Tenure in Ireland Under the Brehon Laws. "Phenian dialect," and the family of MacEgan alone possessed the secret of decipher ing their records, and were in possession of this secret down to the reign of Charles I. The office of brehon, or judge, was a hered itary one in certain families. The distin guishing feature of _the Brehon laws was their mild and conciliatory spirit: a fine or eric was the only punishment inflicted even for the worst of crimes. Their mild form of punishment for serious crimes often led to contempt for their decrees, and the chieftains of the various tribes frequently took the law in their own hands, and inflicted severe pun ishment on malefactors. Feuds were com mon, and the lack of vigorous punishments for crimes kept the country in a state of civil war and wild disorder. The tenure was gavelkind, but of a different sort than that which prevailed in England. The gavelkind of Ireland and Wales differed in several important partic ulars from that which still prevails in some parts of England. By the Irish custom, females were absolutely excluded from all rights of inheritance; and no distinction was made between legitimate and illegitimate children. The lower orders were divided into freemen and tillagérs, or, as they were called by the Normans, villains. The former had the privilege of choosing their tribe; the latter were bound to the soil, and transferred with it in any grant or deed of sale. To understand tenure in Ireland under the ancient laws, a knowledge of the habits and customs of the ancient native clans is nec essary. "The chieftainship of the tribe was not hereditary. The tanist, or heir, was elected from among the elder brandies of the family during the chieftain's life. . This arrange ment, which secured the most efficient leader, had likewise its serious disadvantages in the disputes it so frequently originated. The lands were the common property of the tribes, and they were divided into a common pasture land, common tillage land, private
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demesne land, and demesne land of the tribe. The demesne land of the tribe was devoted to the maintenance of the public function aries, viz.: The chief, the tanist, the bard, and the brehon, or judge. Each individual of the clan pastured as many cattle as he possessed on the common pasture land; and every year to prevent unfairness, all cast lots anew for their portions of the common till age ground, so that he who had a sterile por tion one year had his chance for a fertile tract for the next. • "Each clan was composed of two classes: the kindred, or original members of it, and serfs, settlers and refugees from other clans. If these latter were able to pay an entrance fine, provision was made for them on one of the tribe lands; if unable to do so, they be came serfs on the private demesne land of the chief. The serfs, who consisted chiefly of the conquered aboriginal population, tilled the soil, and were forbidden the use of arms. The clansmen, properly so called, were thus spared the drudgery of the fields, of the less respected branches of handicraft, and of the mines." Before the reign of Edward I there were no regular courts of justice or inns of court in Ireland; the number of palatinates and chiefries existing throughout Ireland, which were governed by the old Brehon laws, ren dered a court of chancery unnecessary; but an exchequer was still required. This sys tem led to infinite abuses and oppressive practices, and after an existence of nearly four centuries under the crown of England the application and practice of the Brehon laws was at length declared to be treasonable in the 40th of Edward III by the Statute of Kilkenny. The average student takes it for granted that the law of tenure was introduced into Ireland by the Normans. This is not strictly true. The law of tenure, with all of its feudal characteristics, had existed in Ireland for centuries before the first Norman invader set foot on her shores.
