The Irish Question

British Prime Minister William Gladstone had taken up the "Irish Question" in part to win the general election of 1868 by uniting the Liberal Party behind this single issue. The shock of Fenian violence, especially that on the English mainland, as well as the growing awareness of the potency of nationalist feelings from European politics is a second motive for Gladstone taking up the Irish Question, as well as a sincere desire to bring peace to Ireland. As well as the Irish Land Act, the Liberal government also passed the the Irish Church Disestablishment Act and put forward the Irish University Bill that failed to pass both Houses of Parliament. William Ewart Gladstone (December 29, 1809 - May 19, 1898) was a British Liberal politician and Prime Minister (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886 and 1892-1894). ... 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Liberal Party is the name of dozens of political parties around the world. ... Fenian is a term used since the 1860s for an Irish nationalist who espouses violence, usually by people opposed to their aims. ... A true colour image of Ireland, captured by a NASA satellite on January 4, 2003. ... This may refer to the: British Houses of Parliament. ...

Background to First Irish Land Act: 1870

This Act was partly the work of Chichester Fortescue and Bright, the Irish situation was favourable, with agriculture improving and pressure on the land decreasing since the Irish potato famine. The Encumbered Estates Act (1849) had led to the sale of estates by debt-ridden mainly absentee landlords; research suggest that the new landlords, who were more often resident did not in general charge excessive rents - with some exceptions - and invested capital into their property. Gladstone's Liberal government had no explicit mandate for the Act, unlike the 1869 Disestablishment Act, and so could expect some opposition from the English Landlord Class in the House of Lords, fearful for the implications of property rights in England - many of whom were Whigs that Gladstone relied on for support in Parliament. Partly for this reason, Gladstone's approach was cautious, even conservative and partly for his own views, since he was dedicated to maintaining the landlord class whose "social and moral influence", he said in 1863, was "absolutely essential to the welfare of the country." Furthermore, Gladstone met resistance from Whigs in his Cabinet itself, especially Robert Lowe, and the resulting compromise measure was so weak that it had little difficulty in passing both Houses of Parliament, with one significant amendment. John Bright John Bright (November 16, 1811 - March 27, 1889), was a British politician, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. ... Starvation during the famine The Irish Potato Famine, also called The Great Famine or The Great Hunger (Irish: An Gorta Mór), is the name given to a famine which struck Ireland between 1846 and 1849. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... See also civil religion. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... A sketch portrait of Robert Lowe Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke (December 4, 1811 - July 27, 1892), British statesman, was born at Bingham, Nottinghamshire, where his father was the rector. ...

Terms of the First Irish Land Act

1. The Custom of Ulster or any similar custom prevailing elsewhere, was given the force of law where it existed.
   
2. Tenants not enjoying this protection (the vast majority) gained increased security by: a) compensation for improvements made to a farm if they surrendered their lease (these had previously been accredited to the landlord, hence no incentive to the tenant); b) compensation for 'disturbance', i.e. damages, for tenants evicted for causes other than non-payment of rent.
   
3. The 'Bright Clauses', which Gladstone accepted reluctantly, allowed tenants to borrow from the government two-thirds of the cost of buying their holding, at 5% interest repayable over 35 years, provided the landlord was willing to sell (no compulsory powers).

To prevent eviction by rack-renting, and so avoiding paying compensation to tenants, the Bill said that rents must not be "excessive", leaving this for the courts to define. But the House of Lords in a wrecking amendment substituted "exorbitant" in its place. This in practice enabled landlords to raise rents above what tenants could pay and then evict them for non-payment without giving any compensation.

Consequences of First Irish Land Act

However well-intentioned, the Act was at best irrelevant, at worst counter-productive. Less than 1,000 tenants took up the "Bright Clauses", since the terms were beyond most peasants and many landlords did not wish to sell. Many substantial leasehold farmers, who had led the campaign for land reform, were excluded from the Act because their leases were longer than 31 years. Legal disputes over customary rights and "exorbitant" rents actually worsened landlord-tenant relations. Figures do not indicate any impact of the Act on the rate of eviction, which was at a low level anyway. In the late 1870's when depression struck, evictions for non-payment of rent mounted, tenants had no protection, and 'outrages' and the Land League were the results. Even in 1871, the government had to pass a Coercion Act because of the increase in violence in Ireland; it lost support to the Home Rule Movement, which won 9 out of 14 Irish by-elections (1870-4), mainly formerly Liberal held seats. The Irish Land League was an Irish political organization of the late 19th century which aimed to help poor tenant famers. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ...

Nevertheless, "Gladstone's Irish legislation, though a long way short of reolutionary, had a symbolic signifiance far beyond its immediate effects" - Lyons. The Land Act turned the tide of laissez-faire legislation favouring capitalist landlordism, and in principle, if not in practice, was a defeat for the concept of the absolute right of property. For the first time in Britain tenants now in law an interest in their holding. Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ...

1881 Irish Land Act

Gave tenants real security, though by this time the Irish were demanding proprietorship.