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Land Acts (Ireland)

The Land Acts (officially Land Law (Ireland) Acts)[1] were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by the government of the United Kingdom between 1870 and 1909. Further acts were introduced by the governments of the Irish Free State after 1922 and more acts were passed for Northern Ireland.

The success of the Land Acts in reducing the concentration of land ownership is indicated by the fact that in 1870, only 3% of Irish farmers owned their own land while 97% were tenants. By 1929, this ratio had been reversed with 97.4% of farmers holding their farms in freehold.[2] However, as Michael Davitt and other Georgists had foreseen, peasant proprietorship did not end hardship in the Irish countryside. Emigration and economic disadvantage continued[3] while the greatest beneficiaries of land reform were the middle class of medium farmers.[2]

Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 edit

Background edit

The British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, had taken up the "Irish question" in an effort to win the general election of 1868 by uniting the Liberal Party behind this single issue. The shock of Fenian violence, especially in England, as well as the growing awareness of the potency of strong nationalist feelings in pan-European politics, was a second reason to tackle the Irish question. Gladstone desired to bring peace with fairness to Ireland, and by extension, the rest of the UK, which was then at the zenith of worldwide Imperial power. The Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 46) was partly the work of Chichester Fortescue, John Bright and Gladstone.[4] The Irish situation was favourable, with agriculture improving and pressure on the land decreasing since the Great Irish Famine. The Encumbered Estates' Court (1849) and agitation by the Tenant Right League had led to the sale of estates by debt-ridden mainly absentee landlords. Gladstone's Liberal government had no explicit mandate for the Act, unlike the Irish Church Act 1869, 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, for 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."[5] 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. As well as the Land Act, the Liberal government also passed the Irish Church Act 1869 and put forward the Irish University Bill that failed to pass both Houses of Parliament.

Policymakers made much use of the statistical data recently collated in Griffith's Valuation (1853–68).

Terms edit

1. The Ulster custom 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 John 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 enabled landlords to raise rents above what tenants could pay, and then to evict them for non-payment without giving any compensation.

Consequences edit

However well-intentioned, the Act was at best irrelevant, at worst counter-productive. Fewer than 1,000 tenants took up the Bright Clauses, since the terms were beyond most tenants 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 anyway at a low level. In the late 1870s when depression struck, evictions for non-payment of rent mounted, tenants had no protection, and in reply 'outrages' and the campaign by the Land League, led by Michael Davitt, became known as the Land War. The government had to pass a Coercion Act as early as 1881 (the Protection of Persons and Property (Ireland) Act 1881) because of the increase in violence in Ireland; it lost support to the Home Rule Movement, which won nine out of 14 Irish by-elections between 1870 and 1874, mainly formerly Liberal-held seats.

Friedrich Engels, a contemporary observer, professed not to know "what the Tories could have against this Bill, which is so indulgent with the Irish landlords and finally places their interests in the tested hands of the Irish lawyers". He thought it "very amusing if the brave Gladstone thinks he has settled the Irish question by means of this new prospect of endless lawsuits".[6] The legislation, however, "had a symbolic significance far beyond its immediate effects."[7] 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 Ireland tenants now had a legal interest in their holdings.

Bessborough Commission edit

The "Report of her Majesty's Commissioners of Enquiry into the working of the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 46) and the acts amending the same", under the chairmanship of the 6th Earl of Bessborough and hence commonly known as the "Bessborough Commission Report," was published in 1881 after lengthy hearings in 1880. It reported that the 1870 act gave the tenant no real protection because compensation for improvements could be claimed only on giving up the lease and because tenants saw themselves as forced to accept rent increases to avoid sacrificing what they had put into their holdings. It declared, "Freedom of contract, in the case of the majority of Irish tenants, large and small, does not really exist". By a majority of four-to-one (Arthur MacMorrough Kavanagh dissenting) the commissioners declared in favour of the "Three Fs" as demanded by the Land League: fair rent, free sale, and fixity of tenure.[8]

Agricultural depression edit

From 1873 to 1896, farmers in Britain and Ireland suffered the "Long Depression" with its lower prices. Grain from America was cheaper and better, and was exported to Europe in ever-increasing amounts. Meat could be sent in refrigerated ships from as far as New Zealand and Argentina. For many tenant farmers in Ireland this meant lower net incomes with which to pay the rents they had agreed. This impacted most on the poorer, wetter western parts of the island that also suffered from the 1879 famine. This provided the context and arguments for further legal reforms.

Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 edit

The Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. 49) gave tenants real security, though by this time the Irish were demanding proprietorship. The Act established the principle of dual ownership by landlord and tenant, gave legal status to the Custom of Ulster throughout the country, provided for compensation for improvements and created the Irish Land Commission and a Land Court. In Gladstone's words, the intention of the act was to make landlordism impossible.[9] However, it was a complicated piece of legislation though it did provide for land purchase, three-quarters of the money to be advanced by the Land Commission, and to be repaid over 35 years at 5% interest. Under the Act, 731 tenants became proprietors.[10] More important was the fact that tenants had the right to take their rents to the Land Court for reduction under the fair rent clause, where in most cases a reduction of between 15% and 20% was awarded.[11]

Despite a short-term reduction of rents (by about 20% by 1882) this act can generally be seen as economically ineffective. Instead of cutting costs or increasing productivity, Irish farmers increasingly turned to the Irish land courts to cut their rents and jack up their dwindling incomes. The land purchase element can be described as counterproductive because the conditions tenants now enjoyed under this Act gave them no incentive to buy, furthermore, some economic historians dispute the effectiveness of land purchase as a solution to the Irish land problem. Land purchase significantly reduced the amount of capital in Ireland that could have been invested to improve efficiency and competitiveness of Irish farms. Therefore, some headway is made towards lower rents but this is at the cost of lower rates of productivity growth in Irish farming. [citation needed]

Arrears of Rent (Ireland) Act 1882
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to make provision respecting certain Arrears of Rent in Ireland.
Citation45 & 46 Vict. c. 47
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent18 August 1882

The Arrears of Rent (Ireland) Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 47) was the result of the No Rent Manifesto and the subsequent Kilmainham Treaty made between Parnell and Gladstone by which the Land Commission was empowered to cancel arrears of less than thirty pounds due by tenants. Two million pounds in arrears were estimated to have been written off.[12]

The act was further amended by Arthur Balfour: the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 33) extended the terms of the act to leaseholders.[13]

Overview edit

The flawed economics that lay behind these acts exposes a political aim on Gladstone's part, to destroy the raison d'être of the Land League (following the recent Land War). Although the second Land Act ushered in a period of tentative calm, it became clear further reforms were necessary.

The act undermined the Land League by granting fair-rent control, fixity of tenure on leases, and freedom of sale: all to be overseen by the new government-sponsored Irish Land Commission. The 1881 act involved state participation in the redistribution of land-ownership. Because of attacks on landlords, the police and witnesses, the Protection of Persons and Property (Ireland) Act 1881 was passed, which added to the atmosphere of distrust of the authorities. An overview of the land war, the reforms and the effect of the Coercion Act was published in 1888 by the journalist WH Hurlbert, an Irish-American Catholic.[14]

A symbolic significance of these land acts are how far Gladstone had come from his starting point. Judicial control of rent levels and the establishment of many land courts was a change from Gladstone's policy of 'retrenchment' and his commitment to free markets.

