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第7章

lect06-第7章

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equally by the tribe and the strange tribe。' The 'person from a






strange tribe' is undoubtedly the Fuidhir; and though the Irish






expression translated 'rackrent' cannot; of course; in the






ancient state of relation between population and land; denote an






extreme competition rent; it certainty indicates an extreme rent;






since in one of the glosses it is graphically compared to the






milk of a cow which is compelled to give milk every month to the






end of the year; At the same time there is no reason to suppose






that; in the first instance; the Fuidhir tenants were






oppressively treated by the Chiefs。 The Chief had a strong






interest in encouraging them; 'he brings in Fuidhirs;' says one






of the tracts; to increase his wealth。' The interests really






injured were those of the Tribe; which may have become stronger






for defence or attack by the addition to the population of the






territory; but which certainly suffered as a body of joint






proprietors by the curtailment of the waste land available for






pasture。 The process before described by which the status of the






tribesmen declined proportionately to the growth of the Chiefs'






powers; must have been indirectly hastened in several ways by the






introduction of Fuidhirs。 Such indications of the course of






change as the Brehon laws furnish are curiously in harmony with a






passage from a work recently published; which; amid much other






valuable matter; gives a most vivid picture of agricultural life






in the backward Indian province of Orissa。 Mr Hunter; the writer;






is speaking of the relation of landlord and tenant; but as the






'hereditary peasantry' referred to have; as against their






landlord; rights defined by law; they are not without analogy to






the tribesmen of an ancient Irish territory。 'The migratory






husbandman;' the Fuidhir of modern India; 'not only lost his






hereditary position in his own village; but he was an object of






dislike and suspicion among the new community into which he






thrust himself。 For every accession of cultivators tended to






better the position of the landlord; and pro tanto to injure that






of the (older) cultivators。 So long as the land on an estate






continued to be twice as much as the hereditary peasantry could






till; the resident husbandmen were of too much importance to be






bullied or squeezed into discontent。 But once a large body of






immigrant cultivators had grown up; this primitive check on the






landlords' exactions was removed。 The migratory tenants;






therefore; not only lost their position in their old villages;






but they were harassed in their new settlements。 Worse than all;






they were to a certain extent confounded with the landless low






castes who; destitute of the local connections so keenly prized






in rural society as the evidences of respectability; wandered






about as hired labourers and temporary cultivators of surplus






village lands。' (Hunter; 'Orissa;' i。 57; 58)






    You will perhaps have divined the ground of the special






attention which has been claimed for these Fuidhir tenants; and






will be prepared to hear that their peculiar status has been






supposed to have a bearing on those agrarian difficulties which






have recurred with almost mysterious frequency in the history of






Ireland。 It is certainly a striking circumstance that in the far






distance of Irish tradition we come upon conflicts between






rent…paying and rent…receiving tribes  that; at the first






moment when our information respecting Ireland becomes full and






trustworthy; our informants dwell with indignant emphasis on the






'racking' of tenants by the Irish Chiefs  and that the relation






of Irish landlord and Irish tenant; after being recognised ever






since the beginning of the century as a social difficulty of the






first magnitude; finally became a political difficulty ; which






was settled only the other day。 I do not say that there is not a






thread of connection between these stages of Irish agrarian






history; but there are two opposite errors into which we may be






betrayed if we assume the thread to have been uniform throughout。






In the first place; we may be tempted to antedate the influence






of those economical laws which latterly had such powerful






operation in Ireland until their energy was well…nigh spent






through the consequences of the great famine of 1845…6。 An






overflowing population and a limited area of cultivable land had






much to do; and probably more than anything else to do; with the






condition of Ireland during that period; but neither the one nor






the other was a characteristic of the country at the end of the






sixteenth century。 Next; we may perhaps be inclined; as some






writers of great merit seem to me to be; to post…date the social






changes which caused so large a portion of the soil of Ireland to






be placed under the uncontrolled Law of the Market; or; to adopt






the ordinary phraseology; which multiplied 'tenants at will' to






an unusual extent。 Doubtless; if we had to found an opinion as to






these causes exclusively on ancient Irish law; and on modern






English real property law; we should perhaps come to the






conclusion that an archaic system; barely recognising absolute






ownership; had been violently and unnaturally replaced by a






system of far more modern stamp based upon absolute property in






land。 But; by the end of the sixteenth century; our evidence is






that the Chiefs had already so much power over their tenants that






any addition to it is scarcely conceivable。 'The Lords of land;'






says Edmund Spenser; writing not later than 1596; 'do not there






use to set out their land to farme; for tearme of years; to their






tenants; but only from yeare to yeare; or during pleasure;






neither indeed will the Irish tenant or husbandman otherwise take






his land than so long as he list himselfe。 The reason thereof in






the tenant is; for that the landlords there use most shamefully






to racke their tenants; laying upon them coin and livery at






pleasure; and exacting of them besides his covenants what he






pleaseth。 So that the poore husbandman either dare not binde






himselfe to him for longer tearme; or thinketh; by his continuall






liberty of change; to keepe his landlord the rather in awe from






wronging of him。 And the reason why the landlord will no longer






covenant with him is; for that he dayly looketh after change and






alteration; and hovereth in expectation of new worlds。' Sir John






Davis; writing rather before 1613; used still stronger language:






'The Lord is an absolute Tyrant and the Tennant a very slave and






villain; and in one respect more miserable than Bond Slaves。 For






commonly the Bond Slave is fed by his Lord; but here the Lord is






fed by his Bond Slave。'






    There is very little in common bet ween the miserable






position of the Irish tenant here described and the footing of






even the baser sort of Ceiles; or villeins; who had taken stock






from the Chief。 If the Brehon law is to be trusted; the Daer






Ceile was to be commiserated; rather because he had de

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