are peaceable, well conducted, independent, and "industrious; and the district is absolutely free "from agrarian outrage.' These examples are so apposite, so clearly shew the result of small proprietors cultivating their own ground, that they might be considered as conclusive; yet the paramount importance of the subject induces the writer to quote the opinion of a most accurate observer, and one who was by no means prejudiced in favour of small properties, but who on the contrary loses no opportunity of expressing his preference for large farms. Arthur Young, in his * The author is aware that statements of a contrary character have been made respecting different parts of Ireland. Some of the evidence before the Land Commissioners stated, that tenants having the security of a perpetuity, or of a lease for a long term of years, were even less industrious than their neighbours, whose farms were held at will and at a much higher rent. This may be true in some cases, and yet it surely does not prove that security is a discouragement to industry. Some other explanation must be sought for this apparent contradiction. Peculiar or local advantages rarely raise a man much above the ordinary level of the people among whom he lives. If they are lazy, it is not likely that he will be very industrious. The prevalent feeling of insecurity in Ireland has produced its natural fruits; and in those cases in which security really exists, the parties are too often content to follow the example of their neighbours; and as their advantageous position enables them to attain the same low degree of comfort with less exertion, so they are sometimes more lazy than those who are forced to labour by the necessity of providing for a higher rent. Many circumstances have conspired to render the condition of the peasantry of the county of Wexford, superior to that of the peasantry of most other counties in Ireland; among which the division of the land into estates of moderate extent, and the general residence of the proprietors, are certainly not the least important. 66 "Tour through France," says, "In Bearn I passed through a region of small farmers, whose appearance, neatness, ease, and happiness charmed me; it "shows what property alone could, on a small scale, "effect; but these were by no means contemptibly 66 small; they are, as I judged by the distance from "house to house, from forty to eighty acres. Ex 66 cept these and a very few other instances, I saw "nothing respectable on small properties, except a "most unremitting industry. Indeed it is necessary to impress on the reader's mind, that the 66 66 husbandry I met with, in a great variety of instances, on little properties, was as bad as can well "be conceived, yet the industry of the possessors was so conspicuous, and so meritorious, that no "commendations would be too great for it. It is "sufficient to prove, that property in land is, of "all others, the most active instigator to severe " and incessant labour." Again he says, in reference to another district, "An activity has been "here, that has swept away all difficulties before "it, and has clothed the very rocks with verdure. "It would be a disgrace to common sense to ask "the cause the enjoyment of property must have "done it. Give a man the secure possession of a "bleak rock, and he will turn it into a garden; 66 give him a nine years' lease of a garden, and "he will convert it into a desert." One other instance is adduced, of a country which a short time since suffered the worst evils of the feudal system. The land in Prussia was vested in a small number of proprietors; the peasantry were serfs bound to the soil, of which they were hereditary tenants, or tenants for life or for a term of years, but which none but nobles or privileged persons could hold as property. property. "In 1807, however, the regulation which prevented peasants, "tradesmen, &c. from acquiring land was abolished; “and in 1811 appeared the famous edict, which “enacted that all the peasants who held perpetual leases, on condition of paying certain quantities "of produce, or of performing certain services on "account of the proprietors, should, upon giving แ 66 up one-third of the lands held by them, become "the unconditional proprietors of the other two"thirds. And with respect to the other classes of peasants, or those who occupied lands upon life 66 leases, or leases for a term of years, it was "enacted that they should, upon giving up half "their farms, become the unconditional proprietors "of the other half. This edict certainly effected "the greatest and most sweeping change, that was ever peaceably effected in the distribution of property in any great country. It was regarded at "the time, and in some respects justly, as a dan 66 66 66 66 66 "But the abuses which it went to eradicate were "so injurious to the public welfare, and were, at "the same time, so deeply seated, that they could "not have been extirpated by any less powerful means. It has given a wonderful stimulus to im"provement. The peasantry, relieved from the bur“dens and services to which they were previously "subjected, and placed, in respect of political [and social] privileges, on a level with their lords, have begun to display a spirit of enterprise and industry, that was formerly unknown."...." The Prussian government has also succeeded in effecting the "division of a vast number of common properties, [formerly belonging to towns and villages] and "has thus totally changed the appearance of a great "extent of country, and created several thousand "new proprietors. The want of capital, and the "force of old habits, rendered the influence of these "changes at the outset less striking than many 66 66 anticipated; but these retarding circumstances "have daily diminished in power: and it may be "safely affirmed, that the country has made a greater progress since 1815, than it did during "the preceding hundred years."* 66 The example of Prussia seems peculiarly in point. It forcibly demonstrates the evils resulting * M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary, art. Prussia. from large estates, and the rapid advancement which may be expected from an increase of small properties, when the cultivator himself has an interest in the improvement of the land. Nothing gives a man a stronger feeling of loyalty, of conservatism, of determination to uphold the institutions of the country he lives in, than the possession of property in land, the possession of a spot, however small, which is his own. He feels himself a part of the state; he looks upon offences against the laws as aggressions against himself and his own rights; and these he is ever ready to maintain. His home possesses a real value; it is not merely his dwelling, hired for the occasion, but his own unquestionable property. If he spend his labour or his money in improving it, he knows that he works for himself and for his family; and his industry is encouraged, and his energy prompted by the consideration. He respects himself; he values his independent position, and is careful not to lose it by improvidence. His children are brought up in habits of industry and self-respect, and are thus enabled to work for themselves, and strengthened to withstand many of the dangerous temptations of life. They hesitate long before they incur the danger of lowering their position, or losing their independence, by an improvident |