Page:Irish Emigration and The Tenure of Land in Ireland.djvu/139

Rh Whether even the middleman is deserving of all the abuse which is heaped upon him may be a the use of the house but finally I succeeded."—Digest, Dev. Com. p. 433.

Evidence of M. Mahony, Esq.

"I will give you an instance of it (subdivision):—One portion is called Ballycarberry, forming three ploughlands. The occupying tenants some years ago divided the land into little divisions among themselves. They calculated each division as the grass of four cows. There was one man of the name of Crahan, now living on one of those lots with four cows—he had four in family; he got them all married, and the fortune he gave was a cow's grass to each; and of course, the sons came to reside upon the land. There are four families. The last of all was a daughter. He had but one cow's grass remaining. He married that daughter to my cow boy, and he got the remaining cow's grass, or he was to have one on the father-in-law's death."—''Ibid. p.'' 434.

Evidence of J. Butler, Esq., Land Proprietor.

"As soon as a man has a son or daughter grown up, the first thing he does is to give them a bit of land."—''Ibid. p.'' 435.

Evidence of R. T. Saunders, Esq., Land Proprietor.

"I have some leases ready, but the tenants will not accept them . . . . With respect to subletting, a tenant-at-will cannot subdivide his farm so easily as a tenant by lease, and such never takes place on a well-regulated estate; but a tenant by lease most frequently subdivides by his last will and testament amongst his children, thereby leaving all not sufficient land to support their families, and in a short time none can pay their rent, consequently the landlord loses his rent and they lose their farms."—''Ibid. p.'' 284.

Evidence of Captain Thomas Bolton, land agent to Lord Stanley.

"With respect to the subletting or subdividing of farms, does it still continue?—Yes, it does, very much, and I have much difficulty in checking it. There is more difficulty in that than any thing else. That is my reason for not granting