the proceeds of the sale of some English property). A railway along the shore still further increases its attractions, and at a particular point there is a sandy bay which—as the site of a bathing village—may eventually become a favourite resort for the inhabitants of Belfast. For various reasons I have hitherto deferred leasing any of the land, and it is at present in the occupation of agricultural tenants, all of whom have been for many years in the enjoyment of beneficial leases, which have either expired or will shortly do so. We will suppose that Mr. Butt's Bill passes; the accidental occupants of this property become tenants for another additional term of 63 years; I am unexpectedly precluded from applying my land to its most remunerative use; and a project which would have diffused the wealth of a rich community over a large agricultural area is indefinitely postponed—unless, indeed, I choose to buy back my own property at a price, probably, not much lower than the original value of the fee simple, from tenants who have neither legal nor equitable claims against me.[1] Moreover it is to be remembered that the circumstances I have detailed are not exceptional, but prevail more or less in the vicinity of every large town; that there is no district which may not, at one time or another, be affected by analogous influences, and that it is its very susceptibility of a rise in price that
- ↑ This instance is rendered the more striking by the fact that I am paying £9 an acre per annum, i.e., its market price, as building ground, for part of the land for which my agricultural tenants are only paying me 30s. By Mr. Butt's Bill, both arrangements would be made equally permanent.
