Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/evictionsinirelaOOiris EVICTIONS IN IRELAND FROM ist JANUARY to 30th JUNE , 1886. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT AND RETURNS (WITH APPENDICES). PREPARED AND PUBLISHED BY THE IRISH LOYAL AND PATRIOTIC UNION, 109 GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN ; 26 PALACE CHAMBERS, WESTMINSTER, LONDON ; AND 29 ALBANY STREET, EDINBURGH. JANUARY, 1887. PRICE ONE PENNY. Top Paging. Bottom Paging. Preliminary Statement 3 139 Eviction Returns— Table I. IO 146 Table II. 12 148 APPENDICES— A. An Irish Tenants Privileges ... 14 ISO B. Analysis of Sales of Tenant Right is 154 C. Irish Banking Statistics 20 IS6 D. Loans to Ireland 22 CO 1-0 O’NEILL LIBRARY BOSTON COLLEGE EVICTIONS IN IRELAND . JANUARY TO JUNE, 1886. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT AND RETURNS. DURING the debate on Mr. Parnell’s Tenants’ Relief Bill, which was introduced into the House of Commons last Session, a Parliamentary paper was frequently referred to, which stated the number of evictions which had occurred in Ireland during the first six months of the year as amounting to 2,007. The House of Commons and the public were given to under- stand that every one of these 2,007 cases meant to some family all the bitterness that is attached in the popular imagination to evictions, such as induced Mr. Gladstone to describe them as “ sentences of death ; ” the tenants against whom ejectment decrees have been executed being described by less eminent authorities as “houseless and homeless as “thrown on the roadside,” or “ wandering aimlessly over the storm-swept hills.” In view of the impression existing in the public mind with reference to the circumstances attending evictions in Ireland the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union determined, shortly after 4 the debate referred to, to make an effort to ascertain the important details in connection with the 2,007 evictions already alluded to. The first proceeding was to obtain from the Sheriff of each county an authoritative List of the Ejectment decrees exe- cuted by him during the period covered by the Parlia- mentary return, and the Committee of the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union have gratefully to acknowledge the prompti- tude and readiness with which these officials placed the in- formation at their disposal. It should be stated that in the Counties of x^rmagh and Limerick the return is in course of preparation by the Sheriff, while in the Counties of Kerry and Leitrim, owing to changes in the shrievalty during the year, a difficulty has arisen in procuring the necessary information, which, however, the Committee hope to be able to overcome. Upon the receipt of the Sheriff’s return a form was imme- diately despatched to the plaintiff in each case asking for an accurate statement of every particular that would be likely to throw light upon the circumstances attending the eviction. In all 1,613 cases of eviction are returned by the Sheriffs of 28 counties, and of these full details have been obtained in 1,233 cases. Forms are still being daily received at the offices ; but in the viewof the great interest this question is certain to excite, it is thought desirable to publish a Preliminary STATEMENT of the cases in which information has been already received. Every form received has been dealt with, the accompanying tables being the result of a very careful examination of them. The first thing that will strike the reader, who is unacquainted with the facts, is that over 15 per cent, of the evictions ac- counted for are not from agricultural holdings at ail, or even from holdings with which land has anything whatever to do ; 140! 