364 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



of fifteen years, during which ho is safe from disturb- 

 ance or from an increase of rent. At the end of fif- 

 teen years lie may apply to have a judicial rent fixed 

 for another statutory term. The annual tenant is thus 

 placed in the position of a leasehold tenant for fifteen 

 years, with the privilege of perpetual renewal. The ten- 

 ant may sell his tenancy to a single person at the best 

 price he can get ; but the right of pre-emption, or priv- 

 ilege of buying the tenant-right at the same price, is 

 reserved to the landlord. Every tenant from year to 

 ycar t when the landlord demands an increase of rent, 

 acquires the statutory term if he agrees to the increase : 

 or he may apply to the Civil Bill Court or the Land 

 Commission to have a fair rent fixed ; or he may sell 

 his interest in his holding, or, if compelled to quit, lie 

 is entitled to compensation for disturbance, winch is 

 more liberal than under the provisions of the act of 

 1870. If any tenant considers his rent too high, or if 

 the landlord considers it too low, the tenant alone or the 

 tenant and landlord together may make application to 

 have a judicial rent allotted, or the landlord, after fail- 

 ing to come to an agreement with the tenant, may ap- 

 ply to the court to have the fair rent determined. Tne 

 clause allowing the landlord access to the court was 

 tacked on in the Lords, and the acceptance of the 

 amendment bv Gladstone completely alienated the 

 Irish party. The court may compel the tenant to sell 

 his holding to the landlord, receiving full compensa- 

 tion as agreed upon or fixed by the court, in case the 

 ground is required for the good of the estate or for build- 

 ings, laborers' cottages, places of worship, schools, dis- 

 pensaries, or clergymen's or schoolmasters' residences. 



A tenant holding under the Ulster custom may waive 

 the custom and take the benefit of the act as ordinary 

 present tenant, or, if he elects to remain under the 

 custom, he is entitled to compensation for disturbance, 

 to the right to sell, and to the statutory term when he 

 accepts an augmentation of rent. 



The statutory conditions under which the tenant 

 can hold his farm without disturbance are 1. Tiiat 

 he pays his rent. 2. That he does not commit per- 

 sistent waste. 3. That he does not erect buildings or 

 subdivide or sublet the holding without consent of the 

 landlord, grass-land and manured conacre being ex- 

 empted from the restriction. 4. That he commits no 

 act to involve his tenant-right in bankruptcy proceed- 

 ings. 5. That the landlord may enter for mining, 

 quarrying, timber-cutting, or sporting purposes. 6. 

 That he does not open a public-house without the 

 landlord's consent. After the service of an execution 

 for non-payment of rent the tenant has the usual six 

 months for redemption. After the service of notice to 

 quit for violation of the other conditions, the court 

 has power to stop the proceedings, allowing the land- 

 lord damages for any injury suffered. The tenant 

 may brin<* proceedings under the land act in either 

 the Civil Bill Court or the Court of the Land Com- 

 mission, but if summoned before the former court by 

 the landlord he may remove the case to the Land Com- 

 mission. 



Leaseholders for terms expiring within sixty years 

 will enjoy the benefits of the act as present tenants on 

 the expiration of their leases. Tenants who have en- 

 tered into leases since 1870 may have the conditions of 

 the leases reviewed by the court, which is empowered 

 to cancel them if they contain unreasonable or unfair 

 provisions and were accepted by the tenants under 

 fear of eviction or through undue influence. No ten- 

 ant of a holding of less than 30 annual value can con- 

 tract himself out of the benefits of the act. Landlord 

 and tenant may agree to a lease for any term over 

 thirty-one years, the conditions to be approved by the 

 court if for a term less than sixty years. They may 

 also agree to a perpetual lease either at a fixed rent or 

 one subject to revision every fifteen years, the lease to 

 be approved by the court in case the landlord is a ten- 

 ant for life or a limited owner. 



Provision is made in the act for advances to tenants 

 of holdings of less than 30 value in arrears at the time 

 of ite passage. , If they settle for one year's rent, the 



Land Commissioners will advance one half the pre- 

 vious arrears, not to exceed one year's rent, and the 

 remaining debt is canceled. Tenants against whom 

 decrees of ejectment have been taken out are entitled 

 to the same benefits. All such tenants may sell their 

 interests. Proceedings for ejectment may be stayed 

 by decree of the court, in order to have a fair rent 

 fixed. 



The act contains special provisions for the benefit of 

 laborers. The court may sanction the resumption by 

 the landlord of part of the holding for the benefit of 

 laborers in respect of cottages, gardens, or allotments, 

 on such conditions and terms as it may think right, 

 including full compensation to the tenant. A tenant 

 may, after notice to the landlord, let any portion of 

 his land, not exceeding half an acre for each laborer, 

 and not exceeding one letting for every twenty-one 

 acres of the tenant's holding, subject to selection and 

 arrangement as to rent by the court, with or without 

 dwellings, to laborers employed on the holding. In 

 fixing the judicial rent, the court may require cottages 

 to be built and allotments made for laborers, and de- 

 termine the rents to be paid by them. Tenants- are 

 entitled to apply for an advance of money for the pur- 

 pose of building dwellings for laborers, under the 

 landed property improvement act. 



Liberal provisions are made for advances from the 

 public funds to encourage the formation of a peasant 

 proprietary. The commissioners after settling on a 

 price to be paid for a holding by a tenant may advance 

 three fourths of the purchase-money, and, if the land- 

 lord agrees, may leave the other fourth as a lien upon 

 the property. If a sufficient number of tenants on an 

 estate are able and willing to purchase their holding?, 

 the commissioners may ouy the estate and eell the 

 holdings to the tenants, and may advance three fourths 

 of the price. All advances must be repaid in annual 

 installments within thirty -five years, and bear 5 per 

 cent interest ; if the tenant pays the debt off sooner, 

 he obtains more favorable terms. A peasant proprie- 

 tor who is in debt for advances must not divide or 

 sublet his holding without leave, but may sell. The 

 commission may liave it sold if the purchaser become 

 bankrupt, or it on his death it is to be subdivided by 

 the operation of the laws of inheritance. The com- 

 missioners are also empowered to advance money to 

 assist emigration, especially of families from the more 

 thickly populated districts, making provision for their 

 transport and reception at their destination. 



When Parliament reassembled, April 25th, 

 the Conservatives commenced their assaults 

 upon the Government measure with a series 

 of troublesome questions by Mr. Gibson on the 

 fixing of a fair rent and other provisions of the 

 bill, and the debate soon took an acrimonious 

 tone. The substitute measure of Lord John 

 Manners, providing for the liberal expenditure 

 of public money in fostering Irish industries, 

 was at first proposed by the Tories as an alter- 

 native policy, but it was withdrawn and they 

 were left only with Lord Elcho's protesting 

 amendment, which condemned the bill as 

 " economically unsound, unjust, and impolitic." 

 This was rejected by a majority of just two to 

 one. The moderate and some of the extreme 

 Home Eulers, as well as most of the Ulster Con- 

 servatives, allied themselves to the Ministerial- 

 ists in support of the measure. Mr. Parnell de- 

 nounced it as a "miserable dole," and, with a 

 portion of his party, refused to vote for the sec- 

 ond reading. When the bill was discussed in 

 committee, the Conservative resistance to the 

 general policy was recommenced, but was soon 

 abandoned by direction of Sir Stafford North- 



