Chapter VI

THE QUESTION OF THE IRISH LAND (_continued_)--PROPOSED REFORM
OF THE IRISH LAND SYSTEM

Retrospect of the present Irish land system--Position of the
Irish landlords--Position of the Irish tenant class--This
not as advantageous as might be supposed--The effects of the
land code on Irish agriculture injurious--The effects on the
general Irish community--Confiscation, violation of
contracts, shock given to credit, increased alienation of
classes, and demoralisation--The land system considered on
the side of ownership--'Voluntary purchase'--Mischief of
this policy--It sets up a false standard against rent, and
creates unjust distinctions between different classes of
tenants--The results it has produced already--An instance of
the system--The demand for the compulsory purchase of the
Irish land caused by 'voluntary purchase'--Compulsory
purchase has some hold on opinion, but is an impossible, and
would be a disgraceful and ruinous policy--It would ruin
Irish landlords as a class--Instances--It would ultimately
bring Ireland into the state in which she was before the
Great Famine--Proposed plan for the reform of Irish land
tenure--Questions as to the means of compensating Irish
landlords, a deeply wronged order of men 230-270