5 but are evictions from dwelling-houses mainly situated in cities and towns. The number of these evictions is 191 out of the total of 1,233. Besides these, there were 21 evictions, if they can be socalled, from “ townparks.” A townpark is a field or a small portion of land adjacent to a town and held by a person living in that town for his accommodation ; they are not “ agricultural holdings,” and are specially excluded from the provisions of the Land Act of 1881. Proceeding still further, we find that the Sheriff executed decrees in 143 cases where the defendant did not reside on the holding, but resided upon an adjacent farm or had left the place derelict. It is evident that the scenes so often pictured in connection with Irish evictions could not have taken place in this class of case. In fact, in these 143 cases there was no actual eviction at all. There remain, therefore, to be dealt with 878 cases of eviction from agricultural holdings on which the tenants resided at the time of the eviction. An analysis of these cases shows that in 118 of them the cause of action was “ On Title”— that is, the tenants had no legal title whatever to the holding. In some cases they were trespassers, in others they were wrongfully in possession under disputed wills and settlements, and in many of them the evic- tion was brought about by the tenant being indebted to the local shopkeeper or money-lender, who sold up the interest to satisfy his demand. The elimination of the cases of title leaves 760 cases of eviction from agricultural holdings with residences for non- payment of rent. These are really the cases which demand serious investigation. [f4I F 6 Proceeding to examine the nature of the tenancy in each of these 760 cases we find that in 60 cases the farms were held under lease, in 352 the rents had been judicially fixed by the Land Court, and in 348 they were non-judicial yearly tenancies. Eutthccrucial question comes, werethese 760 families thrown from their homes on the roadside ? Despite Nationalist oratory a dispassionate investigation shows that in no fewer than 250 of the cases the defendants have been actually reinstated as tenants and in 377 cases as caretakers pending redemp- tion. And what will appear still stranger is the fact that in 16 cases (12 of them being in Ulster) the tenant, even after eviction, sold his right of redemption. To the ordinary English mind it is, no doubt, a cherished article of faith that once a man is evicted his interest is gone for ever. So far is this from being true, the tenant not only has six months after the eviction to redeem his holding, but as these figures go to show, can even during that period sell his equity of redemp- tion, free himself from all arrears with his landlord, and in many instances put a considerable sum in his pocket. Of course this does not suit the tactics of the National League and as a result it is only in Ulster, which is more or less free from its baleful tyranny, that tenants are allowed to avail them- selves of this privilege. The sum total of the eviction record is, that out of 1,233 cases there were only 117, or less than 10 per cent., in which tenants were evicted from agricultural hold- ings, on which there were residences, for non-pay- ment of rent, and were not readmitted in any form by the landlord. An enquiry into the legal status of these 1 17 evicted tenants shows ( a ) that they have a period of six months’ grace after 42] 7 the date of eviction during which they can redeem their hold- ings or ( b ) sell their equity of redemption. (The landlord will have to account to them for any profit he could have made out of their farms during that period.) And further (c) during these six months the tenant, in case he docs not wish to redeem, can claim from his landlord payment for all improvements which he may have made, namely, permanent buildings, re- clamation of waste lands, or unexhausted manures, and ( d ) in case the rent docs not exceed ^15 in addition to the value of the improvement a sum which may equal seven years’ rent, where the court declares the rent to have been an exorbitant one. (See an “ Irish Tenant’s Privileges,” Appendix A, p.14.) It may be useful here to point out that the total of evictions given in the Government return as having occurred in the first six months of the past year bears the proportion of 7 to every 2,000 of the total number of holdings in Ireland. If, in the remainder of the cases in which information has not yet come to hand, those evictions where the tenant has not been in any way reinstated, are found to be in the same ratio as 1 17 to 1,233 (and there is no reason to suppose that this will not be so, as will be seen from an examination of the figures of those counties for which the information is practically complete), it would then appear that this extreme proceeding was only resorted to in 1 out of every 3,000 holdings in Ireland. In several counties it will be seen that it was not resorted to in a single instance during the period with which the return deals. It only remains to add that before proceeding to evict a tenant a landlord is bound under a penalty of £20 to give 48 hours’ notice to the Relieving Officer of the Poor Law Union [M3 8 so that shelter and food may be provided for the evicted family. Another point, which is a fair subject for enquiry, is the amount of rent generally owing by a tenant before extreme proceedings are taken against him. It will be apparent that much need for enlightenment exists with regard to this feature of the Land Question, when it is mentioned that one speaker in England — a man of considerable local influence — recently gave a circumstantial account to a large meeting in the place in which he resides, of a family he had interviewed when in Ire- land, that had been evicted from an agricultural holding in the South for non-payment of a quarter’s rent ! Of course no one possessing even the most elementary acquaintance with the law would have been guilty of making such an absurd statement ; the fact being that a tenant cannot be evicted for non-payment unless there is at least one year’s rent due. But as a matter of fact Irish landlords do not, in the vast majority of cases, avail themselves of this right. Indeed, in only 14 per cent, of the cases have proceedings been taken for non-payment of merely one year’s rent, and in 54 per cent., or over half the total number, the amount of rent due was two and a half years’ and over, while the average amount of rent due in the 760 cases dealt with in the return under consideration, was two and a half years’ at the time of obtaining the decree. Without the slightest exaggeration, it may safely be said that the average amount of rent due at the time of eviction in these cases was three and half years’, because a considerable time often elapses after the decree is pronounced before it is put in force. The following statement analyses in detail 758 cases of eviction for non-payment from agricultural holdings with re- sidences, calculating in each case only the amount of rent due when proceedings were first commenced for recovery of pos- 144] 9 session. Two cases in which no information is given accounts for the total of 760 given above. (See Table II.) 105 cases, or 14 per cent ,, in which 1 year’s rent was due. 154 » 20 j? 4 » 166 22 2 yy 89 » ii *9 ** 2i n 9 i jj 1 1’9 5* 3 n 4 i 5) 5'5 yy 3^ yy 49 )t 6-4 yy 4 yy 11 »» i *5 yy 4^ yy 11 i *4 V 5 yy 8 J > ro yy sh yy 12 >1 i*6 yy c i) 21 )1 2*8 over 6 } „ 25th January zpie.'Ei, x 3VH x 3sr _a_ "st Table i. — Analysis of Eviction Returns, NAME OF COUNTY. No. of Cases returned by Sheriff. 1 Cases in which detailed Information has been received up to date. 2 Nature of Holding. w Houses only. rt 0 EH 4 Agricultural Holdings without Residence. Agricultural Holdings : 05 with Residence. Donegal 133 132 11 2 21 98 Monaghan 83 83 3 10 70 Cavan 113 99 2 1 8 88 Tyrone 88 63 4 2 6 51 Down 38 27 12 1 3 11 Londonderry 53 41 3 2 1 35 Fermanagh 27 15 — 1 2 12 Armagh (a) — — — — — — Antrim (b) 23 4 1 1 1 1 Total of Ulster ... 