his ad- vantage. The stimulus to industry which it would supply would enhance the value of labour. The circulation, of farms consequent on free trade in land would present to the prudent labourer opportunities of raising himself to the rank of a farmer by purchasing the tenant-right of some small limn. The greatest hardship of his lot, the want of a decent house, would be alleviated. At present neither landlord nor tenant has an interest in building such houses. To the landlord they would he an unprofitable investment. They would pay the tenant;* but he has no security for the recovery of the money which he expends on them. But the adoption of the proposed settlement would effect a great change. The tenant would obtain the desired security; and I am convinced that in this county at least many farmers would, with this encouragement, build dwellings for their workmen.

Should the operation of the settlement prove such as may reasonably be anticipated, in a few years a vast improvement would be visible

has been sold, be considered perfect, such an estate will sell at the same price as an consisting of head-rents. But if, without being perfect, It be good, the estate will sell at thesame'price as ordinary good investments (such as Railway Preference Stock), which price I assume to be such" as will yield 4 1/2 per cent, to the purchaser. The question then is as to the security. Now, so long as the selling value of the tenant-right exceeds one half-year's rent by an amount sufficient to cover the expenses incidental to a compulsory change of tenant, the security point, the security -will be imperfect. But even if matters come to the worst, and in consequence of some temporary depression the tenant-right should cease to have any value at, all, it does not follow that a person who had invested in such an estate would lose. Nay, it is likelv that he would gain in the long run by that very circumstance. For if the* tenant failed to pay his rent he would have to surrender, and the landlord would enter into full possession of the farm. And it is probable that, by submitting to a temporary loss, he would acquire (as occasionally happened ai the time of the famine) a property more valuable than lie believed it to be at the time when he made the pur- chase. I think then that estates of which the tenant-right had been previously sold would fetch from 20 to 25 years' purchase. The total amount therefore lord would receive, who, after selling the tenant-right at four years' purchase should sell the estate, would be from 24 to 29 years' purchase. I have purposely left out of the calculation various important considerations: the probable rise in the value of land Con- sequent on the action of natural causes, and on the settlement of the Land Question ; the value of royalties, and of the right of sporting, which would be retained by the land- lord; and. the diminution of expenses connected with management.

These two statements are, perhaps, theoretically inconsistent; for if it would pay the tenant to build, it ought to pay him to give the landlord, who should build for him, a remunerative rent for labourers' houses. But practically the tenant, though he would build 'with a little encouragement, strongly objects to add to his permanent burdens. Moreover, the landlord would not be content to build the class of houses which could suffice for the tenant's purposes; houses -which, though far from being all that could be desired, would yet be infinitely better than the iniserable cabins in which the farm labourers are for the most part lodged at present.

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throughout the island, A free circulation of land, with all its attendant blessings, would succeed to obstruction and stagnation. Industry sure of its reward, would advance with constantly accelerated steps' Class animosities would die away for lack of sustenance. Confidence and independence would replace suspicion and servility. Above all lawlessness would be exchanged for respect for law; "for every purchasing tenant would soon learn that his property (his tenant-right) was endowed in a high degree with the proverbial sensitiveness of capital.

I must, touch briefly on some of the objections which might be advanced against my proposal.

' First,_ there is the general objection to Government interference The gravity of this objection I should be the last to dispute But "it seems to tell with equal force against every possible settlement of the Land Question; for, whatever Ministers may say to the contrary the rights of property, if by them be meant the present legal rights of landlords, must be invaded. And there are occasions (of winch the present is one) when Governments may legitimately descend from the heights of their Epicurean Olympus and appear on the scene as a " Dens ex machma" to solve some "digmim vindice nodum."

Another very serious objection is the difficulty and inconvenience attendant on so extensive a system of valuations as my scheme would involve Bat after all, the agony would be short. And I apprehend that just as the dejays and uncertainty of Chancery cause many a dispute to be settled out of Court, so the evils of a compulsory valu-ation would be mitigated by the pressure they would put upon both parties to come to an amicable arrangement. It must too be borne in mind that in all cases of lettings since 1855 there would be no vain-ation except on an appeal; and I am inclined to think that all Ulster tenants-at-will who have purchased the customary tenant-right of their foldings may reasonably be presumed to hold at a fair rent.

