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The political and social circumstances of Ireland have naturally had a greater tendency to induce an extravagant mode of living than those of England; whilst the same causes have made entails more generally prevalent, in the hope of preserving the estate in the family, notwithstanding the improvidence of the life-owner. Hence it results, that estates in Ireland are more generally encumbered, and that a much smaller proportion of the land is unentailed than in England. In almost every part of England, land can be purchased in small portions, a circumstance so rare in Ireland, that it may be said it never occurs.*

There can be no doubt that the wealth of England has increased and is increasing; but it is questionable whether the prosperity of the great mass of the people keeps pace with this advance. There are many reasons to think that the reverse is the case; that the rich are increasing in wealth, whilst the difficulties of the lower and working classes are increasing also; that property is being accumulated in a few hands, whilst the many are impoverished; that the power of entailing lands is gradually producing those enormous properties, which the Thelluson Act was passed to prevent. The result may not be the less certain, because being slowly

*See Appendices AA. and BB. for extracts from M'Culloch's Geog. Dict. on the distribution of landed property in England and Ireland.

effected, its growth is unperceived. If these fears be warranted by facts, if the separation between rich and poor be daily becoming wider and more strongly marked, and the difficulty in passing it on the part of the latter increasing, the position of England itself may become one of great danger. Unless this tendency be checked in time, the consequences must be detrimental to the prosperity, if not to the internal peace and the social institutions of the country, which depend for their maintenance on the intelligence and public spirit of the middle classes of society.

It has been frequently urged that entails are essential to the existence of an aristocracy, and therefore, that, however economically injurious, it is necessary to maintain them, in order to preserve the balance of the constitution. The argument is important, if the deduction be correct. The aristocratic element in the constitution is certainly of great moment, in giving stability to the institutions of the country. To be deprived of it would be a serious loss. But this result by no means follows, as a necessary consequence of freedom in the sale of land. Many old families in England have retained estates for generations without their being entailed. The system of settlement has, no doubt, often the effect of preventing the alienation of an estate by a spend

thrift; but there are countervailing disadvantages. In many cases, encumbrances are created with the consent of the heir, which surely, though perhaps more slowly, bring about the eventual sale of the property. Still more frequently, while he retains the nominal ownership of his ancestral estate, the proprietor is far from possessing the means of supporting the former station of the family; in the attempt to do so, he probably lives beyond his income, and thus loses all hope of retrieving his position. If deprived of this artificial support, the necessity of good management would produce its natural fruits. Proprietors of land would trust to prudence and economy, to enable them to retain possession of their property, instead of relying on legal disabilities, which control their freedom of action, for good as well as for eyil. The aristocracy would no longer be disgraced by the disreputable conduct of proprietors of entailed estates, in contracting debts which they cannot discharge; and in so doing, bringing their rank into contempt, and lessening their influence more than if, having no such protection, they were obliged to sell their ancestral inheritance.

In conclusion, to recapitulate a portion of the foregoing remarks, we may enumerate some of the wants of Ireland, as follows:

1st. Certainty and security of title for both landlord and tenant.

2nd. The inducements to improvement, which may be expected to result from the greater certainty of ownership.

3rd. Capital for effecting these improvements, and for the proper cultivation of the soil.

4th. Freedom of sale, by which capital may be attracted to land and its culture.

5th. Facilities for sale and transfer, and for the examination of titles.

6th. A greatly increased number of landed proprietors, possessing estates of various sizes, and he creation of a class of small proprietors, or yeomanry.

In offering the following suggestions towards meeting these wants, and others referred to in the foregoing remarks, the writer intends them merely as an outline for consideration, not as a thoroughly digested plan. The evils resulting from the complicated systems of tenure in Ireland, and from uncertainty of title, are so many, and so destructive to the interests of the country, that some effort must be made for their removal. If any of these suggestions should induce some one, who is better qualified, to give his attention to the sub

ject, the writer's object in proposing them will be answered:

1st. That all leases for lives renewable for ever, and leases customarily renewable on payment of fines, should be converted into perpetuities, an addition being made to the rent as compensation for the renewal fines.

2nd. That all persons holding property in land or houses, by leases in perpetuity, or by leases for a long term of years, should be entitled to purchase the fee of their property, on equitable terms, on the principle already acted on as respects the quit and crown rents in Ireland, and the land-tax in England; say, for a sum which, if re-invested in the funds, would produce an income equivalent to the rent received; paying to each of the landlords above them, if there be more than one, that sum which may be equivalent to the rent or profit-rent received by him.

3rd. That in case of a mortgage on the property, the amount paid by the purchaser should be first applied in discharge of the mortgage debt, and the balance, if any, paid to the mortgager.

4th. If the property were bound by settlements, so that the owner had only a life interest in it, that the purchase money should (by means of the court of chancery, or otherwise) be invested in the funds, for the benefit of the party having the reversionary

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