THE ACT OF 1875 181 



Central Chamber), but it was defeated by 166 to 121 votes. 

 Other amendments of a similar nature, moved by Mr. Picker- 

 ing Phipps and Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen, were also nega- 

 tived. The Act was consequently placed upon the statute 

 book as an unconditionally permissive measure, and so 

 became almost a dead letter, for the majority of farm agree- 

 ments subsequently entered into contracted out of the Act. 

 Mr. Lipscomb, however, in an article in The Land Magazine 

 for September, 1898, asserted " That the whole agricultural 

 community were benefited by this just recognition of the 

 tenants' capital being among our statutes," since it gave a 

 great impetus to the introduction of more equitable agreements 

 upon large estates. As Mr. Lipscomb was one of the first 

 to urge the necessity of legislation in this direction his words 

 must carry weight, for to use his own words in the article 

 referred to " When I undertook the management of a large 

 estate and found the leases which had prevailed from the 

 beginning of the century entirely silent on the subject of 

 tenant right, I had my attention earnestly directed to supply - 

 the deficiency." 



In 1879 the Council unanimously resolved that the power 

 of distraint should be limited to a shorter time than the law 

 then provided, and that provision should be made for the 

 reasonable protection of owners of agistment stock. 



In 1880 the Ground Game Act was passed. When intro- 

 ducing the Bill on behalf of the Government the Home Secre- 

 tary (Sir Wm. Harcourt) claimed support for his measure on 

 the faith of the resolutions of the Chamber passed in 1870. 

 The Bill was unanimously approved by the Council on 8th 

 June. 



Dissatisfaction with the Agricultural Holdings Act of 1875 

 was growing apace, and this year four Bills were introduced 

 by Mr. Chaplin, Mr. Samuelson, Mr. Staveley-Hill, and Sir 

 Thomas Acland dealing with the subject. The Council, on 

 1st July, unanimously expressed their approval of the prin- 

 ciple of all these four measures, namely, that compensation 

 .should be secured to outgoing tenants. 



Bills were again introduced in 1881 by Mr. Chaplin and 



