60 THE IRISH AGRARIAN PROBLEM. 



The great famine of the years 1845-1851 

 made bankrupt a number of landowners whose 

 economic position had already been shattci 

 In the so-called " Encumbered Estates Court" 

 and later in the " Landed Estates Court" a 

 sort of liquidation court for the alienation of 

 bankrupt estates was created. 10,034 estate 

 the value of 54,000,000 were sold through this 

 court between 1849 and 1880, mostly at from 20 

 to 25 years 1 purchase. Many small Irish capi- 

 talists, such as shopkeepers and publicans, but 

 also large insurance companies, were among the 

 new purchasers to whom an absolute title of 

 ownership was granted. 1 



It is not worth while to go in detail into the 

 distribution of landed property in Ireland as set 

 forth, though in a very imperfect manner, in 

 the Irish * Doomsday Book' of 1876, for this 

 arrangement of property is now passing away. 

 I shall only point out that at that time about 

 one half of the country was in the hands of 

 about 700 persons. 



The Irish estates of to-day may be divided 

 into three classes. There are the large land- 



ners who live on their English estates and 

 merely draw an income from Ireland. Tli 

 are of course absentees who only remain a few 

 weeks, if at all, in Ireland. As they are gene- 

 rally extremely wealthy and can afford to pay 

 excellent agents, the condition of their property 



1 " The Irish Landlord and his Accusers," p. 507. 



