Page:Peasant proprietary in Ireland; a rejoinder.djvu/9

 contented owners of their homesteads, and from that day of fortunate possession they have continued to grow in prosperity year by year, and to settle down, from be: seething mass of dangerous discontent, into undoubtedly the most orderly and peaceable community in Europe. They are thus described by an eminent French economist, M. le Play ('Réforme Sociale en France'):

In a most interesting and impartial review of the relative merits of 'la petite et la grande industrie,' as affecting agriculture, he says:

These are but the general opinions held of the French peasantry, and it is believed that the great factor which gives stability to that government is the calm, restful spirit of 'les petits propriétaires,' their resolve to conserve the present order of things, and counterpoise the erratic tendencies of the artisans and the great desire for change which always affects the unprosperous of the cities. It surely were a desirable formation to create such an improved state in Ireland, to infuse some elements of solidity, strength and stability into the shifting, restless that makes up our agrarian population. There was a when French landlords had much to fear, when boycotting was a pastime and outrage an institution. But all