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The Country Gentlematt's Magazine 



the outgoing tenant at the expiration of his 

 tenancy should be entitled by legislative 

 enactment to compensation from the land- 

 lord or incoming tenant, for the value of his 

 unexhausted improvements — and after several 

 members had stated their views upon it more 

 or less favourably, Sir John Pakington came 

 to rescue them from their dilemma. " I 

 should be very sorry indeed, " he said some- 

 what sarcastically, we fancy, being a business 

 man, " to add to the difficulty that is inherent 

 in the subject, but I merely want to raise a 

 question as to the usual mode of proceeding 

 of this Chamber, because it appears to me 

 that the course which has been taken with 

 reference to this amendment involves us as 

 a matter of business in very considerable 

 difficulty. At the last meeting in the summer 

 the resolution, which has been put by the 

 chairman, was discussed. Mr Long then 

 moved an amendment, which was seconded 

 by Mr Read. . We now assemble together 

 after an interval of four months to continue 

 the discussion, when we are told that Mr 

 Read withdraws his approval of the amend- 

 ment, and further that Mr Long withdraws 

 the amendment altogether. It is very true 

 that the amendment touches the great ques- 

 tion ; but we cannot be too cautious, and I 

 do think that we ought not to adopt or reject 

 an amendment we have not had the advan- 

 tage of seeing in print before." The calm, 

 dignified censure of Sir John had the effect 

 of eliciting various " hears " from all parts of 

 the room, and it was decided that the amend- 

 ment should be withdrawn and discussed 

 afterwards. Thus more than an hour was 

 consumed, and the Chamber had done no- 

 thing upon the subject they had met to 

 'Consider ! Proceeding in a more formal 

 manner, however, Mr Carrington Smith then 

 laid the following amendment |before the 

 meeting : — 



"That it is desirable to introduce into Parliament a 

 bill entitled ' The Landlords' and Tenants' Property- 

 Bill ; ' such bill to enact that on the expiration of a 

 tenancy the landlord may claim, under an arbitration 

 award, the amount due to him for dilapidation by 

 ■default of the tenant, or the tenant may claim, in like 

 manner, for unexhausted impi^ovements resulting from 

 his occupation." 



On this motion the most important discus- 

 sion of the day took place. 



Few of the speeches were distinguished by 

 any originality of thought or argument, but 

 such a want cannot of course be found fault 

 with. The subject has been under the con- 

 sideration of almost every local chamber of 

 agriculture in the kingdom during the past 

 three months, and the pros and co?is are 

 pretty well known by agriculturists as well as 

 the general public. Although there were 

 some among the speakers who seemed to de- 

 precate, from reasons of their own which 

 they did not think proper to lucidly explain, 

 the interference of the legislature in the ques- 

 tion of tenant-right, the majority of tenant- 

 farmers, as well as several landlords, were in 

 favour of a measure on the subject being in- 

 troduced into the House of Commons. 

 Although custom, like the Lincolnshire 

 tenant-right, is a very good thing, yet, as Mr. 

 Read affirmed, it was of slow growth ; and 

 immediate security of capital and freedom 

 of cultivation are essentially necessary to the 

 farmer, if it be desired, as it is, that the soil 

 should yield the utmost it is capable of bring- 

 ing forth. 



One gentleman, in a vain attempt to re- 

 fute Mr Read's assertion as to the tardiness 

 attending the general recognition of custom, 

 gave utterance to this wondrous truism, 

 "that with regard to the slow growth 

 of custom, he thought the moment it was 

 established, there it was ; the moment a cus- 

 tom was initiated, it became a custom." The 

 audience, hardly appreciating the profundity 

 of the remark, burst into irreverent and vo- 

 ciferous laughter. 



However, with regard to an enactment 

 which shall as soon as possible give security 

 to the tenant against an unprincipled land- 

 lord, and at the same time protect the owner 

 against tenants whose ideas as to justice are 

 not the most evenly balanced, there are 

 many difficulties which beset the path of the 

 legislator. As Sir Michael Beach pointed 

 out, there are many counties (too many, per- 

 haps) where no compensation whatever is 

 allowed, and many where custom secures 

 compensation to the outgoing or incoming 