On behalf of the landlords it may be said that the compensation which I propose to give them would in fact be paid oat of their own pockets. For (it may be urged) under the existing law the landlord may raise his rent to such a point that the value of the good-willwill be reduced to nothing. This is doubtless true in theory.*3 But practi-cally the landlord cannot thus realize the value of the good-will and in support of this assertion I appeal to the experience of any intelligent and candid Irish land agent. Such a person, I feel sure, would admit that a landlord who should adopt this policy would not only incur much odium and some danger, but would get about him a class of te-nants by whom he would infallibly lose in the long run ; men who extract from their farms as much and give back as little as possible, and who, on the first pressure of adversity would throw up their holdings and make their escape with everything upon which they could lay their hands.

would throw up their hold- ings and make their escape with everything on which they could lay their hands. An objection will be adduced from the working of the custom of tenant-right in Ulster. And no doubt the payment of extravagant

13 sums for tenant-right Is mischievous. But I reply, first, that the custom, faulty as it is, is more favourable to an improving tenant than that which prevails in other parts of Ireland, and that the Northern tenants are deeply attached to it; in the next place, that the present price of tenant-right in Ulster is a monopoly price, which would fall if the custom were extended over the whole island; arid, lastly, that after all every man must be presumed to be a competent judge of his own interest, and that the Irish farmer is one of the shrewdest of mortals.

I may dismiss with a summary notice the essentially conservative objection that large concessions will lead to still larger demands, and that the tenants, having gained a substantial interest in their farms, will proceed to agitate, perhaps conspire, for the abolition of rent. Such an objection points logically to the conclusion that the status quo must be absolutely maintained, a conclusion which by hypothesis is inadmissible. It must be assumed, arid it may be fearlessly asserted, that Irish tenants are as amenable to justice and reason as the corresponding class in most other countries.

It may be said that the proposed settlement would encourage absenteeism by taking from the proprietor his interest in the improvement of his estate, I do not think so meanly of my fellow-landlords as to suppose that there are not very many among them who would rejoice to live, the natural and respected friends and advisers of their tenants, in the midst of a contented and prosperous population, even though they could not enjoy the pleasure of reflecting that the happiness they beheld around them was the work of their own hands. But, putting such individuals out of consideration, if we look to the character and circumstances of the average Irish landlord we shall see that it is not so easy for him as might be imagined to detach himself from his native soil. He is generally a man of moderate means, fond of his country seat, fond of comity society, devoted to country life and field sports. Where but in Ireland could he indulge his tastes ? In quitting his Irish, home he would break with all his old habits and associations; he would as it were begin life anew, How many men are there, especially amongst the easy-going conservative class of country gentlemen, who would be capable of such an effort? There is indeed one class whom the adoption of this plan might move to sever their connection with Ireland-I mean the great English, absentee landlords. To such men the prestige of the control of a estate,' and the political influence it carries, are amongst the chief gratifications that they derive from their Irish properties. A measure which should detract from that prestige and that influence be without effect in inducing them to abandon a position which of them would feel to be anomalous. They would realize on most favourable terms. And, on leaving the country with which their fortunes had been unnaturally "bound up, they might, for the part, think with satisfaction that, having honourably discharged their duty as long as the responsibilities of ownership rested on them,'they laid Ireland under a deep and lasting obligation by withdrawing her when those responsibilities were transferred in great measure to the old habits and associations; he would as it were begin life anew, How many men are there, especially amongst the easy-going conserva tive class of country gentlemen, who would be capable of such an effort? There is indeed one class whom the adoption of this plan might move to sever their connection with. Ireland-I mean the great English, absentee landlords. To such men the prestige of the control of a estate,' and the political influence it carries, are amongst the chief gra tifications that they derive from their Irish properties. A, which should detract from that prestige .and that influence be without effect in inducing them to abandon a position 'which of them would feel to be anomalous. They would realize on favourable terms. And, on leaving the country with which . fortunes had been unnaturally "bound up, they might, for the part, think with satisfaction that, having honourably duty as long as the responsibilities of ownership rested on them,'they laid Ireland under a deep and lasting obligation by. her when those responsibilities were transferred in measure to the

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shoulders of their tenants-tenants whom, by their wise management of their estates, they would have trained in some degree to bear the new burden.