558 464 36 10 52 366 King’s Co. 26 19 8 1 10 Queen’s Co. 29 24 9 — 4 11 Carlow 18 16 t . — 4 5 Wicklow 16 15 7 2 6 Longford 31 21 2 3 16 Louth 13 13 4 2 4 Meath 26 15 4 4 2 g Westmeath 27 13 6 7 Kildare 15 9 7 2 Dublin 40 24 24 — Kilkenny 19 13 3 — 2 8 Wexford 57 31 8 — 7 16 Total of Leinster ... 317 213 89 4 27 93 Clare 39 37 11 1 7 18 Cork 84 84 3 — 3 78 Tipperary 31 20 1 — 4 15 Waterford 26 20 1 — 3 16 Kerry (c) — — — — — — Limerick (d) — — — — — — Total of Munster ... 180 161 16 1 17 127 Galway 156 111 14 9 88 Mayo 246 173 21 2 28 122 Roscommon 117 80 4 4 6 66 Sligo 39 31 11 4 16 Leitrim (e) — — — — — — Total of Connaught 558 395 50 6 47 292 Total of IRELAND . . . 1613 1233 191 21 143 878 ( a) SherifTs return in course of preparation. (h) Sheriff’s return just received. ( c) Owing to death of the Sheriff appointed at the commencement of the year a difficulty has arisen in procuring the return ; but every effort is being made to obtain it. i 4 6] STATEMENT. ist January to 30th June , 1886. I^ELIIIVEIlsr^IR'S" STATEMENT. Tabic II. —Amount of Rent due ( in years ) when decrees were obtained ( in 758 cases of Evic- tions for Non-Payment of Rent from Agricultural Holdings with Residences . See Col. 8 Table 1.) Name of County. Total. 1 U 2 2 £ 3 3h 4 4 \ 1 5 ! 5* 6 6| and over Average. Donegal 82 5 1. 14 11 15 1L 4 0 1 2 4 3 Monaghan 66 2 18 16 11 11 2 4 2 — — — — 2* Cavan 82 8 13 23 7 9 5 8 2 0 1 1 3 2§ ♦Tyrone 50 6 2 16 6 8 2 1 1 — — 1 1 H 3 Down 8 — — 1 1 4 — 1 — — 1 — — Londonderry ... 14 1 1 2 1 2 1 4 — — — 1 1 3 i Fermanagh . . . 12 — 1 3 4 2 — 1 1 — — — — 2| Armagh Antrim — 1 1 Total of Ulster 31o 22 48 75 41 52 21 29 6 4 3 5 9 n King’s Co. 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3b ♦Queen’s Co. ... 7 — — 1 2 1 — 2 — — — 1 — 3; 2* Carlow 3 — 1 2 Wicklow 4 — — — 2 — 2 — — — — — — 3 Longford 14 1 1 8 3 1 2 Louth 3 — — 1 — 1 — 1 — — — — — 3 Meath 2 . — — 1 — — 1 — — — 3 Westmeath ... 4 — 1 1 1 1 2 Kildare 1 1 2^ Kilkenny 8 — 3 1 1 — 1 2 — — — — — 2* Wexford 10 1 5 — 1 — 1 2 — — — — — 2 Dublin — Total of ) Leinster. ) 64 3 12 16 12 5 4 8 1 1 2 2f Clare I 14 1 1 2 3 1 1 3 2 3f Cork ' 76 19 14 24 5 7 1 4 — 2 — — — 2 Tipperary 1 13 3 4 2 — 3 1 2 Waterford 1 14 2 7 2 1 — — — 2 — — — — 2 Kerry Limerick Total of > Munster. ) 117 25 26 30 9 11 2 5 2 2 - 3 2 2* Galway 79 7 25 14 8 7 5 3 1 2 2 5 2^ Mayo 108 22 28 20 13 11 3 2 2 4 1 — 2 2 Roscommon ... 62 22 12 10 4 3 6 1 — 2 1 1 2 Sligo Leitrim 13 4 3 1 2 2 1 2 Total of \ Connaught. J 262 55 68 45 27 23 14 7 2 5 5 3 8 91 Total of IRELAND. 758 105 154 166 89 91 41 49 11 11 8 , 12 21 CM 148] Note. — In 1 case in Tyrone and 1 in Queen’s County no information is given. APPENDICES. A. An Irish Tenant’s Privileges. B. Analysis of Tenant Right Sales. C. Irish Banking Statistics. D. Loans to Ireland. [49 APPENDIX A . AN IRISH TENANTS PRIVILEGES. The privileges of Irish Tenant Farmers are of gradual growth, and date from various Acts of Parliament. They have, how- ever, in recent years, been largely extended by three great measures: — (I.) The Land Act of 1870 ; (II.) the Land Law Act, 1881 ; and (III.) the Land Purchase Act, 1885. It will, then, be convenient to consider these various privileges in chronological order. I. Privileges Acquired Prior to 1870. No Tenant can be evicted for non-payment of rent UNLESS ONE YEAR’S RENT IS IN ARREAR. (Land- lord and Tenant Act, i860, sect. 52.) Even when evicted for non-payment of rent— A Tenant can recover POSSESSION within six months by payment of the amount due, and in that case The Landlord MUST pay to the Tenant the amount of any profit he could have made out of the lands while the tenant was out of possession. (11 Anne, c. 2, sect. 2 ; 8 Geo. I., c. 2, sect. 4 ; Act of i860 (23 & 24 Viet., c. 154), sect. 70.) The Landlord must pay HALF the Poors-Rate— If the Government Valuation of a hold- ing is £4 or upwards. (Poor Relief Act, 1843, sec t. 1.) The Landlord must pay the ENTIRE Poors-Rate— If the Government Valuation is under £4. (Poor Relief Acts, 1838, sect. 74; 1849, sect. 11.) 