All Irish Landlord and His Tenants.

Evening Star, Issue 7361, 5 November 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

All Irish Landlord and His Tenants.

(From the 'Times.')

Having in view the great interest which attaches to all dealings between landlord aud tenant in Ireland at the present time, I availed myself of a recent offer to accompany an Irish landlord on a visit to his property, the object being the collection of rent. The estate was situated in a fairly good part of the country, though the League had made some way in the surrounding districts. Our car-driver told us the people were quieter than they had been, and were "a little frightened ; but only for the Act that's got out, they'd be as bad as ever." If it wasn't for the agitation, he said, the country would get on " fair enough," but as it was no one would lay out a "ha'porth of money." Any farmer that didn't drink would do well; but most of the money in the country goes into the -public-house—"yes, the whole of it." "And the worst thing I see," he added, "is that the young people don't lay themselves down to work as they used.' Having arrived at our destination we settled ourselves in a room, and the tenants proceeded to come in one by one. They seemed to be decent sort of people, and had the appearance of being fairly well-to-do; but most of them brought apologies instead of rent, and asked for further time, the landlord almost invariably submitting with a good grace, and saying he must only wait; tkough in many cases as much as two years' rent was due, and in all a large abatement had been offered. Several were anxious to give cattle instead of rent, but as the landlord knew by experience that they would expect far more than the market value from him, he hardened his heart and refused to take them. The excuses they made were various. Some were building, some had been engaged in law suits, some had been obliged to give portions to their sons and daughters or brothers and sisters, some had had to wake and bury relations, all complained of bad times and the difficulty of making money. Some brought part of what was demanded, evidently in the hope that the landlord might be temped to take it, and that they would escape payment of the balance. The general impression which I gathered was that some were poor, and found it really difficult to make the rent; that others were anxious to get a clear receipt, but to pay as little as possible for it; and that several, partly infected by the general demoralisation and partly taking advantage of the landlord's clemency, were holding back, though well able to pay the rent in full. I was considerably struck by the propensity which neighbors and even members of a family showed for fighting with each other. One woman had had an action brought against her by her son ; two other tenants complained that their Bons were endeavoring'jto turn them out; and two brothers seemed to find it impossible to live together in pr ace. They also appeared to be extremely suspicious of each other, more than one asking the landlord not to l,et the. others know what arrangement they had, made with him. It is needless to say that, i though fighting eaclji other, they were i on the best ot terms with him ; indeed, it ■ could hardly be otherwise, considering how ; little cause he gave them'for offence. t I The first to enter wojS a decent-looking woman, who sat down and informed us that she had' no money, whereupon, the landlord said; ha must wait tfU she had, and she

went out again. After her came a youngish man, who had recently succeeded to his farm. He brought nothing either. He had had to put out some lime on his land, and only for that he would have had it. He would " do his best agin' the next time his honor came." He was followed by a respectablelooking old woman, a widow, who also came empty handed, though she was being asked to pay the year's rent due as long ago as March, 188(5. "I'll pay yer 'onera year's rent at Christmas with the help of God," she said, " if ye'll give me till that time. For I've had heavy calls, yer 'oner, so I have." His honor said he knew she had, and he must only wait. "I'll surely have it agin' then," she rejoined, " with the help of God, when I get to sell me pigs." This woman's son had offended her in the matter of his marriage, and she refused either to let him work the farm during her life or to leave it to him at her death. He had consequently " taken the law" against her for his share of the patrimony, and she had had to pay him a a sum amounting to four years' rent. She was therefore unable to settle the landlord's claim.

