From landlord to rentier: The Wyndham Land Act 1903 and its economic consequences for Irish landlords 1903-1933 By Tony Mc Carthy Thesis for the degree of Ph.D., Department of History National University of Ireland, Maynooth Head of Department: Dr. Jacinta Prunty Supervisor of Research: Professor Terence Dooley June 2017 Contents List of Tables............................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................. vi List of Appendices ..................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations................................................................................................ viii Glossary of Terms ....................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... xii Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: The declining fortunes of Irish landlords 1815-1903 ............................... 12 1.1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 12 1.2: Estate management practices .......................................................................... 16 1.3: Landlord investment in their estates ............................................................... 28 1.4: Landlord indebtedness .................................................................................... 34 1.5: Estate rentals ................................................................................................... 48 1.6: Taxation policy ............................................................................................... 59 1.7: Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 63 Chapter 2: George Wyndham and the Irish Land Act, 1903...................................... 65 2.1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 65 2.2: George Wyndham ........................................................................................... 66 2.3: The genesis of the Wyndham Land Act .......................................................... 70 2.4: Wyndham as chief secretary ........................................................................... 73 2.5: The Irish Land Bill 1902 ................................................................................. 75 2.6: Laying the groundwork for the 1903 Land Bill .............................................. 81 2.7: The Land Conference ...................................................................................... 87 2.8: Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 92 Chapter 3: An analysis of the financial provisions of the Wyndham Land Act ........ 94 3.1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 94 i 3.2: Reactions to the Bill’s financial components .................................................. 97 3.3: Price .............................................................................................................. 100 3.4: The Bonus ..................................................................................................... 108 3.5: The Act’s finance provisions ........................................................................ 111 3.6: The Act’s guarantee provisions .................................................................... 119 3.7: Conclusion .................................................................................................... 121 Chapter 4: The Anatomy of a deal – The case of the Dopping Hepenstall estate.... 124 4.1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 124 4.2: The Dopping Hepenstall estate ..................................................................... 126 4.3: Initiating the sales process ............................................................................ 127 4.4: The sales process ........................................................................................... 135 4.5: Complications ............................................................................................... 142 4.6: Evicted tenants .............................................................................................. 144 4.7: The part played by Catholic priests............................................................... 149 4.8: Conclusion .................................................................................................... 150 Chapter 5: The investment environment in the opening decades of the twentieth century ...................................................................................................................... 152 5.1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 152 5.2: Stock market investments ............................................................................. 156 5.3: Mortgages ..................................................................................................... 167 5.4: Investment property ...................................................................................... 175 5.5: The impact of inflation on investment .......................................................... 179 5.6: Conclusion .................................................................................................... 182 Chapter 6: Managing the money .............................................................................. 186 6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 186 6.2 The decision to sell......................................................................................... 187 6.3 Sale of estates ................................................................................................. 190 6.4 Investment trends and traits ........................................................................... 193 ii 6.5 Investment of sales proceeds .......................................................................... 196 6.6 Investment performance ................................................................................. 221 6.7 Measuring the impact of inflation .................................................................. 231 6.8: Conclusion .................................................................................................... 236 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 241 Appendices ............................................................................................................... 253 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 268 iii List of Tables Table 1.1 Ireland Population 1741-1841 .................................................................... 17 Table 1.2. Size of agricultural holdings 1841-1867 in Ireland .................................. 24 Table 1.3. Investment in improvements as a percentage of rents on selected estates in Ireland 1850-1880 ...................................................................................................... 32 Table 1.4. Expenditure on improvements in selected Irish estates as a percentage of rent 1850-1880 ........................................................................................................... 33 Table 1.5. Mortgage loans of the Representative Church Body, 1871-1907 ............. 37 Table 1.6. Debt burden ratio of 105 estates based on final schedule of incumbrances (F.S.I.) 1903-19 .......................................................................................................... 38 Table 1.7. Supply sources for meat and wheat in Britain 1872-1912 ........................ 54 Table 1.8. Projected impact of judicial rent reductions on Clonbrock estate 1880- 1910 ............................................................................................................................ 57 Table 1.9. Succession duty rates - Section 10 of the Succession Duty Act 1853 ...... 60 Table 1.10. Schedule of estate (death) duties introduced in the 1894 Act ................. 61 Table 3.1. Workings of rent zone provisions of the Irish Land Act 1903 ............... 103 Table 3.2. Average price of 10 Year 3 per cent consols 1896-1903 ........................ 115 Table 4.1. Bellew Estate: Initial estimate of sales proceeds 1904 ........................... 131 Table 4.2. Dopping Hepenstall: Comparative prices paid for Longford estates 1906 .................................................................................................................................. 136 Table 4.3. Land Commission offer for untenanted lands on the Dopping Hepenstall Wicklow estate 1907 ................................................................................................ 137 Table 5.1. Realised rates of return on quoted railway securities 1870-1913