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TOBiW
THE IRISH LAND QUESTION.
IE
Fom
)vmw[ \)M\)
t
EI
IN IRELAND.
BY
LEWIS MOFFATT,
XToronto.
TORONTO:
a BLACKETT ROBINSON, T- JORDAN STREET.
1886.
(
(
THE IRISH LAND QUESTIONr '^'^
V\\J\
Ir
1!
[(
\ mm 11111
im
il
IN IRELAND,
HY
LEWIS MOFFATT,
Uovotito.
TOliONTO :
(\ BLACKETT KOEINSON, 5 JORDAN STREET.
,.
u
THE IRISH LAND QUESTION.
SCHEME FOR A PEASANT PROPRIETARY IN IRELAND.
It is now six years since a calamitous failure of the crops
in Ireland drew the attention of the civilized world to the
destitution which then prevailed in that unhappy country, the
most highly favoured by Nature, in its soil and climate, of any
portion of the United Kingdom. The condition of Ireland at
that time, with its political and economical troubles, so inter-
ested me that I was led to prepare a paper dealing with the
Land Question, in which I proposed a remedy for the country's
ills which 1 hoped would meet the wants of the people, raise
them in the scale of being, and prevent the recurrence of such
scenes of poverty and destitution as periodically presented
themselves for relief to the charity of more highly favoured
and prosperous communities. The ideas advanced in that
paper were those which, if political agitation and agrarian
outrage are ever to cease in Ireland, must be adopted, namely :
that land must come under the ownership of those who expend
their industry in giving it or maintaining its value, and from
which only they can adequately derive support. The present
laws which govern the tenure of land in Ireland, and exclude
agricultural labourers from the politic ownership of the soil
they cultivate, must continue to work out their crop of trouble,
and perpetuate an hereditary degraded class, with no stimulus
to industry or thrift, and no hope but to sink deeper and
deeper in the mire of poverty and serfdom. The full and com-
plete possession of the land by those who till it is admittedly
the only motive sufficient to induce men hopefully and success-
fully to cultivate it ; and, in the condition of things in Ireland,
it is, I am convinced, the one proposal likely to content labour,
remove disaffection, and allay strife. All laws, I hold, there-
fore, which restrain the present proprietors from selling their
lands, which perpetuate the evils of primogeniture and entail,
i:
4" 77ie Irish Land Question :
and which continue to grind th(i face of labour for the bonefit
of absentee landlords and extortioners, must be altered, and
some scheme adopted which will meet the circumstances of tlie
case. The solution of the problem, to my mind, is to be found
in the acquisition or expropriation by the Imperial Govern-
ment of such tracts of land in Ireland as can be advantageously
worked by a peasant proprietary, to be; sold to them on easy
conditions of payment — a fair value, determined by competent
and disinterested appraisers, being paid to the present owners
of the iands acquired or expropriated.
The present moment I have thought opportune for repro-
ducing the details of the scheme proposed by me in 1880, and
embodied in an article published in the (Janadinn A'Joidhly for
December of that year. The proposal was so favourably
received and commented upon at the time that I am induced
now to republish it, in the hope that it may aid in the solution
of a problem which presents great difficulties to th<; statesmen
and legistators wlio are now pressingly called to deal with the
question. The details of my scheme were at the time briefly
summarized in an English journal — the London Globe of May
6th, 1881 — and may here be quoted for the benefit of those
who, before reading the paper itself, may wish to see in brief
what are the drift and scope of my suggestions :
A PEASANT PROPRIETARY. — THE TORONTO PROPOSAL FOR RIGHT-
ING Ireland's wrongs.
