Page:A letter to the Right Hon. Chichester Fortescue, M.P. on the state of Ireland.djvu/24

 rental, and lived as popular pauperised proprietors. The natural consequence was, that these lavish jovial landlords could neither afford to improve their land, nor to forgive a deserving but distressed tenant any part of his arrears. Anxious to remedy this evil, the Government proposed a bill, but the technical rules and maxims of the Court of Chancery stood in the way of an effectual remedy. On going to Ireland to inquire into the working of an Act which Parliament had passed, I was told on the highest authority that the Act would be evaded and inoperative. This was too true a prediction: the first encumbrancer stood in the way, and forbade any efficient application of the new law.

At this time Sir Robert Peel, in a speech of great ability, propounded a scheme of his own upon the subject; but his views were not, in the opinion of the persons most capable of judging, likely to prove practically beneficial.

In this strait Sir John Romilly, one of the law officers of the Crown, undertook to revise the whole subject, and framed a measure which was brought forward in the name of the Government, was highly praised by Sir Robert Peel, and, being passed, laid the foundation of a beneficent legislation in a matter of the deepest importance. Property of the value of thirty millions has changed masters in consequence of this and supplementary Acts. I may here briefly state the effect of these and some concomitant changes acting at the same time with a large voluntary emigration.