his land from being damaged by bad
husbandry, or a succession of the same crops being taken from it until
it is rendered useless;--all this he may do by enforcing his covenants,
and no one blames him. An Irish landlord may put the most stringent
clauses in his leases; but he cannot use the power which their
enforcement would give him: public opinion, (always in favour of the
delinquent,) and the dread of the assassin, restrain him. The late Mr
Hall let a farm in fine condition: the tenant, contrary to his
engagements, tore up the land, burned it, and set it in con-acre. The
unfortunate gentleman endeavoured to prevent this violation of an
agreement. He went to the ground and threatened to put his covenant in
force; and, for doing so, he was murdered in the open day in the
presence of numbers of people: the assassins were allowed quietly to
walk off; and it was only when one of the hired murderers, tempted by a
large reward, peached on his accomplices in crime, that any of them were
brought to justice.

There is an act of Parliament in force in Ireland for the prevention of
burning land, which imposes heavy penalties; yet it cannot stop this
mischievous practice--and why? Because, by having recourse to it, the
tenant (until he quite exhausts the soil) can raise better crops with
more ease to himself; it is a much less troublesome process than that of
collecting manure from the scourings of his ditches or his moor land, or
burning lime; and it enables him to spend the winter months in idleness
and amusement, when he ought to be providing for his next year's crops.
If an English tenant cannot meet his engagements, he surrenders his land
as a matter of course: if an Irish tenant be turned out, even after
owing many years' rent, he considers himself an ill-used man, (and so do
his neighbours too;) and no man complains so loudly of the extortion of
his landlord as he who pays no rent at all. The Irish landlord has the
advantage of being able to bring his ejectment at the courts of
quarter-sessions, and at less expense than it can be done in this
country, provided the rent be under L50 a-year. But this may be
considered, and with justice, of equal benefit to the tenant: if he
redeem within the six months allowed by law, the costs the landlord can
put upon him will only amount to L2, 10s; whereas, with the superior
courts, it would be at least L14. Yet some of the patriotic Irish
journals have required, as an improvement in the