150] 15 II. Privileges Under the Act of 1870. A Yearly Tenant who is disturbed in his holding by the act of the Landlord, for causes other than non-payment of rent, and the Government Valuation of whose holding does not exceed £100 per annum, must be paid by his Landlord not only— (a) Full compensation for all improvements made by himself or his predecessors, such as unexhausted manures, permanent buildings, and reclamation ol waste lands ; but also as — (b) Compensation for disturbance, a sum of money which may amount to seven years’ rent. (Land Act, 1870, sects. 1, 2, and 3.) Note. — Under the Act of 1881 the Landlord’s power of disturbance is practically abolished. A Yearly Tenant, even when evicted for non-payment of rent, must be paid by his Landlord — (a) Compensation for all improvements, such as unex- hausted manures, permanent buildings, and recla- mation of waste land. (Sect. 4.) And when his rent does not exceed £15 he must be paid in addition— (b) A sum of money which may amount to seven years’ rent, if the Court decides that the rent is ex- orbitant. (Sects. 3 and 9,) Note. — Until the contrary is proved, the improvements are presumed to have been made by the tenants. (Sect. 5.) The Tenant can make his claim for compensation imme- diately on notice to quit being served, and cannot be evicted until the compensation is paid. (Sects. 16 and 21.) A Yearly Tenant, even when VOLUNTARILY SUR- RENDERING his farm, must either be paid by Landlord— (a) Compensation for all his improvements ; or be (b) Permitted to sell his improvements to an incoming tenant. (Sect. 4.) IN ALL NEW TENANCIES- The Landlord must pay HALF the County or Grand Jury Cess, If the valuation is £4. or upwards. The Landlord must pay the ENTIRE County or Grand Jury Cess, If the value does not exceed £ 4 . (Land Act, 1870, sects. 65 and 66.) f T 5 1 16 III. Privileges Under the Act of 1881, The Act of 1870 mainly conferred two advantages on evicted Tenants— {a) Full payment for all improvements ; (i b ) Compensation for disturbance. The Act of 1881 gave three additional privileges to those who avail themselves of them — 1. FIXITY OF TENURE— By which the tenant remains in possession of his land FOR EVER, subject to periodical revision of his rent. (Land Act, 1 88 1 , sect. 8.) NCTtt. — If a Tenant has not had a fair rent fixed, and his Landlord proceeds to evict him for non-payment of rent, he can apply to the Court to fix the fair rent ; and meantime the eviction proceedings will be re- strained by the Court. (Land Act, 1881, sect. 13.) 2. FAIR RENT— By which any yearly tenant may apply to the Land Commission Court (the Judges of which were appointed under Mr. Gladstone’s administration) to fix the fair rent of his holding. The applica- tion is referred to three persons, one of whom is a lawyer, and the other two inspect and value the farm. This rent can never again be raised by the Landlord. (Land Act, 1881, sect. 8.) 3. FREE SALE By which every yearly tenant may. whether he has had a fair rent fixed or not, SELL HIS TENANCY TO THE HIGHEST bidder, whenever he desires to leave. (Land Act, 1881, sect. I.) Note — There is no practical limit to the price he may sell for, and 20 times the amount of the annual rent has frequently been obtained in every province of Ireland. Even if a Tenant be evicted, he has the right either to re- deem at any time within six months, or TO sell his TENANCY WITHIN THE SAME PERIOD TO A PURCHA- SER WHO CAN likewise redeem, and thus acquire all the privileges of the Tenant (Land Act, 1881, sect. 13.) 