An added consequence of the land acts was the gradual displacement of the Protestant Ascendancy during the latter 19th and early 20th centuries accompanied by the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the Irish Church Act 1869. Some "Ascendancy" land-owning families like the Marquess of Headfort and the Earl of Granard had by then converted to Catholicism, and a considerable number of Protestant Nationalists had already taken their part in Irish history. A survey of the 4,000 largest landlords in 1872 revealed that already 43% were Roman Catholics, 48% were Church of Ireland, 7% were Presbyterians, and 2% unknown.[15] The term "Protestant Ascendancy" was used from 1879–90 in the Land War and the Plan of Campaign as an emotional term in what was an economic dispute. Religious affiliation was used as a factor as 55% of the largest estates were held by Protestants or Presbyterians in a country overwhelmingly Catholic. However, the "war" applied to landlords of all religions and none.

The pace for land law reforms quickened after the Representation of the People Act 1884, which gave a much greater number of votes to the Irish rural electorate.

Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act 1885 (Ashbourne Land Act) edit

Continued land agitations throughout the 1880s and 1890s culminated firstly with the passing of the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 73), named the "Ashbourne Act" for Lord Ashbourne, putting limited tenant land purchase in motion. The Act allowed a tenant to borrow the full amount of the purchase price, to be repaid at 4% over 49 years. Five million pounds sterling were made available, and about 25,400 tenants purchased their holdings during the period up to 1888, many in Ulster. In all 942,600 acres (3,815 km2) were purchased, which made an average holding of 37 acres (150,000 m2). The purchase price was equal to 17½ years rental.

Land Law (Ireland) Act 1888
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend Section One of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887, in regard to Leaseholders.
Citation51 & 52 Vict. c. 13
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent28 June 1888

The act was amended by the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 13), providing a further five million to the amount granted for purchase under the Ashbourne Act.[16]

Land Law (Ireland) Act 1887 (Balfour) edit

Land Law (Ireland) Act 1887
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881, and the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1885, and for other purposes connected therewith.
Citation50 & 51 Vict. c. 33
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent23 August 1887

The Land Law (Ireland) Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 33) was Arthur Balfour's major Land Act, which came at the end of the 'Plan of Campaign' agitation. It provided £33,000,000 sterling for land purchase, but contained many complicated legal clauses, so that it was not put fully into effect until amended five years later. At this point only £13,500,000 had been employed. It substituted peasant proprietorship for dual ownership as the principle of land tenure. At the same time Balfour created the Congested Districts Board to deal with distress in the backward areas of the west of Ireland.

Land Law (Ireland) Act 1896
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to further amend the Law relating to the Occupation and Ownership of Land in Ireland, and for other purposes relating thereto.
Citation59 & 60 Vict. c. 47
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent14 August 1896

The act was amended by the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 47), increasing the amount available for purchase and removing the clauses which had made the Act unattractive. The Land Courts were empowered to sell 1,500 bankrupt estates to tenants. A total of 47,000 holdings were bought out between 1891 and 1896.[17]

Local government was introduced two years later under the revolutionary Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, which in turn contributed to the success of the United Irish League (UIL) in the 1900 general election, laying the foundation for a lasting solution in the land question.

Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 (Wyndham Land Act) edit

Irish Land Act 1903
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to the occupation and ownership of Land in Ireland and for other purposes relating thereto, and to amend the Labourers (Ireland) Acts.
Citation3 Edw. 7. c. 37
Dates
Royal assent14 August 1903
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Irish Land Act 1903 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Under pressure from both government, UIL and IPP, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, George Wyndham, gave his backing to a Land Conference in December 1902, comprising four moderate landlord representatives led by Lord Dunraven and four tenant representatives led by William O'Brien, the others John Redmond, T. W. Russell (who spoke for Ulster tenant-farmers) and Timothy Harrington. They worked out a new scheme for tenant land purchase, sale was to be made not compulsory, but attractive to both parties, based on the government paying the difference between the price offered by tenants and that demanded by landlords. This was the basis of the "Wyndham Act" – the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 (3 Edw. 7. c. 37) – which O'Brien orchestrated through Parliament.[18][19]

It differed from earlier legislation which initially advanced to tenants the sum necessary to purchase their holdings, repayable over a period of years on terms determined by an independent commission, while the Wyndham Act finished off absentee landlords' control over tenants and made it easier for tenants to purchase land, facilitating the transfer of about 9 million acres (36,000 km2) up to 1914. By then 75% of occupiers were buying out their landlords under the 1903 Act and the later Irish Land Act 1909 of Augustine Birrell, which extended the 1903 Act by allowing for the compulsory purchase of tenanted farmland by the Land Commission, but fell far short in its financial provisions. In all, under these pre-1921 Land Acts over 316,000 tenants purchased their holdings amounting to 11.5 million acres (47,000 km2) out of a total of 20 million acres (81,000 km2) in the country.[20][21]

The Acts provided Irish tenant farmers with more rights than tenant farmers in the rest of the United Kingdom. Munster tenants availed of land purchase in exceptionally high numbers, encouraged by their Irish Land and Labour Association's leader D. D. Sheehan after he and O'Brien established an Advisory Committee to mediate between landlords and tenants on purchase terms which produced a higher take-up of land purchase than in any other province.[22]

Historian R. K. Webb gives most of the credit for the Wyndham Act to Conservative leader Arthur Balfour. He says the Act was:

A complete success. By the time the Irish Free State was created in 1922, the system of peasant proprietorship had become universal... A land problem more than a century old had been solved, though it had taken more than 30 years of educating Parliament and landlords to do it. The scheme was intended as well to "kill Home Rule by kindness".[23]

Labourers (Ireland) Act 1906 edit

Labourers (Ireland) Act 1906
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to Labourers in Ireland and to make provision with respect to the application of portion of the Ireland Development Grant.
Citation6 Edw. 7. c. 37
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent4 August 1906
Labourers (Ireland) Act 1911
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to Labourers in Ireland.
Citation1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 19
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent18 August 1911
Labourers (Ireland) Act 1919
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend the definition of Agricultural Labourer for the purposes of the Labourers (Ireland) Acts.
Citation9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 55
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent19 August 1919
 
Original 1906 Labourers' Act cottage, as seen in 1977

Having largely settled the Irish land question, William O'Brien, convinced by the success of combining the "doctrine of conciliation" with "conference plus business", turned his attention in a Second Phase to the Irish Land and Labour Association's demands for the need to settle Irish labourers in the soil. His parliamentary engagement achieved the successful enactment of the unprecedented Labourers (Ireland) Act 1906 (6 Edw. 7. c. 37) (initiated by James Bryce), followed by the Labourers (Ireland) Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 19) (initiated by Augustine Birrell), and finally the Labourers (Ireland) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 55), which all together made provisions for a programme of large scale state-funded rural social housing, in which over 40,000 labourer-owned cottages were erected on 1 acre (4,000 m2) of land by local County Councils. The Acts housed, at low annual annuities, over a quarter of a million rural labourers and their families, previously living in hovels, which thereby transformed the Irish countryside.[24]

Local Government (Allotments and Land Cultivation) (Ireland) Act 1917
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to enable Local Authorities in Ireland to provide allotments and otherwise promote the cultivation of land, and for other purposes incidental thereto.
Citation7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 30
Dates
Royal assent2 August 1917

To provide small parcels of land for people to grow their own vegetables and fruits, Parliament passed the Local Government (Allotments and Land Cultivation) (Ireland) Act 1917.

