i o- 1 n wm S3V NUI MAYNOOTH Ollfctel na t-Ciraann W* huatl THE WYNDHAM LAND ACT, 1903: THE FINAL SOLUTION TO THE IRISH LAND QUESTION? by PATRICK JOHN COSGROVE THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF PHD DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND MAYNOOTH HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: Professor R. V. Comerford Supervisor of Research: Dr Terence Dooley September 2008 Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE: THE ORIGINS OF THE WYNDHAM LAND BILL, 1903. i. Introduction. ii. T. W. Russell at Clogher, Co. Tyrone, September 1900. iii. The official launch of the compulsory purchase campaign in Ulster. iv. The Ulster Farmers’ and Labourers’ Union and Compulsory Sale Organisation. v. Official launch of the U.I.L. campaign for compulsory purchase. vi. The East Down by-election, 1902. vii. The response to the 1902 land bill. viii. The Land Conference, ix. Conclusion. CHAPTER TWO: INITIAL REACTIONS TO THE 1903 LAND BILL. i. Introduction. ii. The response of the Conservative party. iii. The response of the Liberal opposition to the bill. iv. Nationalist reaction to the bill. v. Unionist reaction to the bill. vi. The attitude of Irish landlords. vii. George Wyndham’s struggle to get the bill to the committee stage. viii. Conclusion. CHAPTER THREE: THE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES THAT FORGED THE WYNDHAM LAND ACT, 1903. i. Introduction. ii. The Estates Commission. iii. The system of price‘zones’. iv. The ‘bonus’ and the financial clauses of Wyndham’s Land Bill. v. Advances to tenant-purchasers. vi. Sale and repurchase of demesnes. vii. The evicted tenants question. viii. The retention of sporting and mineral rights. ix. Congested districts. x. The position of the agricultural labourers. xi. Trinity College Dublin. xii. The response to the act. xiii. Conclusion. CHAPTER FOUR: ‘AN IMMENSE SOCIAL REVOLUTION’: THE SALE OF ESTATES UNDER THE WYNDHAM LAND ACT. Introduction. ii. Types of landownership. iii. Persons eligible to sell under the Wyndham Act. iv. The Leinster estate. V. The estate of John Redmond, M.P. vi. The Archdale estate, Co. Fermanagh. vii. The Arnott estate, Co. Cork. viii. The ‘bonus’ and the repurchase of demesnes. ix. Problems faced by Irish landlords, 1903-09. X. Conclusion. CHAPTER FIVE: ‘A CRAZY SCHEME FOUNDED ON CRAZED FINANCE’: LAND PURCHASE AND FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 219 i. Introduction. ii. The financing of the Wyndham Act. iii. Irish Land Act, 1904. iv. Agricultural labourers. v. Delays in the distribution of the purchase money and the ‘bonus’. vi. The Shelbourne Hotel Conference, 1906. vii. Incidental charges and the liability for the issue of land stock at a discount: the case of Kildare County Council. viii. The Runciman report on land purchase finance. ix. Attempts to ensure land purchase continued. x. The Birrell Land Act, 1909 and land purchase. xi. The increase in prices under the Wyndham Act. xii. Conclusion. CHAPTER SIX: THE LANDLESS MEN FOR THE MANLESS LAND’: THE RANCH WAR, THE WESTERN PROBLEM AND EVICTED TENANTS. 278 i. Introduction. ii. Nationalist discontent. iii. The failure of the Wyndham Act to tackle the western problem and the evicted tenants. iv. Regulations. v. Report of the estates commissioners for the period ending 31 March, 1906. vi. The C.D.B. and the western problem. vii. The Land Conference reconvenes to consider the evicted tenants question. viii. The Ranch War. ix. Unionist and landlord opposition to the Ranch War. x. Special report by the estates commissioners on the evicted tenants, 1907. xi. Evicted Tenants Act, 1907. xii. Report of the Royal Commission on Congestion (Dudley Commission). xiii. The shortage of funds to tackle congestion. xiv. Evicted Tenants Act, 1908. xv. The reinstatement of evicted tenants. xvi. The lead-up to the Birrell Land Act, 1909. xvii. Conclusion. CONCLUSION. 353 APPENDICES. 362 i. Leinster tenants’ deputation. ii. Stocks purchased from the sale of the Leinster estate. iii. Statement as to the legal and beneficial ownership of the purchase moneys of the Leinster estate, December 1905. iv. Sample of thirty landowners whose tenants received advances between 1 November, 1903 and 31 December, 1909. v. Sample of forty landowners who sold and repurchased their demesnes and other lands in their occupation. vi. Sales under the land purchase acts, 1870-96. vii. Return of guaranteed 2 % % land stock issues under the Wyndham Act. viii. Net amounts drawn from the Guarantee Fund under the Wyndham Act up to 31 January 1907. ix. Return of completed and pending sales under the Wyndham Act up to 31 March 1921. x. Sales under the Wyndham Act. xi. Advances per 10,000 acres under the Wyndham Land Act, 1903. xii. Irish Land Act, 1903 (Extract). BIBLIOGRAPHY. 