152] *7 IV. Privileges Under the Land Purchase Act of 1885. if a tenant wishes to buy his holding, and arranges with his landlord as to terms, he can change his position from that of a perpetual rent-payer into that of the payer of an annuity terminable at the end of 49 years, the Government supplying him with the entire purchase-money, to be repaid during those 49 years at 4 per cent. This annual payment of £4 for every £100 borrowed, covers both principal and interest. Thus if a tenant already paying a statutory rent of £50 agrees to buy from his landlord at twenty years’ purchase (or £1,000), the Government will lend him the money, his rent will at once cease, and he will pay, not £50, but £40 yearly, for 49 years, and then become the owner of his holding, free of rent. It is hardly necessary to point out that, as these 49 years of payment roll by, the interest of the tenant in his holding in- creases rapidly in value. (Land Purchase Act, 1885, sects. 2, 3, and 4.) It must also be remembered that the privileges cited in this leaflet, though the most important, are by no means the entire of the legal privileges of the Irish tenant. Thus it will be seen (to use the words of Mr, Chamberlain), that “ The Irish tenant is in a position which is more favourable than that of any agricultural tenant throughout the whole of Europe. I will say in any civilised country on the face of the globe. . . There are thousands and tens of thousands of tenants throughout Scotland and England who would receive as an inestimable boon those opportunities which the Irish tenant so scornfully rejects.” — Speech at Hawick, Scotsman , January 24th, 1887. In considering these privileges, it must be borne in mind that those conferred by the Act of 1881 [which broke down old contracts of tenancy, and even prohibited tenants of holdings valued under £150 yearly from contracting them- selves out of the Act] COULD NOT HAVE BEEN GIVEN UNDER the Constitution of the United States.* * See Federal Constitution, Article I., sect. x. i. — “No State shall PASS ANY LAW IMPAIRING THE OBLIGATION OF CONTRACTS.” 25th January , i88y. [153 A P PEND IX B. Analysis of Particulars of Sales of Tenants Interests in their Holdings , 1882-6, inclusive. Compiled from Returns furnished to the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union. TABLE X . Number of Sales and Number of Years’ Purchase given for Tenants’ Interest. WHERE THE ANNUAL RENT WAS £20 AND UNDER. Number of cases in which price paid represented an equivalent to Ster Leinster Munster Connaught All Ireland 10 years 5 purchase and under . . . 220 60 03 53 402 Over 10 „ and not exceeding 20 2C7 32 42 51 392 „ 20 „ „ 30 ... 89 7 23 8 127 „ 30 „ „ 40 ... 41 2 8 3 54 „ 40 „ „ 50 ... 18 1 2 21 „ 50 „ 12 1 12 Total 047 108 138 115 1,008 WHERE THE ANNUAL RENT WAS OYER £20. 1 0 years’ purchase and under . . . 82 88 94 23 287 Over 10 „ and not exceeding 20 ... 76 20 36 10 148 „ 20 „ 30 ... 20 1 0 1 28 „ 30 „ 40 ... 1 1 „ 40 „ 50 ... T 1 „ 50 „ 1 1 Total 180 115 137 34 466 Grand r f otal for all Ireland S27 223 275 149 1,474 The following Table gives the proportion per Cent, for the above total of 1,474 Cases : — -■* ^ — - — Years’ Purchase ! O I I 1 Rent £20 and under Rent over £20 Grand Total U 5 a | Tc S g o O -a § O U o 1 ^ Leinster j Munster Connaught All Ireland 10 yrs. & under 34*0 61-1 45-6 46-1 39-9 45-5 76-5 68-6 67-6 61-6 1 50-75 Ret ween 10 & 20 41-3 29-0 30-5 44-3 38-9 :: 42-2 22-6 26-3 29-4 31-8 35-35 „ 20 & 30 137 6-5 16-6 7-0 12-6 | 11T •9 4.4 3-0 6-0 9-3 „ 30 & 40 0*4 1-9 5-8 2-0 5-4 ! ! ... *7 *2 2-8 „ 40 & 50 2-8 •9 1-5 2-0 !l -o *2 1-1 Over 50 1-8 1-2 !' ' G ’2 •7 100*0 | 100-0 100-0 : 100-0 1 j 100-0 100-0 100-0 100 0 o 6 o o o o 1 1-1 1000 1 54 ] APPENDIX B (Continued.) TABLE II. Sales of Tenants Interests in their Holdings , 1SS6. Particulars of 293 Cases of Sales since 1st January, 188G (included in Table I.) ANNUAL RENT £20 AND UNDER. Number of cases in which price paid represented an equivalent to Ulster Leinster Munster Connaught All Ireland 1 0 years’ purchase and under . . . 44 12 1 8 16 80- Over 10 „ and not exceeding 20 . . . 57 4 6 10 i i „ 20 „ „ 30 ... 18 1 7 26 „ 30 „ „ 40 ... 11 1 12 „ 40 „ „ 50 ... 