Irish Land (Provision for Sailors and Soldiers) Act 1919 edit

Irish Land (Provision for Sailors and Soldiers) Act 1919
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to facilitate the provision of land in Ireland for men who have served in the Naval, Military, or Air Forces of the Crown in the present war, and for other purposes incidental thereto.
Citation9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 82
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent23 December 1919

Following the Great War, a further 5,000 houses were built in both parts of Ireland for returning soldiers, under the Irish Land (Provision for Sailors and Soldiers) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 82) which was defined as "An Act to facilitate the provision of land in Ireland for men who have served in the Naval, Military, or Air Forces of the Crown in the present War, and for other purposes incidental thereto", and, "so far as it relates to the provision of holdings under the Land Purchase Acts, shall be construed as one with those Acts, and, so far as it relates to the provision of cottages, plots, or gardens under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts, 1883 to 1919, shall be construed as one with the last-mentioned Acts."[25] It was effected by the Irish Soldiers' and Sailors' Land Trust, which co-operated with the new Irish Free State, mostly building small new housing estates for veterans at the edge of towns.[26] The object of the Act was to facilitate the reinstatement in civil-life of ex-servicemen and their dependents with the provision of £800,000 sterling for housing accommodation by the Local Government Board.

Free State Land Acts edit

On the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the commission was reconstituted by the Land Law (Commission) Act 1923,[27] which also dissolved the Congested Districts Board. The Land Act 1923 adopted many proposals for a final land settlement from decisions reached during the Irish Convention in 1918 under the chairmanship of Horace Plunkett. The convention's proposals formed the basis of the Act.[28]

The Land Commission had bought up 13 million acres (53,000 km2) of farmland between 1885 and 1920 where the freehold was assigned under mortgage to tenant farmers and farm workers. The focus had been on the compulsory purchase of untenanted estates so that they could be divided into smaller units for local families, some of which proved to be "uneconomic"; this policy was applied unevenly across the country, with some large estates surviving if the owners could show that their land was being actively farmed. Provision was made for compulsory purchase of land owned by a non-Irish person until repealed in 1966.

From 1923, the amounts outstanding under earlier acts were paid to the British government as "land annuities", accruing in a Land Purchase Fund. This was fixed at £250,000 annually in 1925. In December 1925, W. T. Cosgrave lamented that there were already: "250,000 occupiers of uneconomic holdings, the holdings of such a valuation as did not permit of a decent livelihood for the owners".[29] Despite this, his government continued to subdivide larger landholdings, primarily to gain electoral support.

The Land Act 1933, passed on a vote of 70–39, allowed the Minister for Finance to divert the annuities for local government projects.[30] This was a factor in the Anglo-Irish Trade War between 1932 and 1938, and was mutually resolved by a one-off payment of £10 million to Britain in 1938. From 1932 the government argued strongly that Irish farmers should no longer be obliged for historic reasons to pay Britain for Irish land, but when Britain had passed out of the payment system it illogically still required farmers to continue to pay their annuities to the Irish government as before.

The Land Act 1965 was designed to stop speculative purchases of land by non-Irish persons. The Succession Act 1965 treated real estate owned by a deceased person as personalty for the first time.[31]

The commission ceased acquiring land in 1983; this signified the start of the end of the commission's reform of Irish land ownership, though freehold transfers of farmland still had to be signed off by the commission into the 1990s. The commission was dissolved on 31 March 1999, by the Irish Land Commission (Dissolution) Act 1992, and most of the remaining liabilities and assets were transferred to the Minister for Agriculture and Food.[32] Many relevant historical records are held by the National Archives of Ireland.

Ground rents edit

A "ground rent" is a nominal annual rent paid where a property is held under a long lease. Legislation has reformed ground rents alongside the agricultural land laws (see above). While most tenancy reform legislation was enacted for agricultural land, urban and suburban occupiers / tenants have been allowed to "buy out" their ground rents from landlords, and so effectively can change a long lease into a freehold interest, most recently under Acts of 1978[33] and 2005.[34] Notably, ground rents in Castlebar, County Mayo have been withheld following the disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974.[35][failed verification]

Paying ground rents is still considered by some to be an unresolved part of Ireland's history as a part of the United Kingdom; the Irish Government itself pays ground rents for iconic public buildings, including Government Buildings, the Four Courts, Dublin Castle and the Botanic Gardens. While the individual cost of each is relatively small, given inflation, an estimated 250,000 ground rents still exist in Ireland, with the state annually paying for example to the Duke of Leinster for some buildings. Brian Hayes, Minister of State for the Office of Public Works in 2011, stated that a referendum would be required to put the practice to an end. Residents of Hayes' own constituency continue to be issued demands for payment, with many ignoring them, though given that outstanding liabilities of ground rent hinder residents' ability to sell their homes, about 1,600 applications per annum are made to buy out ground rents every year.[36]

Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 edit

After years of debate, the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 comprehensively reformed the law of conveyancing, mortgages, registration of and claims to title, rights of way and easements in the Republic of Ireland. Some little-used interests relating to feudal tenure, life interests, leases for lives and fee tails were formally abolished.[37][38][39]

Northern Ireland edit

Northern Ireland Land Act 1925
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to the Occupation and Ownership of Land in Northern Ireland; and for other purposes relating thereto.
Citation15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. 34
Territorial extent Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent28 May 1925
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Northern Ireland Land Act 1925 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
Northern Ireland Land Act 1929
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to amend the Northern Ireland Land Act, 1925.
Citation19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 14
Territorial extent Northern Ireland
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Northern Ireland Land Act 1929 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
Northern Ireland Land Purchase (Winding Up) Act 1935
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to make provision for the winding up of the system of land purchase in Northern Ireland established by the Land Purchase Acts and other enactments in that behalf, for the abolition of the Land Purchase Commission, Northern Ireland, and the transfer of functions exercisable under the said Acts and other enactments, and for purposes incidental to the purposes aforesaid and consequential thereon.
Citation25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 21
Territorial extent Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent6 June 1935
Other legislation
Amendsamended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Northern Ireland Land Purchase (Winding Up) Act 1935 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The UK Parliament at Westminster passed further Land Acts for Northern Ireland after the Partition of Ireland, such as the Northern Ireland Land Act 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. 34), the Northern Ireland Land Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 14) and the Northern Ireland Land Purchase (Winding Up) Act 1935 (25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 21).

Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act to revise the law relating to the registration of the title to land; to extend the compulsory registration of the title to land; to repeal and re-enact with certain amendments the law relating to the registration of statutory charges; and for matters connected therewith.
Citation1970 c. 18 (N.I.)
Territorial extent Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent23 June 1970
Text of the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Parliament of Northern Ireland passed the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 (c. 18 (N.I.)).

See also edit

References edit

Primary sources edit

  • William Frederick Bailey (1917), The Irish Land Acts: a short sketch of their history and development, Dublin: H.M. Stationery Office, Wikidata Q107712188
  • Davitt, Michael (1882). The land league proposal . Glasgow: Cameron & Ferguson.

