Page:The Irish land acts; a short sketch of their history and development.djvu/50

38 Confusion of Treatment of Occupiers of Economic and Uneconomic Holdings.

The importance of the view that I here put forward lies mainly in the fact that until the passing of the Act of 1891, under which the Congested Districts Board was created, no attempt was made to distinguish between the two classes of occupiers of Irish land. The occupiers of economic and uneconomic farms were subject to the same laws, and were treated in the same manner. No attempt was ever made to distinguish between the man who could make his rent out of his land and the man who could not. Both were included in the Fair Rent provisions of the Act of 1881 as it was administered, and a rent was assessed on what was practically the site for a cabin as if it were a farm. This confusion of treatment of two different problems renders it necessary to consider carefully the evolution of the Irish Land Acts if we are to understand intelligently the problem that presents itself in dealing with congestion in Ireland.

Special treatment for the congested districts was not thought of in the earlier remedial Land Acts. The Act of 1881, if strictly administered, as I have said, would have excluded most of the holdings in such districts. After twenty years' experience of this Act, it was found that its provisions, even though amended repeatedly, did not meet the special difficulties. The congested districts were not withdrawn from the operations of the various Land Acts—merely additional powers were given for ameliorating the condition of the people in certain defined localities.

Two Classes of Occupiers in Ireland.—Establishment of the Congested Districts Board.

The various statutes that I have summarised dealt with the rights and obligations of Irish tenants, without any attempt at economic discrimination. No distinction was drawn between impoverished and uneconomic occupiers, and those who were able to make a living and pay a rent out of their holdings. It was, indeed, recognised that the smaller tenants had a special claim to protection, and in the Compensation for Disturbance Clause of the Act of 1870 (section 3) the tenant of a holding valued at £10 and under might be awarded a sum not exceeding seven years' rent, while a tenant above £100 valuation could in no case get more than one year's rent. It was, however, gradually borne in on Statesmen dealing with Ireland that something besides the "three F's" was necessary if the periodical famines and endemic misery of the poorer occupiers of the West of Ireland were to be grappled with. It was recognised that in some parts of the country the average character of the holdings was below the level that made a reasonable standard of living possible, and that special means should be adopted to improve the condition of the people. The establishment of the