I have reserved to the last the objection which would probably be advanced first-that the proposed measure Is revolutionary, and that a revolution Is not needed. Whether or not the state of'Ireland Is so critical as to demand an extraordinary remedy, is a question which. I cannot here attempt to discuss; and indeed it is one on which it is scarcely possible for a private individual to form an adequate judgment. But if the scheme be condemned as too sweeping, I answer that the end which I have set before myself has been a great one-an end not to be attained by timid or partial measures. My endeavour has been to suggest a plan, not simply for the equitable adjustment of the mutual claims of landlord and tenant, nor for the establishment of those conditions which theory may show to lie most favourable to agriculture, but for the early and complete pacification of my native country.

_It remains for me to state, almost without comment, the alternatives which I propose to offer to tenants who should be unable or unwilling to purchase a perpetuity. These would be leases for 21, 31, 60, or 99 years, all including full power of alienation. They might be acquired by the same persons, in the same manner, and subject to the same conditions as the perpetuity, except that the fines (or purchase-money) should be roughly proportionate to the duration of the lease (say one-half., one, two, and three years' rent respectively), and the time within which they might be acquired less for the shorter than for the longer leases. It would be necessary in the case of comparatively short leases to modify the rale that the fine paid by a tenant should be held in trust for the reversioner, the interest thereof alone being paid to the tenant for life or middleman. Perhaps the simplest mode of effecting this would be to spread the fine over the whole term, adding to it an amount sufficient to compensate the landlord for the consequent loss of interest.* Power ought probably to be reserved to the landlord to drain and fence (under the superintendence of the Board of Works Inspector) the lands of any tenant holding by lease of 80 years or less, and to charge interest at the rate of 5 per cent, on the amount so expended.

_ It will be seen that the whole scheme is based on a few -simple principles. These axe-that no right, whether present or prospective, having- a money value shall be transferred from landlord to tenant with out a corresponding compensation; that such compensation shall be paid by the persons who derive benefit from such transfer, and by them alone; that Government interference is in itself an evil, tolerable only when exerted once for all on some supreme occasion, but, if frequent, the parent of more ills than it removes.

I have not attempted to look beyond the expiration of even the shortest of the terms which I propose to create, or to provide for the state of things- which may exist twenty or thirty years hence. By

, * This mode of payment, or some modification of it, might evidently be adopted in all cases ;;but I think it -would be desirable that the fine Should be paid in a lump sum, or by ,a few instalments in the case of leases of 60 years or more..

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that time vast changes will have occurred. The Interests of both. owners and occupiers will have been extensively bought and sold, new proprietors and tenants will have sprung up, of whom we can foretell this only, that they will be those who, in a fair struggle for existence, will have proved themselves strongest and therefore presumably most capable of promoting the welfare of* the nation at large. It is worse than useless to forecast too much. If by a bold and comprehensive reform thirty years of contentment and tranquillity can be secured to this country, we shall leave with confidence to our successors the easy task of dealing with a regenerated Ireland.

The plan which I have suggested is put forward with ranch diffidence, I am far from regarding it as a specific ; but it seems to offer one possible solution of the problem, and therefore to be worthy of attention. It is only by the publication of definite proposals that discussion, which now ranges somewhat aimlessly over the whole of this vast subject, can be concentrated on the points actually at issue. The great difficulty, of the Land Question is this, that we have not here (as in dealing with the Church Question) an unerring guide in some paramount principle of justice; for thoughtful men will be slow to admit an abstract right in the tenant to the value of improvements executed on the security of an insufficient tenure. If this be so, it would appear that a result must be arrived at less by a positive than by a negative process-in fact by the gradual elimination of all impracticable schemes. Thus every consistent and well-digested plan which dies a natural death from want of sympathy, or perishes under hostile criticism, us one step nearer to a conclusion; and when the time conies for a final decision, the statesmen upon whom the positive work of construction will devolve will perhaps find the ground cleared of obstacles, and the foundations of the future edifice laid ready to their hands.

In conclusion, I would venture to suggest that every one who himself seriously to investigate this subject should begin by asking himself to which of two ends, that are probably for the moment incompatible, legislation ought, in his opinion, to be directed-whether to establishment of some system which, though unsuited to the exigencies of Ireland, shall be in strict harmony with, the doctrines of political economy, and approach as nearly as possible to theoretic perfection, or to the removal of the deep-seated disloyalty that paralyses Irish enterprise and threatens not Ireland only, but the Empire, with perils none the less formidable because to superficial observers they sometimes appear contemptible.

FOYNES, 30th August, 1869.