Bibliography edit

  • Bew, Paul (1978). Land and the national question in Ireland 1858–82. Dublin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Bew, Paul (1987). Conflict and conciliation in Ireland 1890–1910: Parnellities and radical agrarians. Oxford.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Bew, Paul (2007). Ireland: The Politics of Enmity 1789-2006. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198205555.
  • King, Carla (2009). Michael Davitt. Dublin: University College Dublin Press. ISBN 9781910820964.
  • Campbell, Fergus (2002). "Irish popular politics and the making of the Wyndham Land Act, 1901–1903". The Historical Journal. 45 (4): 755–773. doi:10.1017/S0018246X02002662. S2CID 154867217.
  • Cosgrove, Patrick John (2008). The Wyndham Land Act, 1903: The Final Solution To The Irish Land Question? (PhD). National University of Ireland, Maynooth. (with detailed bibliography}
  • Cosgrove, Patrick John (February 2004). "The social dynamics of nationalist politics in the west of Ireland 1898-1918". Past & Present. 182: 175–209. doi:10.1093/past/182.1.175.
  • Cosgrove, Patrick John (2005). Land and revolution: Nationalist politics in the west of Ireland 1891-1921. Oxford.
  • Cosgrove, Patrick John (2012). "The Controversy and Consequences of John Redmond's Estate Sale under the Wyndham Land Act, 1903". The Historical Journal. 55 (1): 75–96. doi:10.1017/S0018246X11000550. S2CID 153694902.
  • Donnelly Jr., James S. (2001). The decline of the Big House in Ireland. A study of Irish landed families 1860–1960. Dublin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Ferriter, Diarmaid (2004). The Transformation of Ireland, 1900–2000. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-443-4.
  • Dooley, Terence (2004). "Land and politics in independent Ireland, 1923–48: The case for reappraisal" (PDF). Irish Historical Studies. 34 (134): 175–197. doi:10.1017/S0021121400004284. S2CID 152989456.
  • Gailey, Andrew (1987). Ireland and the death of kindness: The experience of constructive unionism 1890–1905. Cork.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Guinnane, Timothy W.; Miller, Ronald I. (1997). "The limits to land reform: the Land Acts in Ireland, 1870–1909" (PDF). Economic Development and Cultural Change. 45 (3): 591–612. doi:10.1086/452292. hdl:10419/160647. S2CID 17477539.
  • McDonnell, Michael F. J. (1908). Ireland and the Home Rule Movement.

Citations edit

  1. ^ The Short Titles Act 1896, section 2(1) and Schedule 2
  2. ^ a b Bew 2007, p. 568.
  3. ^ King 2009, p. 81.
  4. ^ Matthew, H.C.G. (1986). Gladstone 1809–1874. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 192.
  5. ^ "SELECT COMMITTEE MOVED FOR". Hansard. 12 June 1863. from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  6. ^ Friedrich Engels to Karl Marc (17 February 1870) reprinted in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Ireland and the Irish Question (PDF). New York: International Publishers. 1972. p. 401. (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  7. ^ Lyons, F. S. L. (1985). Ireland Since the Famine.
  8. ^ McDonnell 1908, pp. 61–62.
  9. ^ Hickey, D.J. & Doherty, J.E., A new Dictionary of Irish History from 1800, Land Acts p. 287, Gill & MacMillan (2003) ISBN 0-7171-2520-3
  10. ^ Hickey & Doherty: Land Acts p.287
  11. ^ Hickey & Doherty: Land Acts p.287
  12. ^ Hickey & Doherty: Land Acts, pp.287–88
  13. ^ Hickey & Doherty: Land Acts p.288
  14. ^ Hurlbert 1888 vol.1 online 4 July 2020 at the Wayback MachineHurlbert vol.2 12 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Perry Curtis paper, 2003". from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  16. ^ Hickey, D. J. & Doherty, J. E., A new Dictionary of Irish History from 1800, Land Acts p. 288 , Gill & MacMillan (2003) ISBN 0-7171-2520-3
  17. ^ Hickey & Doherty: Land Acts p.288
  18. ^ -Miller, David W. (1973). "Land for the People". Church, State and Nation in Ireland 1898–1921. Gill & Macmillan. pp. 77–94. ISBN 0-7171-0645-4.
  19. ^ King 2009, pp. 68–69.
  20. ^ Ferriter 2004, pp. 62–63, 159.
  21. ^ "Land Purchase Acts 1903+1909 encyclopedic definitions". from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  22. ^ Maume, Patrick (1999). The long Gestation, Irish Nationalist Life 1891–1918. Gill & Macmillan. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-7171-2744-3.
  23. ^ Webb, R. K. (1968). Modern England from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. p. 430.
  24. ^ McKay, Enda (1992). "The Housing of the Working Classes 1883–1916". Saother. 17. Irish Labour History Society: 27–38.
  25. ^ Irish Land (Provision For Sailors and Soldiers) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 6, c. 82 of 1919). Enacted on 23 December 1919. Act of the UK Parliament. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
  26. ^ Aalen, F.H.A. (July 1988). "Homes for Irish Heroes: Housing under the Irish Land (Provision for Soldiers and Sailors) Act 1919, and the Irish Sailors' and Soldiers' Land Trust". The Town Planning Review. 59 (3): 305–323. doi:10.3828/tpr.59.3.x2w0tg8837816033. JSTOR 40111696. from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  27. ^ Land Law (Commission) Act 1923 (No. 27 of 1923). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
  28. ^ Maume, Patrick (1999). The long Gestation, Irish Nationalist Life 1891–1918. Gill & Macmillan. p. 201. ISBN 0-7171-2744-3.
    Note 238, p. 295: Joseph Sheehan, 'Killing Landlords by Kindness', paper read to conference of Irish Historical Students' Association, 1993.
  29. ^ "PRIVATE BUSINESS. - TREATY (CONFIRMATION OF AMENDING AGREEMENT) BILL, 1925—SECOND STAGE (Resumed) – Dáil Éireann (4th Dáil) – Vol. 13 No. 17". Oireachtas. 10 December 1925. from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Public Business – Land (Purchase Annuities Fund) Bill, 1933—Final Stages – Dáil Éireann (8th Dáil) – Vol. 46 No. 8". Oireachtas. 16 March 1933. from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  31. ^ . Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  32. ^ Irish Land Commission (Dissolution) Act 1992 (No. 25 of 1992). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
  33. ^ Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978 (No. 16 of 1978). Enacted on 28 June 1978. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
  34. ^ Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 2005 (No. 7 of 2005). Enacted on 19 May 2005. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
  35. ^ Dudley Edwards, Ruth. "Still lookin' for Lucan, the conspiracy wonks". from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  36. ^ "State making ground rent payments on 53 properties". The Irish Times. 16 May 2011. from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  37. ^ "Property Registration Authority -". from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  38. ^ http://www.mhc.ie/publications/item/127/land-and- [dead link]
  39. ^ Land And Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 (No. 27 of 2009). Enacted on 21 July 2009. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.

