On Monday, the discussion on the Irish Land Bill turned
chiefly on the points whether, for "reasonable and sufficient" purposes, affecting the good of the holding or of the estate, or the benefit of the labourers, the Court may authorise the landlord to reserve the whole or part of the holding, on paying full com- pensation to the tenant; and on the point whether, in case of such a resumption made for the benefit of the labourers, the tenant shall or shall not be entitled to compensation. On the first point, the House decided in the affirmative, with the full concurrence of the Irish Liberals, though against the wish of the Home-rulers. On the second point, the House decided that the tenant must be compensated for any resumption made, even though it were the resumption only of a twenty-fifth part of the holding, and made for the benefit of the labourers on the estate. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the discussion turned on the new and higher scale of " compensation for disturbance," which, in the case of the larger tenants, the Government hd,ve elightly lowered since the Bill was drawn, though they defeated Mr. W. H. Smith in successive attempts still further to lower the rimximum scale of compensation for these larger tenants.
