Page:On Irish absenteeism (Hancock).pdf/6

6 Absentees of the third class are quite different from those of either of the preceding classes, in one important circumstance. The demands of political life do not require that the representatives from the provinces should reside in the metropolis for more than a portion of the year. Thus, the political absentees are only temporarily so, whilst the encumbered and the wealthy are generally permanent absentees. Absentees of the third class must always exist in any system of government, for the necessities of government require that it be carried on at some centre; and wherever that centre may be, influential parties will resort there from the provinces. The duration of political absenteeism will be diminished by every improvement in railroads, in electric telegraphs, and in newspapers, as the facilities of intercourse and of transmitting intelligence will enable parties to discharge their political duties in the metropolis with less waste of time. But the same causes will increase the taste for visiting the metropolis for political objects, and will increase the number of persons resorting there, as the cheapness of communication will enable a larger class to do so. The necessary duration of political absenteeism would be diminished by improvements in the manner of transacting business in parliament, and in the various departments of government; as such improvements would economize the time of the legislature, and consequently the time of all those necessarily attendant upon it.

Beyond the means I have suggested, political absenteeism does not admit of a remedy; for whether the proprietors resort to one centre of government or another, they are equally absent from their estates.

Having concluded the consideration of the causes and remedies for Irish absenteeism, I proceed to consider its effects; and here you will at once perceive the importance of considering the effects of the three kinds of absenteeism separately. For whether we consider the moral, the political, or the economic effects of residence or non-residence, it is manifestly absurd to confound and treat as identical, the effects of the non-residence of a bankrupt, a millionaire, and a politician.

As to the effects of the non-residence of incumbered proprietors, there can be no doubt that a great deal of moral injury accrues to the community, when property is so heavily incumbered that the proprietor is only the nominal owner. And this is especially the case in Ireland, because the law places the tenant so much in the power of the landlord, that the only way in which the relation of landlord and tenant can be advantageously maintained, under the present system, is where the proprietor looks to the permanent interest of his property, and not to the immediate sums that he can obtain by the extraordinary powers that the law places in his hands. Now a heavily encumbered proprietor cannot make any abatement of rents, or other equitable concession to the tenants, however necessary, and he is tempted to take any advantage of his tenant's improvements which he can do legally. This produces