External links edit

  • Des Keenan, Post Famine Ireland- Social Structure Ireland as it Really Was. Chapter 2. The economy I: agriculture
  • William Macafee. Local historical studies of rural areas: methods and sources

land, acts, ireland, land, acts, officially, land, ireland, acts, were, series, measures, deal, with, question, tenancy, contracts, peasant, proprietorship, land, ireland, nineteenth, twentieth, centuries, five, such, acts, were, introduced, government, united. The Land Acts officially Land Law Ireland Acts 1 were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Five such acts were introduced by the government of the United Kingdom between 1870 and 1909 Further acts were introduced by the governments of the Irish Free State after 1922 and more acts were passed for Northern Ireland The success of the Land Acts in reducing the concentration of land ownership is indicated by the fact that in 1870 only 3 of Irish farmers owned their own land while 97 were tenants By 1929 this ratio had been reversed with 97 4 of farmers holding their farms in freehold 2 However as Michael Davitt and other Georgists had foreseen peasant proprietorship did not end hardship in the Irish countryside Emigration and economic disadvantage continued 3 while the greatest beneficiaries of land reform were the middle class of medium farmers 2 Contents 1 Landlord and Tenant Ireland Act 1870 1 1 Background 1 2 Terms 1 3 Consequences 2 Bessborough Commission 3 Agricultural depression 4 Land Law Ireland Act 1881 4 1 Overview 5 Purchase of Land Ireland Act 1885 Ashbourne Land Act 6 Land Law Ireland Act 1887 Balfour 7 Land Purchase Ireland Act 1903 Wyndham Land Act 8 Labourers Ireland Act 1906 9 Irish Land Provision for Sailors and Soldiers Act 1919 10 Free State Land Acts 10 1 Ground rents 11 Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 12 Northern Ireland 13 See also 14 References 14 1 Primary sources 15 Bibliography 15 1 Citations 15 2 External linksLandlord and Tenant Ireland Act 1870 editMain article Landlord and Tenant Ireland Act 1870 Background edit The British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone had taken up the Irish question in an effort to win the general election of 1868 by uniting the Liberal Party behind this single issue The shock of Fenian violence especially in England as well as the growing awareness of the potency of strong nationalist feelings in pan European politics was a second reason to tackle the Irish question Gladstone desired to bring peace with fairness to Ireland and by extension the rest of the UK which was then at the zenith of worldwide Imperial power The Landlord and Tenant Ireland Act 1870 33 amp 34 Vict c 46 was partly the work of Chichester Fortescue John Bright and Gladstone 4 The Irish situation was favourable with agriculture improving and pressure on the land decreasing since the Great Irish Famine The Encumbered Estates Court 1849 and agitation by the Tenant Right League had led to the sale of estates by debt ridden mainly absentee landlords Gladstone s Liberal government had no explicit mandate for the Act unlike the Irish Church Act 1869 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 for 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 5 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 As well as the Land Act the Liberal government also passed the Irish Church Act 1869 and put forward the Irish University Bill that failed to pass both Houses of Parliament Policymakers made much use of the statistical data recently collated in Griffith s Valuation 1853 68 Terms edit 1 The Ulster custom 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 dd 3 The John 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 enabled landlords to raise rents above what tenants could pay and then to evict them for non payment without giving any compensation Consequences edit However well intentioned the Act was at best irrelevant at worst counter productive Fewer than 1 000 tenants took up the Bright Clauses since the terms were beyond most tenants 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 anyway at a low level In the late 1870s when depression struck evictions for non payment of rent mounted tenants had no protection and in reply outrages and the campaign by the Land League led by Michael Davitt became known as the Land War The government had to pass a Coercion Act as early as 1881 the Protection of Persons and Property Ireland Act 1881 because of the increase in violence in Ireland it lost support to the Home Rule Movement which won nine out of 14 Irish by elections between 1870 and 1874 mainly formerly Liberal held seats Friedrich Engels a contemporary observer professed not to know what the Tories could have against this Bill which is so indulgent with the Irish landlords and finally places their interests in the tested hands of the Irish lawyers He thought it very amusing if the brave Gladstone thinks he has settled the Irish question by means of this new prospect of endless lawsuits 6 The legislation however had a symbolic significance far beyond its immediate effects 7 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 Ireland tenants now had a legal interest in their holdings Bessborough Commission editThe Report of her Majesty s Commissioners of Enquiry into the working of the Landlord and Tenant Ireland Act 1870 33 amp 34 Vict c 46 and the acts amending the same under the chairmanship of the 6th Earl of Bessborough and hence commonly known as the Bessborough Commission Report was published in 1881 after lengthy hearings in 1880 It reported that the 1870 act gave the tenant no real protection because compensation for improvements could be claimed only on giving up the lease and because tenants saw themselves as forced to accept rent increases to avoid sacrificing what they had put into their holdings It declared Freedom of contract in the case of the majority of Irish tenants large and small does not really exist By a majority of four to one Arthur MacMorrough Kavanagh dissenting the commissioners declared in favour of the Three Fs as demanded by the Land League fair rent free sale and fixity of tenure 8 Agricultural depression editFrom 1873 to 1896 farmers in Britain and Ireland suffered the Long Depression with its lower prices Grain from America was cheaper and better and was exported to Europe in ever increasing amounts Meat could be sent in refrigerated ships from as far as New Zealand and Argentina For many tenant farmers in Ireland this meant lower net incomes with which to pay the rents they had agreed This impacted most on the poorer wetter western parts of the island that also suffered from the 1879 famine This provided the context and arguments for further legal reforms Land Law Ireland Act 1881 editMain article Land Law Ireland Act 1881 The Land Law Ireland Act 1881 44 amp 45 Vict c 49 gave tenants real security though by this time the Irish were demanding proprietorship The Act established the principle of dual ownership by landlord and tenant gave legal status to the Custom of Ulster throughout the country provided for compensation for improvements and created the Irish Land Commission and a Land Court In Gladstone s words the intention of the act was to make landlordism impossible 9 However it was a complicated piece of legislation though it did provide for land purchase three quarters of the money to be advanced by the Land Commission and to be repaid over 35 years at 5 interest Under the Act 731 tenants became proprietors 10 More important was the fact that tenants had the right to take their rents to the Land Court for reduction under the fair rent clause where in most cases a reduction of between 15 and 20 was awarded 11 Despite a short term reduction of rents by about 20 by 1882 this act can generally be seen as economically ineffective Instead of cutting costs or increasing productivity Irish farmers increasingly turned to the Irish land courts to cut their rents and jack up their dwindling incomes The land purchase element can be described as counterproductive because the conditions tenants now enjoyed under this Act gave them no incentive to buy furthermore some economic historians dispute the effectiveness of land purchase as a solution to the Irish land problem Land purchase significantly reduced the amount of capital in Ireland that could have been invested to improve efficiency and competitiveness of Irish farms Therefore some headway is made towards lower rents but this is at the cost of lower rates of productivity growth in Irish farming citation needed Arrears of Rent Ireland Act 1882Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to make provision respecting certain Arrears of Rent in Ireland Citation45 amp 46 Vict c 47Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent18 August 1882 The Arrears of Rent Ireland Act 1882 45 amp 46 Vict c 47 was the result of the No Rent Manifesto and the subsequent Kilmainham Treaty made between Parnell and Gladstone by