LAND TENURE 



Many volumes have been written on land tenure in Ireland. It 

 is probable that many more volumes will be written, for it has 

 been and, if it is not now, may again be the storm centre of 

 Irish life. It would be impertinence to attempt adequately to 

 deal with a subject so vast and so complex in a single chapter of 

 an agricultural report. It would be unpardonable not to deal with 

 it at all. We shall confine ourselves to a rough sketch of the 

 history of land tenure in Ireland from 1869, when the land of 

 Ireland was mostly held by tenant farmers, to the present day, 

 when it is rapidly passing into the hands of occupying owners. 



Tenancies 



In the year 1869, the great majority of the tenant farmers of 

 Ireland held their land, not under comparatively long leases, such 

 as we have been accustomed to in Scotland, but under yearly 

 tenancies. The farm buildings were erected and permanent im- 

 provements made in Ireland, not by the landlord, as is generally 

 the case in this country, but by the tenant. The landlord, in' 

 Ireland, provided the land ; the tenant erected the buildings and 

 made the improvements. Each contributed to the capital that 

 made the farm a lettable subject. But so soon as the tenant 

 made his contribution, it became in law the property of the 

 landlord. The landlord thus owned everything, his own share 

 which he contributed, and the tenant's share which he did not 

 contribute. It was a unique partnership. Both partners con- 

 tributed the capital, and one took all the profit. Justice de- 

 manded a fairer division. The Land Act of 1870 was passed 

 with the object of securing a fairer division. In that Act is 

 the seed of all land reform since carried out in Ireland. It pro- 

 vided compensation for improvements, and also for disturbance. 

 It recognised tenant right in a modified form. It was not, how- 

 ever, entirely successful. It did not sufficiently protect the 

 tenant's share in the farm. But the years from 1870 to 1878 

 were years of agricultural prosperity. Prices were high, and 

 tenants were content to pay increased rents rather than give up 

 their farms and claim compensation. The Act was found wanting 

 when the agricultural boom passed away and crops failed, as they 

 did in Ireland in 1879. The old rents could no longer be paid. 

 Evictions increased. Crimes followed. The Irish Land Act of 

 1881 was the result. That Act was the just and logical outcome 

 of a system of land tenure which permitted landlord and tenant 

 each to contribute a share of the capital necessary for making the 



