THE IRISH LAND QUESTION. 41 



a desire to spend money or labour in permanent im- 

 provements by men of this sort ? Very few farmers 

 have the knowledge, or skill, or energy needful for 

 carrying out the draining of half- a - dozen acres. They 

 do not rightly know how to go about it, even with 

 the money in their pockets. The money or trouble 

 it will cost is the one thing thought of ; the effect of 

 the work and result are overlooked. One of my 

 labourers does far more work than a farmer's labourer. 

 When tenants do attempt a job, nine times out of ten, 

 unless it is a shopkeeper from a town or person above 

 the farmer class, the drains are made two feet deep, 

 or a little over. They do not half dry the land, and 

 choke in a few years. It is much the same with 

 buildings. Unless the landlord helps and insists on 

 their being well done, they are scamped to save a few 

 shillings, so as to lessen their value by half. 



It is the fear of having to pay for such half-done 

 improvements, and of claims with even less founda- 

 tion, that has caused dislike of Tenants' Compensation 

 Bills ? It is for the true interests of the tenants 

 themselves that such improvements as they make 

 should be done effectively and well. It is only their 

 ignorance that makes them content with inferior or 

 bad work. Litigation or fraud can never do good to 

 either tenant or landlord. 



Lord Mayo's Bill of last Session was the greatest 

 boon that was ever offered to the tenant-farmer of 

 any country. It gave as full compensation for lond 