The next to come in was an old man, ninety years of age, with knee-breeches and frieze tail-coat, and his head wrapped in a red cotton handkerchief. He told us he had "got a great defeat, and got a fall." He would spend three days in bed, and then get up and take his scythe and mow; but he paid his rent— I suppose from force of habit. He was followed by a tall, loosely-built man, with that expression of mingled cunning and simplicity so common among the Irish peasantry. " I have a couple of little bullocks," he said, in a shrill treble ; "if yer Jtmer had liberty for them ye might give them a chance." He was told, however, that he must sell them, a3 the landlord was not taking any cattle. " Well, I thought yer 'oner might take them," he said, " for they're raly good, and they'd do well for your 'oner." But on this point "his honor" was obdurate. Then came a smart little man, who put down his full rent with great cheerfulness and alacrity, and received back a third by way of abatement. The next man had no money, and wanted time to sell his pigs. He had a long complaint to make about his son, and seemed to expect the landlord to make him be of good behavior. After him came a very comfortable-looking man, a Protestant, who pulled out his bauk-notes and paid them over without more ado. He was the only one who asked any questions about land purchase, but on the whole he seemed to think he might as well remain as he was. On walking over the property afterwards I discovered the cause of his prosperity. His laud was well tilled and his crops good; while on the other side of the hedge, on precisely the same quality of land, the farming was bad, the crops worthless, and the tenant unable to pay his rent. Our next visitor was an honest-looking man, who paid Ll2 out of L 26, and wanted time to sell a couple of beasts. "If ye train him up to be as easy as yerself," he said, referring to the landlord's son, who was sitting by, "we'll be satisfied with him." Then came a woman, who paid nothing, but asked for " liberty to cut turf" on a particular bank, which was granted her. " Don't tell them whether I paid ye or not, yer 'oner," she said, alluding to her fellowtenants, " for they'd be looking for me to be put out and to get it for themselves, They wouldn't let a poor body get on at all." After her came a hard-working, industrious man, who piid his rent with a good grace. These were bad times, he said ; " bad times for the gentry as well as for poor people." " All this that's in Parliament never came between you and your tenants at all," he went on ; " but some tenants in troth have too much impudence." The next to enter was a man with an air of great simplicity, who looked as if he lived extremely well. He sat down and inquired how his honor was, " and the lady," " and all the family," "and the sons that's away," and carried on a conversation on neutral subjects for a considerable time. Finally, the landlord asked if he was going to pay anything in the way of rent. "No, yer 'oner," he said, "I have no money. Had no way of makin' it, yer 'oner." His last payment having been on account of the year's rent due March, 1885, the landlord suggested that he would have to serve him with a wrii, whereat the man laughed very heartily, declaring that there "never was a writ served on this estate;" though I believe he himself had been a recipient of one in former times. In walking over the property afterwards we found him engaged in saving an excellent crop of oats ; there were some good cattle and horses on his land, and he had cut enough turf to pay two years' rent. We further learnt that he was in the habit of taking a load of it to sell in the adjoining town almost every day of the year, though the tenants were only supposed to cut enough for their own use.

After him came a woman who was well dressed, and seemed to be what is best described as a decidedly "comfortable" woman. She had made up her mind that the landlord was to buy a beast from her, and if he would not she declared she could not pay at all. She spent fully half an hour in descanting on the merits of this animal, but finally departed having failed in her suit. We afterwards learnt that she had sold a mare for more than twice the amount of her rent a week or two before. She was followed by an old man of seventy-seven, whose rent was only L2 ss, and who had paid nothing for some time. " I have no money," he said, " but I have a cook of hay, and I'm very old." " Oh, you'll make up something," said the landlord. " I'm afraid of it, yer 'oner," he rejoined, "I'm afraid of it."

Only in one instance did the landlord really put down his foot. This was in the case of a tenant who, he had made up his mind, was a schemer, and ought to bo pulled up. The man came in and announced in the usual formula that he had no money. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to pay if he had it, but he hadn't got it. "Then nothing will give me greater pleasure," said the landlord in a loud voice, closing his book with a bang, "than to write to my solicitor to-night." " Well, well!" said the tenant, inoaning sorrowfully over the man who had fallen so far beneath his expectations: "Well, well ! I never thought your 'oner and I would part like this. Well, well!" It is needless to say he made every possible appeal, but the landlord had made up his mind and reir aihed firm. The same night, after we had finished dinner, there came a knock at the door, and our friend appeared with a most comical expression on his face, having travelled a distance of about ten miles. " Oh, you're a great fool," exclaimed the landlord, "to have come all this way." "Well, yer 'oner," he said, " I got to borrow the money, and I wouldn't have yer 'oner out of it." "Yer'oner always gave me a pound for lime," he added, as he paid over the money. " Well, I'm better than I thought I'd be," he exclaimed, when the landlord returned him that amount, " for I can drink yer 'oner's health anyhow "—with the money he had borrowed, and had received back to buy lime with ! Our visit was undoubtedly a pleasant one, in that there was no fighting, no ill-feeling between landlord and tenant; but the result was hardly such as to bear out Sir George Trevelyan's statement that where liberal abatements have been made rents in Ireland are well paid.