386 ii Acknowledgements I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor of research, Dr. Terence Dooley, for his advice, encouragement and patience. I would like to acknowledge the support of Professor R.V. Comerford, the Department of History at N.U.I. Maynooth and my fellow post graduates. I thoroughly enjoyed the academic stimulation provided by the post graduate research seminars. During the time I was researching and writing this thesis, 1 was fortunate to have been attached to the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates (C.S.H.I.H.E.). It is only appropriate to express my gratitude to Patricia Friel, Colette Jordan and Mary Murray for the support, advice and kindness which they had shown me over the last few years. I wish to acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the following institutions: John Paul II Library, National University of Ireland, Maynooth; National Archives of Ireland; National Archives of the United Kingdom; National Library of Ireland. The assistance, insight and advice of certain individuals is also deeply appreciated: Cormac Begadon, Rebecca Boyle, Brian Casey, Eamon Cosgrove, Margaret Cosgrove, Marie Cosgrove, Ann Donoghue, Richard Geoghegan, Catherine Heslin, Desmond Konopka, Kevin McKenna, Claire Mullaney-Dignam, Triona Mullaney-Dignam, Ciarán O’Reilly, Martin Ryan and Mark Wehrly. Finally I wish to express my sincerest thanks to Karol, Agnes, Breda and Kevin and to my parents, Matthew and Noreen, for their generosity, sacrifices and steadfast support. Gach dalia mar oiltear. Abbreviations c.c. County Council C.D.B. Congested Districts Board C.I. County Inspector of Royal Irish Constabulary F.A. Football Association F.J. Freeman ’.v Journal I.G. Inspector General Royal Irish Constabulary /./. Irish Independent I.P.P. Irish Parliamentary Party i.R.A. Irish Republican Army IT. Irish Times I.U.P.P. Irish Unionist Parliamentary Party M.P. Member of Parliament N.A.I. National Archives of Ireland, Dublin n.d. no date/not dated N.L.I. National Library of Ireland, Dublin N.D.C. National Debt Commissioners N.U.I. National University of Ireland P.R.O.N.l. Public Record Office Northern Ireland, Belfast R.I.C. Royal Irish Constabulary T.C.D. Trinity College Dublin T.D. Teachta Dala (member of Dail lsireann) T.N.A. The National Archives U.I.L. United Irish League iv INTRODUCTION. The Irish Land Act, 1903 was better known as the Wyndham Act after its author George Wyndham, chief secretary of Ireland from 1900 to 1905. Despite being the most comprehensive and ambitious of all of the land acts introduced by the British government for Ireland, it has received little attention from historians. In fact, apart from some contemporary explanatory legal texts, there is not a single published work devoted to the Wyndham Act. This thesis intends to address that lacuna and provide the first scholarly study of the act from its origins to its subsequent amendment by the 1909 land act. By extension this thesis is a study of various aspects of the Irish land question from c.1900 to 1909. However, it does not purport to be a systematic examination of the nationalist political response to the act or, indeed, of its contribution to the history of the United Irish League (U.I.L.). Nor is it a comprehensive analysis of the unionist political response. While both have been examined and their relationship to the land question and the Wyndham Act investigated they do not form the central focus of this thesis. Instead the main focus is on the origins, operation and legacy of the act. It should be noted that contemporary usage has been followed in describing the parties and factions of the period covered by this thesis. The term ‘unionist’ refers to those who were in favour of maintaining the political and economic union with Britain while the term ‘nationalist’ is used in a broad sense to denote those who were largely opposed to the union and were in favour of some measure of self- government and included such groups as the U.I.L., independent nationalist M.P.s and the Irish Parliamentary Party. The I.P.P. refers to the body of nationalist M.P.s in the House of Commons under the leadership of John Redmond during the period 1900 to 1909. Likewise Irish Unionist Parliamentary Party (I.U.P.P.) refers to the body of Irish unionist M.P.s during the time period. It should also be noted that in this thesis ‘bill’ refers to a proposed statute that has not yet been passed into law by parliament whereas ‘act’ refers to the statute once it has passed through parliament and been made law. The time period covered by this dissertation corresponds with the Conservative party administration of 1900 to 1905 and that of the Liberal party from 1905 up to the passing of the 1909 Land Act. George Wyndham served as Irish chief secretary from November 1900 until his resignation in March 1905, when he was I succeeded by Walter Long. Following the collapse of the Conservative government in late 1905, James Bryce became the new Liberal chief secretary.