Page:The Irish land acts; a short sketch of their history and development.djvu/28

18 This tenant-right custom sprang up in the 17th century among the English and Scottish tenant farmers who were brought to Ulster under the Plantation in the early Stuart reigns. It had two essential characteristics— viz.: the right of the tenant to security of possession as long as he paid his rent, and the right to sell his goodwill in the holding should he desire, or find it necessary to leave his holding.

The administration of the Act was entrusted to the Irish County Court Judges, before whom all applications to get the benefit of the Act had to be brought.

Failure of the Act of 1870, Causes of.

The Act of 1870 failed in its object mainly for three reasons:—

"(1) The great variety and complexity of the exceptions from the benefits of the Act.

(2) The principle of administration which, as a rule, tended to reduce the compensation to as low a figure as possible.

(3) The insecurity of tenure of the tenant, and the right the landlord still had of raising the rent at his pleasure. Thus the legalisation of the Ulster Custom was of little use, as the landlord could practically destroy all the tenant's interest under it by raising the rent. The only remedy was to surrender the holding and go before the County Court Judge for compensation, which was usually much less than the tenant-right would fetch if sold in the open market."

 SECTION VIII.

The Land Act of 1881.

Though the Act of 1870 failed to settle the Irish land question, it marked the beginning of a new era. It was an admission that the Whig policy of laissez faire had broken down—at any rate, that it was not applicable to the relations between landlord and tenants in Ireland. It failed because of the timidity with which it was administered, and because it allowed landlords full power over the rents. The years that followed the passing of the Act were agriculturally prosperous in Ireland. Industrial prosperity in England was reflected in Ireland in the rise in the price of meat and farm produce. Ireland was the main source of supply to England. Grazing lands and dairy lands became more valuable, and rents were raised in most parts of the country. But they were not always raised in relation to the economic