There is a kind of drift visible in the discussion
of this Irish Land question which is worth noting. It may arrive nowhere, for until Mr. Gladstone has spoken even the direction of the stream is uncertain ; but still there is a kind of drift, and it is towards a Thirty Years' Settlement, as it is called in India, that is, compul- sory leases for thirty years, with rents increasing slightly each year, either by an increase arbitrarily fixed, or by an arrange- ment resembling the commutation of the tithe. We have little doubt such a measure would pacify Ireland, and are inclined to think one at least of the objections a little ridiculous. It is said that such a settlement only postpones the diffi- culty. Very possibly. A cure only postpones death, but one swallows the doctor's stuff for all that. Besides, this particular dose, if effective, can be repeated, like any other alterative, and thirty years of peace may change all Ireland. At the same time, all experience proves that a thirty years' settlement is attended with one considerable evil. For the last seven years the leaseholder will do nothing, will, in fact, rack the land all he can, so that at the next valuation he may get a low rent. If, however, we could get the system of Hindostan Proper in its entirety, a Thirty Years' Settlement, with absolute right of re-entry on the new valua- tion, Ireland might, we think, get along in comparative peace, at least until the labourers grew very strong.
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