"A writer in the Canadian Monthly^ a magazine of consider-
able ability, published at Toronto, propounds a tempting scheme
by which a peasant proprietary might be created in Ireland
without doing wrong to any one, and without eventually cost-
ing the State a farthing. The first step is that any land-
ov^ner who wished to dispose of his property should address a
pr vposal to that effect to the Government. The value having
bcf n ascertained by duly qualified experts appointed for the
purpose, the owner would receive payment in scrip, carrying
three per cent, interest, the same being guaranteed by Go\'ern-
meivfc. This part of the business being finished, the land so
acquired would be put up for sale in lots, small or big, as
circumstances might render advisable, but the purchaser would
not he asked to pay up at once. During the first five years,
he v^j'ild merely have tc hand in annually an amount equiva-
I
T
A Peasant Proprietary. 5
lent to five per cent, on the purchase money. At the end of
that period, however, he would have to pay one quarter of his
outstanding indebtedness, and so on, until at the end of
twonty years the whole was liquidated. The ditference of two
per cent, between the interest payable by Government on th(^
scrip and the amount received from the purchaser under that
head would be retained to cover expenses, any balance going
eventually to the scrip-holders. These latter, too, would have
the right of deciding, at the termination of the twenty years,
whether they would prefer to retain their .scrip in perpetuity,
or to hand it back to Government in exchange for the money
received by the latter from the purchaser. The scheme, it will
be seen, is not without merit, the chief objection being that it
would temporarily conyert the State into a landlord, and thus
bring the Government into greater odium than ever with the
Irish people." — London Globe^ May 6, 1881.
My proposals, it will be seen, suggest a simple but constitu-
tional plan — new at the time in Britain, but since taken up
and more or less seriously considered — for dealing with the
land troubles of Ireland, and likely to relieve the country at
once of agitation and distress. The plan is based on the mode
of settlement known to be adopted in the early history of the
colonies, and which, on repeated occasions, was advantageously
acted upon at one period in the history of Canada. At the time
my paper was published, the Imperial Government of the day
was about to submit a measure to Parliament dealing with the
Land Question, which, it was confidently atfirmed, would solve
this, the most interesting and important of questions affecting
the United Kingdom and its dependencies. Not only this,
but other remedial measures, have been passed in Parliament
without successfully curing the evils Ireland has long com-
plained of, or, in any appreciable degree, pacifying the people.
Year by year matters have become worse ; and the longer the
true remedy is withheld the more bitter will be the feeling of
the Irish people, and the more surely will disloyalty and trea-
son raise their heads.
A word or two, briefly, on the objections likely to be raised
to my scheme. First, it may be said, as indeed the London
Globe has said, that the expropriation of the land for the benefit
of its occupiers converts the State into a landlord — the supreme
object of Irish aversion. To this I reply that it is a necessity
;,
6
TJie Irish Land Question:
of the situation, though only a temporary one ; and should the
measure be taken up and acted upon, it is clear that the Govern-
ment, in so beneficent an act, would not symbolize the landlord
of Irish prejudice and hatred, and in its relations with the
peasant proprietors would take care to conciliate and smooth
the path of those who sought to raise themselves in the social
and industrial scale. Care would also have to be taken that,
until the new proprietors had paid oil* their indebtedness on
the land, facilities should be withheld from them in obtaining
advances from money-lenders on the amounts paid to Govern-
ment on their lands, or on improvements made in their hold-
ings. To allow too easy a resort to the money-lender would be
fatal to the scheme; and it is important that safeguards should
surround the peasant proprietor during the period of the Gov-
ernment's relations with him. One other objection remains to
be noticed, namely, that no ameliorating Government measure
will satisfy Irish discontent or remove Celtic aversion to Saxon
rule. But this, in my opinion, is too pessimistic a view to be
reasonably held. Give the Irish peasant, what he has never
had, a stake in the country, and the game of the professional
political agitator will cease. Foreign inciters of sedition and
rebellion, the strong hand of the law should with rigour sup-
press ; and this pestilent class, I hoi)e, the Government will
have no scruple in sharply dealing with and thrusting from the
kingdom.