which the Land Commission was empowered to cancel arrears of less than thirty pounds due by tenants Two million pounds in arrears were estimated to have been written off 12 The act was further amended by Arthur Balfour the Land Law Ireland Act 1887 50 amp 51 Vict c 33 extended the terms of the act to leaseholders 13 Overview edit The flawed economics that lay behind these acts exposes a political aim on Gladstone s part to destroy the raison d etre of the Land League following the recent Land War Although the second Land Act ushered in a period of tentative calm it became clear further reforms were necessary The act undermined the Land League by granting fair rent control fixity of tenure on leases and freedom of sale all to be overseen by the new government sponsored Irish Land Commission The 1881 act involved state participation in the redistribution of land ownership Because of attacks on landlords the police and witnesses the Protection of Persons and Property Ireland Act 1881 was passed which added to the atmosphere of distrust of the authorities An overview of the land war the reforms and the effect of the Coercion Act was published in 1888 by the journalist WH Hurlbert an Irish American Catholic 14 A symbolic significance of these land acts are how far Gladstone had come from his starting point Judicial control of rent levels and the establishment of many land courts was a change from Gladstone s policy of retrenchment and his commitment to free markets An added consequence of the land acts was the gradual displacement of the Protestant Ascendancy during the latter 19th and early 20th centuries accompanied by the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the Irish Church Act 1869 Some Ascendancy land owning families like the Marquess of Headfort and the Earl of Granard had by then converted to Catholicism and a considerable number of Protestant Nationalists had already taken their part in Irish history A survey of the 4 000 largest landlords in 1872 revealed that already 43 were Roman Catholics 48 were Church of Ireland 7 were Presbyterians and 2 unknown 15 The term Protestant Ascendancy was used from 1879 90 in the Land War and the Plan of Campaign as an emotional term in what was an economic dispute Religious affiliation was used as a factor as 55 of the largest estates were held by Protestants or Presbyterians in a country overwhelmingly Catholic However the war applied to landlords of all religions and none The pace for land law reforms quickened after the Representation of the People Act 1884 which gave a much greater number of votes to the Irish rural electorate Purchase of Land Ireland Act 1885 Ashbourne Land Act editMain article Purchase of Land Ireland Act 1885 Continued land agitations throughout the 1880s and 1890s culminated firstly with the passing of the Purchase of Land Ireland Act 1885 48 amp 49 Vict c 73 named the Ashbourne Act for Lord Ashbourne putting limited tenant land purchase in motion The Act allowed a tenant to borrow the full amount of the purchase price to be repaid at 4 over 49 years Five million pounds sterling were made available and about 25 400 tenants purchased their holdings during the period up to 1888 many in Ulster In all 942 600 acres 3 815 km2 were purchased which made an average holding of 37 acres 150 000 m2 The purchase price was equal to 17 years rental Land Law Ireland Act 1888Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend Section One of the Land Law Ireland Act 1887 in regard to Leaseholders Citation51 amp 52 Vict c 13Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent28 June 1888 The act was amended by the Land Law Ireland Act 1888 51 amp 52 Vict c 13 providing a further five million to the amount granted for purchase under the Ashbourne Act 16 Land Law Ireland Act 1887 Balfour editLand Law Ireland Act 1887Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the Land Law Ireland Act 1881 and the Purchase of Land Ireland Act 1885 and for other purposes connected therewith Citation50 amp 51 Vict c 33Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent23 August 1887 The Land Law Ireland Act 1887 50 amp 51 Vict c 33 was Arthur Balfour s major Land Act which came at the end of the Plan of Campaign agitation It provided 33 000 000 sterling for land purchase but contained many complicated legal clauses so that it was not put fully into effect until amended five years later At this point only 13 500 000 had been employed It substituted peasant proprietorship for dual ownership as the principle of land tenure At the same time Balfour created the Congested Districts Board to deal with distress in the backward areas of the west of Ireland Land Law Ireland Act 1896Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to further amend the Law relating to the Occupation and Ownership of Land in Ireland and for other purposes relating thereto Citation59 amp 60 Vict c 47Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent14 August 1896 The act was amended by the Land Law Ireland Act 1896 59 amp 60 Vict c 47 increasing the amount available for purchase and removing the clauses which had made the Act unattractive The Land Courts were empowered to sell 1 500 bankrupt estates to tenants A total of 47 000 holdings were bought out between 1891 and 1896 17 Local government was introduced two years later under the revolutionary Local Government Ireland Act 1898 which in turn contributed to the success of the United Irish League UIL in the 1900 general election laying the foundation for a lasting solution in the land question Land Purchase Ireland Act 1903 Wyndham Land Act editIrish Land Act 1903Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to the occupation and ownership of Land in Ireland and for other purposes relating thereto and to amend the Labourers Ireland Acts Citation3 Edw 7 c 37DatesRoyal assent14 August 1903Text of statute as originally enactedText of the Irish Land Act 1903 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk Under pressure from both government UIL and IPP the Chief Secretary for Ireland George Wyndham gave his backing to a Land Conference in December 1902 comprising four moderate landlord representatives led by Lord Dunraven and four tenant representatives led by William O Brien the others John Redmond T W Russell who spoke for Ulster tenant farmers and Timothy Harrington They worked out a new scheme for tenant land purchase sale was to be made not compulsory but attractive to both parties based on the government paying the difference between the price offered by tenants and that demanded by landlords This was the basis of the Wyndham Act the Land Purchase Ireland Act 1903 3 Edw 7 c 37 which O Brien orchestrated through Parliament 18 19 It differed from earlier legislation which initially advanced to tenants the sum necessary to purchase their holdings repayable over a period of years on terms determined by an independent commission while the Wyndham Act finished off absentee landlords control over tenants and made it easier for tenants to purchase land facilitating the transfer of about 9 million acres 36 000 km2 up to 1914 By then 75 of occupiers were buying out their landlords under the 1903 Act and the later Irish Land Act 1909 of Augustine Birrell which extended the 1903 Act by allowing for the compulsory purchase of tenanted farmland by the Land Commission but fell far short in its financial provisions In all under these pre 1921 Land Acts over 316 000 tenants purchased their holdings amounting to 11 5 million acres 47 000 km2 out of a total of 20 million acres 81 000 km2 in the country 20 21 The Acts provided Irish tenant farmers with more rights than tenant farmers in the rest of the United Kingdom Munster tenants availed of land purchase in exceptionally high numbers encouraged by their Irish Land and Labour Association s leader D D Sheehan after he and O Brien established an Advisory Committee to mediate between landlords and tenants on purchase terms which produced a higher take up of land purchase than in any other province 22 Historian R K Webb gives most of the credit for the Wyndham Act to Conservative leader Arthur Balfour He says the Act was A complete success By the time the Irish Free State was created in 1922 the system of peasant proprietorship had become universal A land problem more than a century old had been solved though it had taken more than 30 years of educating Parliament and landlords to do it The scheme was intended as well to kill Home Rule by kindness 23 Labourers Ireland Act 1906 editLabourers Ireland Act 1906Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to Labourers in Ireland and to make provision with respect to the application of portion of the Ireland Development Grant Citation6 Edw 7 c 37Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent4 August 1906 Labourers Ireland Act 1911Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to Labourers in Ireland Citation1 amp 2 Geo 5 c 19Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent18 