Page:Irish Emigration and The Tenure of Land in Ireland.djvu/244

Rh

Those various plans which have been proposed for the settlement of what is called 'the Irish land question' may be grouped under four distinct methods of procedure, which I shall consider in turn.

First in order comes the scheme, (advocated by Mr. Bright,) of enabling the peasantry of Ireland to buy up, with money advanced by Government, the estates of British noblemen happening to be owners of property in both countries, at a price 10 per cent, in excess of their value. Now, it would ill become an Irishman to allude to such a proposal in any terms but those of respect and gratitude; and I hail the proposition as a genuine proof of the author's goodwill towards us. Nor do I dissent from Mr. Bright in regretting that so much of the land in Ireland should be possessed by those whose permanent home is never likely to be in that country, although the selection of names by which his well meant suggestion was disfigured happened to be unfortunate. Had he contented himself with expressing a hope that it might be found convenient to some of the gentlemen circumstanced as he described, to allow their Irish property to descend