Since the paper was written, it has been ascertained that
there are large tracts of land in Ireland which might be advan-
tageously reclaimed at a moderate outlay, and this work the
Government might undertake so as to give immediate employ-
ment to needy peasants, and add to the cultivable and produc-
ing area of the island. The extent of these waste lands is
estimated at seven or eight millions of acres. For their
recovery I would urge upon Government the wisdom and
policy of expropriating these lands and expending, say, half a
million a year on their reclamation. This enterprise would
not only be profitable to the Crown, but materially aid in the
working out of the larger scheme — of redeeming the land from
the present holders of it and assisting the poor peasant in
raiping himself to the status, with all that this implies, of a
prosperous and contented landowner. That accomplished, the
distress which weighs heavily on vast bodies of men in Ireland
i,
7^
c-
•l»
A Vedsani Projrrietary. 7
would be removed, and the agitations that convulse the country
and imperil the peace and integrity of the Empire would be
allayed.
In addition to reclaiming the land, Government might witli
gn'at advantag«? to Ireland expcmd i conaiderabh! Hum in erect-
ing the port of (ialway into a harbour, fitted to make it a
station for the arrival and departure of a fleet of tirst-clasH
Ocean Steamers, by which the voyage to and from Quebec, via
tin* straits of Belle Isle, would l)e shortened by two days, at
least, and the effect of which would give that route a monopoly
of the carriage of the European mails and the passenger tiaflic.
L. M.
Beverley Stiiekt, Toiionto, tifjth March^ 188G.
THE IRISH LAND QUESTION
fFrom the Canadian Month lv, for I)ectj.J>r)', 1880. J
The present condition of a large portion of the iMhal)iidnts
of Ireland is most deplorable : great nuujbers are on the verge
of starvation, and appeals for aid on their behalf are made to
fh*' wealthy and charitable in the British Dominions, in the
United States, and also in other countries. Poverty always
abounds in Ireland : it seems to be chronic in that unhappy
country, but every few years a season of extreme destitution
oc(!urs, owing principally to a failure in the harvest ; and con-
se<juently a cry of agony is then raised, that extends from t!ie
shores of the Island to the dwellers in more favoured countries.
This cry has often been heard, and as often been })iactically
aiifswered by sympathizing people, who have contributed of their
substance to relieve those who stretched out their hands to them
in their emergency.
The requests that are now so urgently made for assistance
are being promptly and heartily responded to ; large amounts
of money and provisions are being collected and forwarded for
th(^ benefit of those who require relief, and the probability is
that enough will be obtained to meet the present emergency ;
8
The Irish Land Question
but as public attention has been so impressively called to the
wretchedness of Ireland, would it- not be well to consider
whether anything could be done to prevent a recurrence of
those painful events, which, to a more or less extent, are so
frequently thrust upon the notice of the world ? It is not
creditable to Ireland, nor to the Great British Empire of which
it forms so important a part, that it should be obliged to assume
such a humiliating position as it now exhibits. Are there any
means that can be devised in order to make this public appli-
cation for charitable assistance the last it shall be obliged to
put forth ] Can anything be done to remove the causes that
produce the effects under which it at present suffers, and which,
for many years, have kept it in a state of tribulption and
discontent ?
Ireland is mainly an agricultural country, and the great
majority of its population derive their subsistence from their
farms. The condition of the people therefore depends in a
special manner upon their relation to the soil. Is its land
extensive enough for their numbers] Is it advantageously
owned, and judiciously worked 1 and are the revenues derived
from it properly expended 1
In a speech made by Mr. Dowd, at a large meeting held in
New York a short time since, he said that the Island contained
about twenty million acres, on which reside about five millions
of people ; this would give an average of about four acres to
each individual were the surface equally divided among them.
Assuming that Mr. Dowd is correct, which, I think, is the case,
as he speaks as one having personal experience of the facts, it
would appear that the country, making due allowance for
pleasure grounds, and for waste places, and bearing in mind
that a certain number of the community are engaged in trades,
in commerce, and in other occupations, was fairly capable of
sustaining its present population. If so, this would dispose of
the question as to the extent of area.
