IRELAND, 1840-1880. 89 



experience, sinks a tenant. Even drink takes a long 

 time by itself. But the man who drinks is generally 

 indolent too, and often quarrelsome with his family and 

 neighbours. And as he finds himself doing badly, he 

 gets in debt to banks and usurers, and so his end 

 is hastened. 



All through the bad famine times, and the many 

 years I have been in Ireland, I never knew a single 

 case of an honest, industrious tenant, either my own 

 or my neighbours', having failed. At the rate land is 

 usually let, if the farm has not been run out, and no 

 big leak like drink exists, it is sure to pull its 

 occupier through till better times come. Again and 

 again I have seen tenants under great drawbacks, as 

 widows with young children, do better than their 

 neighbours who had far more chances, only because 

 they worked on quietly and steadily even on a bad 

 system. Once a tenant's faults have brought him 

 low, I never knew an instance of his recovery. His 

 impoverished land was the stone round his neck that 

 drowned him. 



It would be much better for all concerned, land- 

 lord and tenant and labourer, as well as for the 

 country, that when a tenant has run out his farm he 

 should give it up quickly, instead of struggling on for 

 years in deepening debt, under the operation of the 

 Land Act. He would have more left if he gave up 

 quickly, because he would be less in debt, and his 

 land, because less reduced, would yield more produce 



