5© Thr Landed Interest. 



to the value of twenty-five millions sterling was 

 disposed of, twenty-four of which were distri- 

 buted among creditors. In order to secure the 

 landowners' prompt attention in future to the 

 condition of the people, the incidence of the 

 poor-rates, which had previously been placed 

 wholly on the tenant-occupier, was divided 

 equally between him and the landowner. In 

 fifteen years, emigration and the sale of encum- 

 bered estates had removed the most needy class 

 of the population. Prosperity then began again 

 to dawn upon agriculture in Ireland, works of 

 improvement followed the introduction of 

 capital, supplied partly by Government loans 

 and partly by the new landowners. Labour 

 having become less plentiful, was better em- 

 ployed and more liberally paid, and the more 

 energetic of the small farmers were ready to 

 enlarge their holdings on every favourable op- 

 portunity. As time went on, a great change 

 was found to have taken place, the old eagerness 

 for the occupancy of land returned, but not for 

 Decrease its subdivision. In less than thirty years, 



of smallest 



holdings 2/0,000 of the smallest holdings were merged 



I 