Then, as to the advantageou.s ownership of the land. The
argument is that most of the country is owned by comparatively
few persons, and is held by them under such laws as make it
almost impossible for most of the peasants ever to own even a
single acre of the domains they occupy. The custom of many
of the large landowners is to live out of the country, and to let
their estates in parcels to tenants, who sub-let to others, who
f
\
A Peasant Proprietary.
9
sub-let in their turn, and so on, until at last the allotments
conie down to mere patches that are worked by the tenants of
many tenants, each lessor attempting to make something ouc
of the lessee, and it is evident the great burden of these trans-
actions falls at last upon the ultimate and poorest link in the
chain. It is not to be expected that land, held in such a
manner, would be judiciously worked, or could be said to be
advantageously owned.
I will now consider how the revenues derived from the
tenantry are expended. All the lands in Ireland are not treated
in the way I have described ; some of the landlords reside in
the country, and either farm their own proi)erties, or else rent
them to immediate tenants, allowing of no middlemen. The
rents and profits received by these landlords are expended in
their respective neighbourhoods to the benefit of all parties
concerned, but the remainder of these landlords, and these
among the largest proprietors, act otherwise. They are non-
resident, and allow their estates to be let and re-let, careless of
how they are managed, provided the rents are paid to them as
they become due, their object being to screw as large a rental
as they can out of their tenantry, with as little trouble as
possible. They form the class well known under the name of
absentees, and as such drain the country continuously of a
large amount of its annual earnings. It is impossible that any
community can be prosperous that is subjected to such a mode
of treatment : of course there are noble exceptions to the class
I have described.
The resident and the absent '>e proprietors differ widely in
many respects as to their characteristics and their degree of
influence on society, yet several of them agree in this, they are
large landholders, although they are comparatively few in
number, yet they hold their estates in huge blocks, and under
laws that are adverse to its distribution into small portions.
Sume of them, perhaps, would sell if they could, but it may be
their estates are encumbered, and perhaps entailed, their titles
may be complicated, and even if they were disposed to sell,
they might have greao difl&culty in finding suitable purchasers.
Irish tenants are not the only persons that have suflfered.
Owing to the treatment of the lands I have described, the
landlords have very frequentlj'^ failed to obtain the returns they
might expect from their estates. Bad farming and unpropitious
10
The Irish Land Question:
seasons have often rendered it impossible for the tenants to pay
the amounts of their rents, and it has occurred that landlords
some from good nature and others from stern necessity, have
forgiven portions of rent to them by impecunious tenants ; in-
deed, the land laws of the country have proved injurious to the
true interests of the community as a whole.
It is allowed by all who have given attention to Irish aflfairs
that they are in an unsatisfactory position, and that it would
be very desirable if an improvement could be made in them.
It is acknowledged that Ireland suffers under many grievances
that create not only poverty, but also discontent, and it has been
often asked, can these unfavourable circumstances be removed
or even diminished. Various plans have been proposed as
likely to bring about such results : some of these plans have
been of an extreme character, and would never be agreed to by
the landholders. Among the best of the methods proposed,
that of Mr. Bright takes a prominent position, but the adop-
tion of it, in my opinion, is not desirable, as it would entail a
great amount of expense, and throw too much responsibility
on the Government, which it would not be judicious to assume.
It is the object of this paper to suggest a method that seems
to me to be simple and practicable, one that, if carried out,
would materially change the face of the country, and partly
improve the condition of its inhabitants, and that in an easy,
constitutional manner and a mode that would not interfere with
the vested rights of the present estate holders. The scheme is
not one that aims at giving merely temporary relief, or at tran-
siently assisting the tenantry of Ireland, and leaving them
exposed in future years to disasters similar to those under
which they now suffer. It aims at radically altering and ele-
vating their whole social standing for all time to come.
It appears to me that the estates of the country are too
extensive, and in too few hands, that it would be much better
for the nation if the ownership were more divided among the
community, and that if the estates were so divided the soil
would be better cultivated, and therefore would yield larger
returns for the labour bestowed upon it.
