.i P/rtctical Jlczc of the Irish Land Question 



A^ 



county cess, whicli is paid entirely by 

 the occupier, amounts to nearly 2S. in the 

 l)Ound — this, Avith few, if any new works, 

 no creation, but merely maintenance, is very 

 lieavy, when we consider the great reduction 

 of local road traffic by our railway system. 

 The whole grand jury system wants revision ; 

 taxation and representation ought to go to- 

 gether ; the ratepayers, as the law is at pre- 

 sent constituted, have practically no voice ; 

 the whole machinery is too cumbersome, and 

 not sufficiently local ; large staffs of high 

 salaried officers eat us up, and, being beyond 

 the reach of the ratepayers, work the abuses 

 under the law as only trained men know how. 

 The same may be said of the poor rates, as 

 high as 2S. in the pound, without a pauper 

 in some rural divisions. This arises from 

 the class of guardians who are returned 

 for the rural districts. The priest, anxious 

 to display his power in opposition to the 

 Protestant or landed interest, returns men 

 ignorant and uneducated, who instead of 

 performing and knowing their duties are 

 merely the tools of their patrons to vote and 

 execute a job when required. Between jobbing 

 and mock philanthropy, Avhich feeds and 

 cares for paupers often better than many of 

 the ratepayers are able to feed themselves, 

 hundreds are reared in idleness, whose labour 

 is required in the country districts, and whose 

 very want of training, even if disposed to work, 

 renders them unfit for the hardships the world 

 demands from persons who would earn an 

 honest livelihood. In this way a mass of 

 humanity is reared up, and becomes a per- 

 manent burden upon the industry of this 

 country-. 



The foregoing remarks lead me to the fol- 

 lowing conclusions for adjustment of the Irish 

 Land Question : — 



1. In order to induce tenant farmers to 

 invest their capital \Vi improving the cultivation 

 of their land, they shall be entitled to have the 

 security of a lease for a term not exceeding 

 twent}'-one years. 



2. In cases where the tenant effects permanent 

 improvements at his own cost, of such a nature 

 as to add a material value to the property, 

 he shall either enjoy such improvements for a 



term, which in gross shall not exceed thirty- 

 one years, or shall be allowed to dispose of 

 his unexpired interest to the landlord or in- 

 coming tenant. 



3. Owners of life estates shall be empowered 

 to charge upon their successors the propor- 

 tion of any amount expended on permanent 

 improvements not fully exhausted during the- 

 existence of the life interest effecting the im- 

 provements. 



4. Where permanent imj)ro\'ements can' 

 only be effected by the concurrence of ad-- 

 jacent landowners, the majority of the par- 

 ties interested shall have the power to assess - 

 in proportion the whole properties benefited. 



5. Local taxation requires adjustment and-' 

 relief by a revision of the Grand Jury Laws. 



6. It is desirable to institute some system^ 

 in our workhouses by which able-bodied 

 paupers"' and children may be regularly in- 

 structed in agricultural work, so as to relieve 

 the rates from the support of many who are 

 able, but unwilling, to work, and also to 

 render those institutions more self-maintain- 

 ing. 



7. Instmction in agricultural details should 

 form part of the teaching in our national 

 schools in rural districts. 



8. Fairs and markets require some legis- 

 tive regulation, in order to afford the best 

 facilities for disposing of produce. 



9. A tax upon absentee landowners with 

 incomes over ^^300 per annum, of 5 per 

 cent, on their nett income, Avould give satis- 

 faction. The proceeds of this tax to be 

 applied in the reduction of the poor rate. 



10. It is necessary that the law of tres- 

 pass should be made more stringent, as it 

 is carried on professionally under the exist- 

 ing law. 



As a minor matter, I may allude to the 

 great loss occasioned by bulls "going at 

 laro-e." The loss to immense numbers of 

 heifers is equal to £\ per head, and with 

 shipments of about ten thousand animals 

 per week, it forms a serious item. I should 

 recommend that all bulls over nine months 

 old be housed by law, unless under the 

 immediate control of the owner or his 

 servants. 



