138 High Rent of Land near Dublin. 



allowance is made for the exemption of the 

 former from poor's rates and taxes. The county 

 rates and repairs, however, must be acknow- 

 ledged as weighty charges on the Irish tenant, 

 whose account with his landlord is a running 

 one, and the balance against him forms, in 

 general, the principal part of his capital. The 

 regularity in payment of rents to the English 

 landlord has a decided advantage, and is no 

 small argument in favor of a substantial te- 

 nantry. 



On our return to Dublin this morning, we 

 saw a fine pasture field completely overrun with 

 docks and seeded ragwort ; on expressing our 

 astonishment to Mr. Roper, he asked what we 

 might suppose to be the rent. Accustomed 

 to hear of six, eight, and ten pounds per acre, 

 in spite of its extremely neglected state, I men- 

 tioned the latter sum. Erroneous conjecture ! 

 it was let at the rate of seventeen pounds per 

 acre! How is it possible,under any circumstances 

 of luxuriant produce, that such rents can be 

 paid ? The cow keepers in London do not pay 

 more than about twelve pounds, or the Bat- 

 tersea gardeners more than about fifteen pounds 

 the acre : at least I never heard of higher rents 

 near our metropolis. Hard by this was a field 

 of clover standing for seed, which also bore so 



6 