5 5 » 50 „ 5 5 140 17 22 1 26 J 205 ANNUAL RENT OYER £20. 10 years’ purchase and under . . . Over 10 „ and not exceeding 20 ... „ 20 „ „ 30 ... „ 30 ,, » 40 „ 40 „ „ 50 ... „ 50 „ 14 14 7 27 4 17 2 3 ::: 35 31 19 3 1 Grand Total for all Ireland 175 48 41 29 Proportion per Cent, for the above Total of 293 Cases. Tears’ Purchase Annual Rent £20 and under Annual Rent over £20 Grand Total Ulster Leinster Munster « o O All Ireland Ulster Leinster Munster Connaught n ci p 10 yrs. & under 31-5 70-5 36-4 61-5 39-0 40-0 87-1 89-5 100-0 693 54-15 Between 10 & 20 40-8 23-5 27-3 38-5 37-5 40-0 12-9 10-5 22-7 301 „ 20 & 30 12-9 6-0 31-8 12-7 20-0 • . • • • • 8-0 1035 „ 30 & 40 7-8 ... 4-5 5-8 2-9 „ 40 & 50 35 2-5 1 ••• ... 1-75 Over £50 35 2-5 1 - ... l - 75 100-0 100-0 o o o o o © 1 100-0 1 1 100-0, 100-0, ll 1 1 1Q0-0j 100-0 100-0 100-00 [155 APPENDIX C. IRISH BANKING STATISTICS. It is very difficult indeed to reconcile the assertion that owing to the fall in agricultural prices the people of Ireland are sink- ing into low depths of poverty with the facts disclosed in the report by the Irish Registrar-General on the banking statistics of Ireland, which was issued yesterday afternoon. It is per- haps erroneous to speak of Mr. Grimshaw’s statement as a report, for he has confined himself to the compilation of tables relative to the deposits in the Irish banks, and to the invest- ments in Government and India stocks, upon which dividends are payable at the Bank of Ireland, and has left these to tell their own tale. Each class of banks is dealt with separately, but in order that the broad results maybe more clearly shown, we have brought them all together in the following summary table : — Amount of deposits in Irish Joint Stock and Post Office and Trustee Savings’ Banks on December 31. Joint Stock Banks. £ Trustee Savings’ Banks. £ Post Office Savings’ Banks. £ Total. £ 1886 30,172,000 2,007,000 2,444,000 34,623,000 1885 29,370,000 1,981,000 2,202,000 34,553,000 1884 30,627,000 2,097,000 1,990,000 33,714,000 1883 31,340,000 2,060,000 1,834,000 35,234,000 1882 32,746,000 2,078,000 1,718,000 36,542,000 1881 30,161,000 2,042,000 1,513,000 33,716,000 1880 29,746,000 2,079,000 1,310,000 33,135,000 1879 30,541,000 2,098,000 1,181,000 33,820,000 1 878 31 , 534,000 2,160,000 1,121,000 34,815,000 1877 33 ,° 5 0 , 000 2,220,000 1,084,000 36,354,000 1876 34,240,000 2,153,000 981,000 37,374,000 1875 33,519,000 2,044,000 888,000 36,451,000 1874 31,734,000 2,092,000 819,000 34,645,000 1873 29,210,000 2,075,000 764,000 32,049,000 1872 28,732,000 1,964,000 759,000 31,455,000 1871 27,348,000 2,208,000 687,000 30,243,000 1870 24,366,000 2,055,000 583,000 27,004,000 1869 22,673,000 1,975,000 458,000 25,106,000 1868 22,164,000 1,814,000 356,000 24,334,000 1867 21,794,000 1,633,000 260,000 23,687,000 1866 20,957,000 1,540,000 221,000 22,718,000 1865 18,619,000 1,837,000 207,000 20,663,000 1864 15,623,000 1,973,000 177,000 17,773,000 1863 12,967,000 2,072,000 144,000 15,183,000 1862 14,389,000 2,088,000 79,000 16,556,000 156] 21 APPENDIX C ( Continued). In every class of banks it will be seen there was last year a considerable increase in the amount of the deposits, and this growth is all the more noteworthy because of the decrease in the population of the country. If we compare the amount of the deposits with the number of the population the state- ment is : — Estimated Average per Head. Population. £ 1886 4,888,000 T 1 1885 4,920,000 6-8 1880 5,327,000 62 1875 5,309,000 6*9 1870 5,413,000 5 ‘° 1865 5,592,000 37 1862 5,775,000 2-9 The total deposits thus ; average nearly a pound a head more than they did in 1880, and yet the contention of the Na- tionalists is, that the country has become so much impoverished that burdens which it was possible to bear five years ago have become impossible now. It may possibly be that the deposits have increased because of the withholding of rents. We take it that the Registrar’s tables