The plan I propose is this : let the landlords, who may
desire to do so, surrender their estates to the Government, or
to commissioners appointed for that purpose, sitting in Dublin,
with branches in each county or subdivision of a county, each
.1
<
A Peasant Proprietary.
11
with its statf of land-surveyors and valuators, which shall
report to the central board in Dublin. This would ensure de-
spatch as well as uniformity of procedure. Let the owners
receive an amount of scrip, to be issued by the Government,
equal to the worth of their lands, as ascertained by proper
valuators ; let the commissioners then divide these properties
into smaller holdings, or into such parcels as would best meet
the demand in the various localities, and sell them to persons
prepared to purchase them at prices not less than the valuations
of the experts. The Government would accept lands whose
titles were to their satisfaction. If necessary, an Act of Par-
liament could be passed to cure defects. The deeds issued by
the Government to the purchasers of these divided lands to be
absolute ; in fact, patents from the Crown. Registry Offices to
be established for the enrolment of deeds and documents
affecting the lands.
Suppose the Government acquired and distributed 1,000,000
acres in this manner, and say they were valued at £20 per acre,
this would be .£20,000,000, for which stock would be issued for
the amount, bearing 3 per cent, interest per annum, payable
half-yearly. This stock I propose shall be handed over to the
landholders pro rata in payment of their lands, such stock to
be either perpetual or terminable. When desired, the law of
entail can be extended from the land to its value, invested in
the Government Funds, which stock shall be held liable to all
the conditions of the law of entail, as will be explained
presently.
Let this 1,000,000 acres be sold to purchasers, in small
blocks, at the £20 per acre mentioned above, payable, say, in
four quinquenniax periods, interest half-yearly in advance on
amount unpaid, at 5 per cent, per annum. Of this 5 per cent,
the Government would pay the landlord 3 per cent, as a divi-
dend on the amount of his stock, half-yearly, and retain the 2
per cent, for charges and expenses of various descriptions. At
the end of twenty years the unexpended portion of the 2 per
cent, might be handed to the landlords pro rata.
Let us take an example. A landlord surrenders his estate
of 1,000 acres to the Government, he would receive 3 per cent,
scrip for this, to the amount of £20,000, interest payable thereon
half-yearly £300 ( £600 per annum), the land would be divided
into plots of various dimensions, a person would purchase one
12
The Irish Land Question:
plot, containing, say, five acres, the cost of this at £20 per acre,
would be £100 ; he would pay the first half-year's interest or
rent £2 10s cash down, and thereafter half-yearly in advance,
for five years, when he would pay his first instalment of £25 ;
then, of course, his interest or rent would be correspondingly
diminished, and so on, until at the end of the twenty years
he would have paid all off, principal and interest, and have
acquired an absolute right to his little estate. This mode, if
carried out, would, in a few years, fill the island with a sturdy,
prosperous, and contented body of small landholders.
As to the Government scrip, to be handed to the landlords,
they might elect whether they would have it perpetual or
terminable. If perpetual, the Government would retain the
quinquennial payments for their own use ; but if the landlords
desired it, they might have the scrip terminable, in which case
they would have the quinquennial instalments handed over to
them, consequently their scrip and interest would be propor-
tionately diminished at each payment, and in twenty years the
whole transaction would come to an end. In either mode, the
unused portion of the 2 per cent, retained half-yearly would,
at the close of the transaction, be handed over to the landlord,
the object of the Government being, not to make money on the
lands, but to facilitate their distribution. If there were any
incumbrances on an estate at the time of its transfer to the
commissioners, these officers would retain a sufiicient amount
of scrip to satisfy these claims, and as moneys were received
from the small purchasers, they would liquidate the amount
due.
The values I have put on the lands and on their rentals,
and the terms of payments of instalments on sales, are merely
mentioned for the sake of illustrating the scheme. They could
all be altered to suit the values of the purchasers ; such alter-
ations would not interfere with the general feature of the
project.