August 1911 Labourers Ireland Act 1919Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the definition of Agricultural Labourer for the purposes of the Labourers Ireland Acts Citation9 amp 10 Geo 5 c 55Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent19 August 1919 nbsp Original 1906 Labourers Act cottage as seen in 1977 Having largely settled the Irish land question William O Brien convinced by the success of combining the doctrine of conciliation with conference plus business turned his attention in a Second Phase to the Irish Land and Labour Association s demands for the need to settle Irish labourers in the soil His parliamentary engagement achieved the successful enactment of the unprecedented Labourers Ireland Act 1906 6 Edw 7 c 37 initiated by James Bryce followed by the Labourers Ireland Act 1911 1 amp 2 Geo 5 c 19 initiated by Augustine Birrell and finally the Labourers Ireland Act 1919 9 amp 10 Geo 5 c 55 which all together made provisions for a programme of large scale state funded rural social housing in which over 40 000 labourer owned cottages were erected on 1 acre 4 000 m2 of land by local County Councils The Acts housed at low annual annuities over a quarter of a million rural labourers and their families previously living in hovels which thereby transformed the Irish countryside 24 Local Government Allotments and Land Cultivation Ireland Act 1917Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to enable Local Authorities in Ireland to provide allotments and otherwise promote the cultivation of land and for other purposes incidental thereto Citation7 amp 8 Geo 5 c 30DatesRoyal assent2 August 1917 To provide small parcels of land for people to grow their own vegetables and fruits Parliament passed the Local Government Allotments and Land Cultivation Ireland Act 1917 Irish Land Provision for Sailors and Soldiers Act 1919 editIrish Land Provision for Sailors and Soldiers Act 1919Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to facilitate the provision of land in Ireland for men who have served in the Naval Military or Air Forces of the Crown in the present war and for other purposes incidental thereto Citation9 amp 10 Geo 5 c 82Territorial extent IrelandDatesRoyal assent23 December 1919 Following the Great War a further 5 000 houses were built in both parts of Ireland for returning soldiers under the Irish Land Provision for Sailors and Soldiers Act 1919 9 amp 10 Geo 5 c 82 which was defined as An Act to facilitate the provision of land in Ireland for men who have served in the Naval Military or Air Forces of the Crown in the present War and for other purposes incidental thereto and so far as it relates to the provision of holdings under the Land Purchase Acts shall be construed as one with those Acts and so far as it relates to the provision of cottages plots or gardens under the Labourers Ireland Acts 1883 to 1919 shall be construed as one with the last mentioned Acts 25 It was effected by the Irish Soldiers and Sailors Land Trust which co operated with the new Irish Free State mostly building small new housing estates for veterans at the edge of towns 26 The object of the Act was to facilitate the reinstatement in civil life of ex servicemen and their dependents with the provision of 800 000 sterling for housing accommodation by the Local Government Board Free State Land Acts editOn the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 the commission was reconstituted by the Land Law Commission Act 1923 27 which also dissolved the Congested Districts Board The Land Act 1923 adopted many proposals for a final land settlement from decisions reached during the Irish Convention in 1918 under the chairmanship of Horace Plunkett The convention s proposals formed the basis of the Act 28 The Land Commission had bought up 13 million acres 53 000 km2 of farmland between 1885 and 1920 where the freehold was assigned under mortgage to tenant farmers and farm workers The focus had been on the compulsory purchase of untenanted estates so that they could be divided into smaller units for local families some of which proved to be uneconomic this policy was applied unevenly across the country with some large estates surviving if the owners could show that their land was being actively farmed Provision was made for compulsory purchase of land owned by a non Irish person until repealed in 1966 From 1923 the amounts outstanding under earlier acts were paid to the British government as land annuities accruing in a Land Purchase Fund This was fixed at 250 000 annually in 1925 In December 1925 W T Cosgrave lamented that there were already 250 000 occupiers of uneconomic holdings the holdings of such a valuation as did not permit of a decent livelihood for the owners 29 Despite this his government continued to subdivide larger landholdings primarily to gain electoral support The Land Act 1933 passed on a vote of 70 39 allowed the Minister for Finance to divert the annuities for local government projects 30 This was a factor in the Anglo Irish Trade War between 1932 and 1938 and was mutually resolved by a one off payment of 10 million to Britain in 1938 From 1932 the government argued strongly that Irish farmers should no longer be obliged for historic reasons to pay Britain for Irish land but when Britain had passed out of the payment system it illogically still required farmers to continue to pay their annuities to the Irish government as before The Land Act 1965 was designed to stop speculative purchases of land by non Irish persons The Succession Act 1965 treated real estate owned by a deceased person as personalty for the first time 31 The commission ceased acquiring land in 1983 this signified the start of the end of the commission s reform of Irish land ownership though freehold transfers of farmland still had to be signed off by the commission into the 1990s The commission was dissolved on 31 March 1999 by the Irish Land Commission Dissolution Act 1992 and most of the remaining liabilities and assets were transferred to the Minister for Agriculture and Food 32 Many relevant historical records are held by the National Archives of Ireland Ground rents edit A ground rent is a nominal annual rent paid where a property is held under a long lease Legislation has reformed ground rents alongside the agricultural land laws see above While most tenancy reform legislation was enacted for agricultural land urban and suburban occupiers tenants have been allowed to buy out their ground rents from landlords and so effectively can change a long lease into a freehold interest most recently under Acts of 1978 33 and 2005 34 Notably ground rents in Castlebar County Mayo have been withheld following the disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974 35 failed verification Paying ground rents is still considered by some to be an unresolved part of Ireland s history as a part of the United Kingdom the Irish Government itself pays ground rents for iconic public buildings including Government Buildings the Four Courts Dublin Castle and the Botanic Gardens While the individual cost of each is relatively small given inflation an estimated 250 000 ground rents still exist in Ireland with the state annually paying for example to the Duke of Leinster for some buildings Brian Hayes Minister of State for the Office of Public Works in 2011 stated that a referendum would be required to put the practice to an end Residents of Hayes own constituency continue to be issued demands for payment with many ignoring them though given that outstanding liabilities of ground rent hinder residents ability to sell their homes about 1 600 applications per annum are made to buy out ground rents every year 36 Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 editAfter years of debate the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 comprehensively reformed the law of conveyancing mortgages registration of and claims to title rights of way and easements in the Republic of Ireland Some little used interests relating to feudal tenure life interests leases for lives and fee tails were formally abolished 37 38 39 Northern Ireland editNorthern Ireland Land Act 1925Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to the Occupation and Ownership of Land in Northern Ireland and for other purposes relating thereto Citation15 amp 16 Geo 5 c 34Territorial extent Northern IrelandDatesRoyal assent28 May 1925Status AmendedText of statute as originally enactedText of the Northern Ireland Land Act 1925 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk Northern Ireland Land Act 1929Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the Northern Ireland Land Act 1925 Citation19 amp 20 Geo 5 c 14Territorial extent Northern IrelandStatus AmendedText of statute as originally enactedText of the Northern Ireland Land Act 1929 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk Northern Ireland Land Purchase Winding Up Act 1935Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to