xvi HOW TO NATIONALIZE THE LAND 279 



prospect of success, the rest must be left to the influence 

 of a sense of secure ownership, and the possession of a 

 tenant-right under far more favourable conditions than 

 was ever asked for or thought possible, even in Ireland. 

 Of course there will always be a few men so utterly 

 thriftless, idle, or incompetent, as, under the most 

 favourable conditions, to come to ruin. For such there is no 

 help, and they must be left to sink to the condition of un- 

 skilled day-labourers. 1 But there is no reason to think that 

 men of this stamp will be much more numerous in 

 Ireland than elsewhere ; and we may fairly expect that 

 under such extremely favourable conditions of tenure as 

 this scheme would give them, the Irish agriculturist, on 

 whatever scale, would work with the same devotion and 

 energy as in any other country where there is complete 

 security that the result of every hour's additional labour 

 will be to increase the permanent value of his own property, 

 and thus add to the well-being of himself and his family. 

 It has often been urged that no system of State-owner- 

 ship of the land ought to be adopted, even if practicable, 

 because it would be impossible to avoid jobbery and 

 favouritism by the officials who would have the power of 

 letting the Government lands; and the objection has been 

 thought to be very serious, even by those who see all the 

 evils inherent in unrestricted personal property in land. 

 But it will be evident that no such objection applies to 

 the plan here advocated, because no State official, or 

 Government officer whatever, would have anything to do 

 with letting the land, and could not possibly favour one 

 person more than another even if he were disposed to do 

 so. This arises from the fact, that in all enclosed and 

 cultivated lands, the " tenant-right," or that portion of 

 the land's value which has been given to it by preceding 

 holders, will have a personal owner By virtue of this 

 ownership of the " tenant-right," he has an indefeasible 

 title to hold the land, subject only to the payment of the 

 National " ground-rent ; " and as this " tenant-right " will 

 be a marketable commodity, and one without the posses- 



1 In Chapter XXV. it is shown that even this class might be ren- 

 dered industrious and self-supporting. 