take account only of moneys standing at the credit of Irish depositors ; and it is possible that if rents had been paid some of this money might have been transferred by the landlords to their credit in English banks. This, however, does not seem a very probable explana- tion of the growth ; and, even if there were anything in it, it would point not to inability, but to unwillingness on the part of tenants to fulfil their obligations. And the significance of the increase in banking deposits is all the greater, because it has taken place concurrently with an augmentation of the investments of Irishmen in Govern- ment and Irish stocks. It would be interesting to hear what explanation those who maintain that poverty is spreading and deepening in Ireland have to offer of those indications of growing wealth. — Economist , 5th March, 1887. [‘57 APPENDIX D. LOANS TO IRELAND. From a tabular statement prepared by the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union it appears that the total amount of money advanced on loan from the Imperial Exchequer to Ireland during the present century was £42,309,524. Of this sum £22,646,312 or over 53 per cent, was repaid as well as interest to the amount of £6,080,491. The amount of the loans re- mitted is £ 10,285,141, or 24 per cent, of the total advanced, leaving a balance outstanding of £9,378,070 of which, how- ever, nearly £9,000,000 is not yet due. The total amount advanced from the Imperial Exchequer for Loan purposes, from 1792 to 1886, was £111,000,000. Of this sum £"51,500,000, or over 46 per cent., was advanced to England proper ; and upwards of £42,300,000, or 38 per cent., to Ireland. Scotland only received £8,200,000, or a little over 7 per cent. Of the total amount advanced, upwards of £14,000,000 was remitted or written off. Of this amount £10,285,000, or nearly 73 per cent, was remitted in the case of Ireland. This is equivalent to a remittal of over 24 per cent, of the total amount advanced to Ireland. Of the amount advanced to England, only £441,000 was written off. This is equivalent to 3 per cent, of the total remitted, and less than I per cent, of the total amount lent to England. In the case of Scotland, £366,000 was written off, being 2 \ per cent, of the total amount remitted by the Imperial Exchequer, and 44 per cent of the amount lent, to Scotland. The amount of the Loans made to Ireland which was afterwards written off doubtless appears very large, coming to £10,285,000, being just one quarter of the total sum lent, which exceeded £42,300,000. On, however, examining, even cursorily, the items of Loans where the largest amounts were remitted, we will find that a very large proportion of the money nominally lent was really intended as a grant justified by the peculiar APPENDIX D ( Continued .) circumstances of the country. Thus ,£5,000,000, or one-half of the total amount remitted, was money given at the period of the famine in 1847-8 for the employment of the Labouring Poor and for Temporary Relief, &c. (under the Statutes 9 & 10 Viet. c. 107 ; and 10 Viet. c. 7). Of the remaining ^5,000,000 remitted, upwards of ij million had been advanced for pur- poses of Tithe Relief, nearly I-J million for Union Workhouses, and ,£1,200,000 for River Drainage and Navigation. Many of these purposes were of such a character, that no particular section of the community could with fairness be compelled to repay them, being rather national than individual in their operation. The advances made for them accordingly partook more of the nature of grants for national objects than Loans to a particular section of the community. The bodies through which Loans were made to Ireland were the Irish Board of Works, the Treasury, the Public Works Loan Commissioners of England, and the Irish Land Com- mission. Over .£35,000,000 or 83 per cent, of the total sum advanced was given through the Irish Board of Works. BOSTON COLLEGE 1 024 80499 9