THE VALUE OF IRISH LAND.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Your correspondent, "An Irish Barrister," concludes his letter, published in your last number, by affirming that to talk, as I have done, of ten years' purchase, or anything near it, as ever having been accepted in open market for fee. simple lands let to agricultural tenants, is pure romance. This somewhat startling language compels me, although unwilling to prolong a tedious controversy about easily-ascertainable facts, to trouble you with a vindication of my accuracy. Your correspondent having investigated the books of the Landed Estates Court, takes four cases referred to by Mr. Murrough O'Brien in your number of the 28th ult., and as to
the first, third, and fourth of these cases, states circumstances which, if not controverted, take away their value as illustra- tions of the subject under discussion. I do not think he is equally successful as to the second case ; but it is unnecessary, to pursue that question, because Mr. O'Brien refers to five other instances of the sale of land, at 7+, 10k, 111, 13+, and 14 Years' purchase ; and as "An Irish Barrister" leaves these five cases unnoticed it is a legitimate inference that his examination of the
• of the Landed Estates' Court has not supplied him with any grounds for controverting them.
I have only just been able to obtain the Parliamentary re- turns mentioned by Mr. O'Brien, but even a hasty examination of them has brought to light the following six cases. (It is possible that the two last are identical with cases already re- ferred to by Mr. O'Brien, but I retain them, as this is by no means clear) :—On November 19th, 1869, 1,414 acres of land in Galway (Lynch's estate), net rental, £171 is., sold for £1,500 being less than 9 years' purchase. On December 10th, 1867, 363 acres of land in Sligo (Jones's estate), net rental, £174 9s., sold for 22,000, being 111 years' purchase. On July 15th, 1873, 104. acres of land in Galway (O'Blake's estate), net rental, £811s.
sold for £1,060, being just over 13 years' purchase. On February 8th, 1876, 6 acres of land in Waterford (Eyre's estate), net rental, £28 16s. 9d., sold for £260, being about 9f years' purchase. On March 17th, 1876, 199 acres of land in Louth (Bailie's estate), net rental, £169 19s. 6d., sold for £1,250, -being nearly 71 years' pur- chase. On February 29th, 1876, 132 acres of land in Roscommon (Lord Kilmaine's estate), net rental, £263 Os. 9d., sold for 22,970, being about 11+ years' purchase. Most significant fact of all, it appears from these returns that for the year ending: October 31st, 1869, the average price realised upon all sales of fee-simple land in the Province of Connaught, where rack-rents most prevail, was under 18 years' purchase (17-831; and for the
• ending October 31st, 1873, it was but little over 171 years' purchase (1759). As these averages include many well-circum- stanced estates, which sold for 25 years' purchase and upwards,. they set in a strong light the lowness of the prices fetched by the general run of rack-rented estates.
The Parliamentary Returns I have referred to are confined to sales of fee-simple land, subject only to quit-rent and tithe-rent charge. Unless these Returns are also "pure romance," I think they fully justify the statement in my first letter that a man might " now and then" (as I expressed it) have bought laud in the Landed Estates' Court at 10 years' purchase.—I am,.
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