For the convenience of purchasers, the Government could
either create a new bank of deposit, or use, say, the Bank of
Ireland for that purpose. The Bank should have branch
ofiices in various places, in all centres of labour, where the
purchasers could pay their half-yearly rents, and also, from
time to time, deposit sums to provide for the quinquennial
payments ; in fact, to be the Savings Banks of the people,
.
A Peasant Proprietary.
13
without the restrictions and limitations of the ordinary Savings
Banks. A liberal rate of interest should be allowed on these
deposits ; everything should be done to induce the people to
deal directly with the State, without the intervention of mid-
dlemen ; they should be educated to regard the Government
as the custodian of their interests, and their best friend. The
cost of management of these Banks would be moderate, con-
sidering the amount of work done by them, and the feeling of
security they would impart to the community. I consider
their establishment highly desirable ; indeed, essential to the
success of the whole undertaking.
The advantages resulting from the proposed division of the
estates would not be confined to the small purchasers, the large
landholders would also be participants, as by means of the
arrangement they would readily obtain fair values, and in the
large majority of cases considerably increased values, for their
properties, and in many instances receive an amount of Gov-
ernment scrip therefor, the interest of which would vastly
exceed the value of their present rentals, and this without
trouble, expense, or uncertainty to them. They would exchange
a certainty for an uncertainty, and at an increase of rental.
An additional benefit that would follow would be that the
vexatious and difficult subject of tenant rights would be
avoided. It would be well, however, for the scheme to embrace
a provision that should a purchaser be able to show that he
had really effected substantial improvements on his property,
an extension of the times of payment might be granted to him.
I think it most likely that many of the large landholders
would, if the Government offered to purchase their domains on
the terms now propounded, readily accept and transfer their
properties accordingly ; this would induce others to follow
their example, as they would soon see that Government scrip
was much better than uncultivated estate and a dissatisfied
tenantry. In my opinion the gentry of Ireland would willingly
adopt any means that would promote the nfc.tional prosperity,
if a feasible scheme were submitted for their consideration.
There would be no difficulty in disposing of the estates if
they were divided into small holdings. The intense desire of
the Irish people to hold land is well known. They will even
now take up their small patches at what to them are enormous
rentals, and the competition evinced for occupancy encourages
u
The Irish Land Question:
the landlords to refrain from making those improvements,
either to the grounds or to the houses, that are customary in
England ; indeed, the houses might be more correctly termed
hovels, many of them not being tit for human habitation.
In order to recommend the adoption of this scheme, and to
show what I believe would be its results, I will narrate the
events of a Canadian undertaking, to which I think it will
bear a strong resemblance.
Some .sixty years ago a gentleman, under certain circum-
stances, was induced to purchase a township, embracing some
40,000 or 50,000 acres, which were covered for the most part
by a dense forest. He laid this land out in plots of 100 and
200 acres, and otFered them for sale. He sold them on the
terms, say, of one-fourth or one-tifth cash down, and the balance
in yearly instalments, with interest on amount unpaid. Some
purchasers were able to make the cash payments, bu'" many
were not, and had nothing to otfer in security but the i' brave
hearts and willing hands. The gentleman for some time felt
quite discouraged at the prospects of his venture, but a shrewd
friend advised him to " hold on," assuring him that as the land
was gradually chiared up, and brought under cultivation, the
settlers would be able to raise crops and pay all their arrears.
This assurance proved correct, and the end of the matter was
that the gentleman, the head of a large family, was enabled,
from the sales of his township, after retaining an ample
competence for him.self, to settle in his Ufetime a handsome
fortune on each of his children, whose descendants to this day
reap the benetit of their ancestor's enterprise. As for the
township, it is now well cleared and settled, and one of the
best in Canada ; and it has been brought to its present condi-
tion by men, many of whom, when they began their labours on
it, were about as poor as men could be. Now, if these Canadian
settlers could hew for themselves comfortable homes out of the
forest, with only the then limited markets in which to dispose
of their products, under how much better auspices would the
Irish farmer start, with his lands all cleared to his hand, and,
in addition, lying within an easy distance of the best markets
in the world.
