lect06-第8部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！








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　derogated






from　his　ri