TENANT-RIGHT AND THE THREE F'S. 199 



is gone into as one of right, many such cases will be 

 proved in which thorough consideration and indul- 

 gence have been shown to the tenants. Knowing 

 England better than I know Ireland, I assert that 

 Irish tenants, as a body, are treated with a consider- 

 ation and indulgence, especially in the rent charged for 

 the land, such as English tenants never asked for nor 

 expected. The statement of the Land Leaguers to 

 the contrary are bare lies. If they had any facts of 

 this kind to prove, why should they hesitate to prove 

 them before the new Commission ? 



In Mr. Courtney's speech lately at Liverpool, 

 advocating fixity of tenure and fair rents, he said 

 there must be a revaluation of rents throughout 

 Ireland, undoubtedly, else easy -dealing landlords 

 would suffer where hard ones gained. It is certain 

 that such a revaluation would be necessary, if any 

 approach to honest dealing was desired. 



What the process of such a revaluation will be I 

 cannot imagine. To me it seems that Mr. Courtney 

 must be in a condition of primaeval innocence in his 

 knowledge of land, and what belongs to it. The 

 valuation of land by the best valuers, though quite 

 honest men, is very uncertain. To settle the value 

 of land by evidence, and such evidence as can be 

 had in Ireland, before such men as County Court 

 Judges, would be simply robbery of the owners ; 

 and, unless such robbery was perpetrated, the howl- 

 ing of those who howl now would be louder still. 



