File:Ireland yesterday and today (1909) (14587017160).jpg

Identifier: irelandyesterday00suth_0 (find matches)
Title: Ireland yesterday and today
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Sutherland, Hugh
Subjects: Land tenure Home rule
Publisher: Philadelphia, The North American
Contributing Library: Boston College Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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of the act. This law was therefore soon made useless. Then camebad crop seasons, in 1879-80. As was inevitable, the tenantscould not stand the strain, living always, as they did, at thelimit of their resources. Again wholesale evictions tookplace. The Land League was formed, and became a terriblepower, supported chiefly by the money of Irishmen inAmerica. The whole land was racked with crime. Boycot-ting, cattle-maiming, assault, burning, assassination shockedthe world. And once more the Irish people learned the dan-gerous lesson that an outburst of violence was alwaysfollowed by concession. The Bessborough Commissionreported, and the way was clear for the great charter of theIrish farmer, the Act of 1881. Having reached this point, we may properly hasten thereview. The bill established three great principles—thethree identical principles which had been fought for by oneof the Land Leagues in 1851—namely, fair rent, fixity ofL.nure, free sale. These were known then, and are known
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EFFECTS OF LANDLORDISM 27 now, as the three Fs, and their adoption was the beginningof justice for the Irish farmer. Under these provisions thelaw discriminated between the land, the property of the land-lord, and the improvements, the property of the tenant. Atribunal was created to hear evidence impartially and period-ically to fix reasonable rents upon the lands; the improve-ments were not to be alienated from the tenant. His tenurewas to be fixed—he could not be evicted except for refusal topay the rents named by the court, or other reasonable cause.And he had a certain right of sale of his interest in theproperty. This bill, as stated, conferred upon the tenants thegreatest measure of justice they had ever received. But ithad serious defects. It applied only to yearly tenants.Leaseholders—there were 35,000 of them—were excludedfrom the benefits. Thus one farmer could claim the protec-tion of the court, while his neighbor a hundred yards awaywas powerless. It was six years b

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