The Canadian Government has a mode of rendering assist-
ance to settlers in the backwoods that might be adopted in
Ireland — that is, by making grants of money to construct
.
A Peasant Proprietary.
15
roads, bridges, or other improvements. The settlers may, i£
they like, work on these undertakings, and thus earn money to
assist them, during the first few years of their struggle in the
bush, to support their families and to pay the instalments on
their lands. The British Government might undertake public
works in Ireland upon or near the estates under consideration,
on which, perhaps, many of the purchasers could find employ-
ment, and the workmen would deposit in the branch or savings
banks as much of their earnings as they could atford, and thus
be assisted to provide for the amount of the quinquennial
instalments on their little freeholds.
It is true the Government frequently spends a considerable
amount of money on public works in Ireland, but the funds so
distributed afford merely temporary relief to those who may
be employed on them. Nothing permanent results from the
assistance thus given ; but if the labourers had before their
eyes the prospect of securing a comfortable homestead, they
would be stimulated to make exertions and practise frugality
in order to accomplish so desirable a result. Under fair cir-
cumstances, there are no more frugal or industrious men than
Irishmen ; this is continually shown here, in Canada, some of
whose most prosperous citizens are of that nationality. It is
well known that great numbers of the Irish peasants go over
yearly to England, to assist the farmers to gather in their
harvests, and thus earn a few pounds with which to pay the
rents of their miserable holdings at home ; and surely the men
who would go such a distance to earn money to discharge their
mere rents would gladly work, if nece.ssary, doubly hard in
their own country to ensure to them the acquisition of a piece
of freehold property.
If the British Government deemed it advisable, they might
make a special grant to the purchasers, to assist them, say, in
the payment of their first instalment of rent, or interest, but
this would be quite an act of favour. It must be borne in
mind that for the first twenty years the purchasers would
pay merely interest and instalments, all rates and charges on
land being paid during that time by the Government, out
of the two per cent, retained by them ; but at the expiration
of the twenty years, the purchasers would become educated
to assume these responsibilities, and would in fact become
** Home Rulers" through their municipal government.
16
Th9 Irish Land Question,
I do not wish at all to discourage emigration from Ireland
to Canada; I believe it would greatly benefit Ireland if she sent
her surplus population to this country, where there is ample
room for any number of settlers ; but a certain amount of
people will always prefer to remain in the land of their nativity,
rather than encounter the trials consequent upon a removal to
a far-off country.
If at any time a small proprietor wanted to sell his holding,
he could easily find a purchaser, who would recompense him for
his improvements or payments thereon; indeed, the probability
is, that on account of these improvements the place would
have increased so much in value that the settler would make a
profit from his outlay on it.
The creation of a class of small yeoman landholders would
be of great advantage to Ireland: it would calm the public mind,
get rid of agitators, and immediately please the people, as it
would bring the land back into the hands of the descendants of
those who owned the country in olden times. It would
give to the new proprietors of the soil a direct and important
stake in the country, and make them deeply interested in its
peace and advancement. The benefits that would result to
England would be equally great. She would have a poor and
discontented neighbour changed into a thriving and satisfied
friend, for Ireland, by enjoying her own resources, would
rapidly accumulate wealth. The people of both countries
would recognize that their great interests were identical, and
desire each other's prosperity ; for Ireland would find in Eng-
land a ready and lucrative market for her agricultural products,
and in consequence become enriched. She would, in her turn,
consume a large amount of English manufactures, the profits on
which would be much more valuable to England than the
amount of money now spent in it by the Irish absentees.
Reciprocal advantages would bind the islands together, and
make them indeed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland.
Thus the moral and material interests of a free and generous
people would be assured and a great national object attained,
without infringing on vested rights and (since the scheme is
self-supporting) without adding to the burdens of the State.
LEWIS MOFFATT.
tl