LAND IMPKOVEMENT ACT. 177 



rates is adopted. Without that, it would be clearly 

 imprudent, in the more distressed districts, to lend 

 money for this purpose on the security of the land. 



But if any comprehensive scheme is adopted for the 

 West of Ireland, this should form an important feature 

 in the plan. The immediate employment provided 

 would include masons, carpenters, nailmakers, sawyers, 

 and a numerous class of tradesmen and contractors, who 

 receive no direct benefit from the other operations going 

 on at present under the Land Improvement Act. This 

 would also benefit the towns and villages, and thus 

 diffuse employment generally throughout the country. 



The chief thing to be guarded against is, that landlords, 

 already embarrassed, might still farther involve them- 

 selves, by becoming bound for the repayment of the Govern- 

 ment loan, without having the capital necessary to turn the 

 buildings to a profitable account. Very stringent regula- 

 tions would be required to prevent such an occurrence. 



In granting Government loans for the improvement 

 of land, it is here necessary to remark, that Parliament 

 committed an oversight in not assigning the proportions 

 in which the instalments are equitably due by the land- 

 lord and tenant severally. The almost universal rule 

 in Scotland has been to lay the whole burden on the 

 tenant. There can be little doubt but that draining, 

 if judiciously executed, will be profitable to a tenant, 

 even at 6| per cent, and that he would be quite right to 

 take upon himself the whole 6 J per cent, (which includes 

 principal and interest,) on obtaining a lease of his land 

 for twenty-two -years, and on being guaranteed the differ- 

 ence of value which his farm would thereby be worth to 



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