IRELAND.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:]
SIR,—In noticing the paper in Fraser on the working of the Irish Land Act, you say that it "will not extinguish one form of agrarian crime, fearful quarrels among the peasantry themselves." If the new land law does not strike at the root of this kind of crime equally with the murder of landlords, agents, and bailiffs, it is because the law is defective. The latter kind of crime arose from the fact that as tenant-right was not recognized by the Courts, a tenant who was wronged had no legal redress ; and the former kind arose from the fact that from the same defect in the law, the Courts refused jurisdiction in the family quarrels of the tenants about their rights in their farms. It is as competent for the Legislature to remedy one defect as the other.
In your summary of news of the 9th you say, "The Irish talk about absenteeism as the result of annoyance at the absence of a certain kind of society in Ireland, and of nothing else. Economi- cally, absenteeism no more injures a country than the ownership of its State debt by foreigners does." This is quite true, as to the mere economics of the subject, but I need not remind you that economics form but a small part of politics. If a very large part of our enormous State Debt were held by foreigners, or, what is the same for the present purpose, were believed to be held by them, would a breach of faith with the public creditor be felt to be so impossible as it is? You may be assured there is a feeling of very great soreness on the subject in nearly all classes of society in Ireland, though it finds little expression, because it is difficult to see any remedy consistent with the rights of property ; never- theless, it is a main cause of the sympathy with the Home-Rule agitation which is felt by a great number who do not like to identify themselves with the agitators. I say this without being in any degree a " home-ruler " myself.
The evil of absenteeism may be slight economically, though you will never get average Irishmen to think so ; but morally and politi- cally it is very great ; and though it cannot be attacked by legisla- tion directly (for I utterly repudiate the wild notion of a crushing income-tax on absentees), legislation may do much indirectly to put an end to it. The euthanasia of absenteeism is for the absentee landlords to sell to others who intend to reside ; and the ways to promote such a result are these:— First, give us vote by ballot. This will destroy the political power of the landlords, while it weakens that of the priests, and will deprive any one of political motive for continuing to be an Irish landlord.
Next, make land as transferable AB Consols. Whatever effect this may have in England, in Ireland it will be to cause land to
be sold in properties of moderate size to persons who will live on or near them. This has been the effect of the Landed Estates' Court, the only approach in these kingdoms to genuine free trade
Previous page