make provision for the winding up of the system of land purchase in Northern Ireland established by the Land Purchase Acts and other enactments in that behalf for the abolition of the Land Purchase Commission Northern Ireland and the transfer of functions exercisable under the said Acts and other enactments and for purposes incidental to the purposes aforesaid and consequential thereon Citation25 amp 26 Geo 5 c 21Territorial extent Northern IrelandDatesRoyal assent6 June 1935Other legislationAmendsamendedText of statute as originally enactedText of the Northern Ireland Land Purchase Winding Up Act 1935 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk The UK Parliament at Westminster passed further Land Acts for Northern Ireland after the Partition of Ireland such as the Northern Ireland Land Act 1925 15 amp 16 Geo 5 c 34 the Northern Ireland Land Act 1929 19 amp 20 Geo 5 c 14 and the Northern Ireland Land Purchase Winding Up Act 1935 25 amp 26 Geo 5 c 21 Land Registration Act Northern Ireland 1970Act of Parliament nbsp Parliament of Northern IrelandLong titleAn Act to revise the law relating to the registration of the title to land to extend the compulsory registration of the title to land to repeal and re enact with certain amendments the law relating to the registration of statutory charges and for matters connected therewith Citation1970 c 18 N I Territorial extent Northern IrelandDatesRoyal assent23 June 1970Text of the Land Registration Act Northern Ireland 1970 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk The Parliament of Northern Ireland passed the Land Registration Act Northern Ireland 1970 c 18 N I See also editLand reforms by country Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Ireland Act 1860 Assignment and Sub letting of Land Ireland Act 1826References editPrimary sources edit William Frederick Bailey 1917 The Irish Land Acts a short sketch of their history and development Dublin H M Stationery Office Wikidata Q107712188 Davitt Michael 1882 The land league proposal Glasgow Cameron amp Ferguson Bibliography editBew Paul 1978 Land and the national question in Ireland 1858 82 Dublin a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Bew Paul 1987 Conflict and conciliation in Ireland 1890 1910 Parnellities and radical agrarians Oxford a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Bew Paul 2007 Ireland The Politics of Enmity 1789 2006 Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 9780198205555 King Carla 2009 Michael Davitt Dublin University College Dublin Press ISBN 9781910820964 Campbell Fergus 2002 Irish popular politics and the making of the Wyndham Land Act 1901 1903 The Historical Journal 45 4 755 773 doi 10 1017 S0018246X02002662 S2CID 154867217 Cosgrove Patrick John 2008 The Wyndham Land Act 1903 The Final Solution To The Irish Land Question PhD National University of Ireland Maynooth with detailed bibliography Cosgrove Patrick John February 2004 The social dynamics of nationalist politics in the west of Ireland 1898 1918 Past amp Present 182 175 209 doi 10 1093 past 182 1 175 Cosgrove Patrick John 2005 Land and revolution Nationalist politics in the west of Ireland 1891 1921 Oxford Cosgrove Patrick John 2012 The Controversy and Consequences of John Redmond s Estate Sale under the Wyndham Land Act 1903 The Historical Journal 55 1 75 96 doi 10 1017 S0018246X11000550 S2CID 153694902 Donnelly Jr James S 2001 The decline of the Big House in Ireland A study of Irish landed families 1860 1960 Dublin a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Ferriter Diarmaid 2004 The Transformation of Ireland 1900 2000 London Profile Books ISBN 1 86197 443 4 Dooley Terence 2004 Land and politics in independent Ireland 1923 48 The case for reappraisal PDF Irish Historical Studies 34 134 175 197 doi 10 1017 S0021121400004284 S2CID 152989456 Gailey Andrew 1987 Ireland and the death of kindness The experience of constructive unionism 1890 1905 Cork a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Guinnane Timothy W Miller Ronald I 1997 The limits to land reform the Land Acts in Ireland 1870 1909 PDF Economic Development and Cultural Change 45 3 591 612 doi 10 1086 452292 hdl 10419 160647 S2CID 17477539 McDonnell Michael F J 1908 Ireland and the Home Rule Movement Citations edit The Short Titles Act 1896 section 2 1 and Schedule 2 a b Bew 2007 p 568 King 2009 p 81 Matthew H C G 1986 Gladstone 1809 1874 Oxford Clarendon Press p 192 SELECT COMMITTEE MOVED FOR Hansard 12 June 1863 Archived from the original on 9 December 2018 Retrieved 7 December 2018 Friedrich Engels to Karl Marc 17 February 1870 reprinted in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Ireland and the Irish Question PDF New York International Publishers 1972 p 401 Archived PDF from the original on 12 August 2021 Retrieved 7 February 2023 Lyons F S L 1985 Ireland Since the Famine McDonnell 1908 pp 61 62 Hickey D J amp Doherty J E A new Dictionary of Irish History from 1800 Land Acts p 287 Gill amp MacMillan 2003 ISBN 0 7171 2520 3 Hickey amp Doherty Land Acts p 287 Hickey amp Doherty Land Acts p 287 Hickey amp Doherty Land Acts pp 287 88 Hickey amp Doherty Land Acts p 288 Hurlbert 1888 vol 1 online Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback MachineHurlbert vol 2 Archived 12 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine Perry Curtis paper 2003 Archived from the original on 16 April 2009 Retrieved 7 February 2010 Hickey D J amp Doherty J E A new Dictionary of Irish History from 1800 Land Acts p 288 Gill amp MacMillan 2003 ISBN 0 7171 2520 3 Hickey amp Doherty Land Acts p 288 Miller David W 1973 Land for the People Church State and Nation in Ireland 1898 1921 Gill amp Macmillan pp 77 94 ISBN 0 7171 0645 4 King 2009 pp 68 69 Ferriter 2004 pp 62 63 159 Land Purchase Acts 1903 1909 encyclopedic definitions Archived from the original on 7 September 2017 Retrieved 28 April 2017 Maume Patrick 1999 The long Gestation Irish Nationalist Life 1891 1918 Gill amp Macmillan pp 74 75 ISBN 0 7171 2744 3 Webb R K 1968 Modern England from the Eighteenth Century to the Present p 430 McKay Enda 1992 The Housing of the Working Classes 1883 1916 Saother 17 Irish Labour History Society 27 38 Irish Land Provision For Sailors and Soldiers Act 1919 9 amp 10 Geo 6 c 82 of 1919 Enacted on 23 December 1919 Act of the UK Parliament Retrieved from Irish Statute Book Aalen F H A July 1988 Homes for Irish Heroes Housing under the Irish Land Provision for Soldiers and Sailors Act 1919 and the Irish Sailors and Soldiers Land Trust The Town Planning Review 59 3 305 323 doi 10 3828 tpr 59 3 x2w0tg8837816033 JSTOR 40111696 Archived from the original on 28 November 2022 Retrieved 8 March 2023 Land Law Commission Act 1923 No 27 of 1923 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book Maume Patrick 1999 The long Gestation Irish Nationalist Life 1891 1918 Gill amp Macmillan p 201 ISBN 0 7171 2744 3 Note 238 p 295 Joseph Sheehan Killing Landlords by Kindness paper read to conference of Irish Historical Students Association 1993 PRIVATE BUSINESS TREATY CONFIRMATION OF AMENDING AGREEMENT BILL 1925 SECOND STAGE Resumed Dail Eireann 4th Dail Vol 13 No 17 Oireachtas 10 December 1925 Archived from the original on 8 March 2023 Retrieved 8 March 2023 Public Business Land Purchase Annuities Fund Bill 1933 Final Stages Dail Eireann 8th Dail Vol 46 No 8 Oireachtas 16 March 1933 Archived from the original on 2 November 2019 Retrieved 8 March 2023 8 Land Regulation All about Land Archived from the original on 2 February 2014 Retrieved 23 August 2012 Irish Land Commission Dissolution Act 1992 No 25 of 1992 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book Landlord and Tenant Ground Rents No 2 Act 1978 No 16 of 1978 Enacted on 28 June 1978 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book Landlord and Tenant Ground Rents Act 2005 No 7 of 2005 Enacted on 19 May 2005 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book Dudley Edwards Ruth Still lookin for Lucan the conspiracy wonks Archived from the original on 21 July 2011 Retrieved 27 May 2010 State making ground rent payments on 53 properties The Irish Times 16 May 2011 Archived from the original on 2 September 2018 Retrieved 2 September 2018 Property Registration Authority Archived from the original on 1 August 2013 Retrieved 23 August 2012 http www mhc ie publications item 127 land and dead link Land And Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 No 27 of 2009 Enacted on 21 July 2009 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book External links edit Des Keenan Post Famine Ireland Social Structure Ireland as it Really Was Chapter 2 The economy I agriculture William Macafee Local historical studies of rural areas methods and sources Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Land Acts Ireland amp oldid 1215477654 Irish Land Commission Dissolution Act 1992, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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