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POOL & FORDEN ILGHWAY BOARD…

VKLINU!

KERRY.

BETTWS-Y-COED.

THE CHOLERA.

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I THE WELSH LAND COMMISSION.…

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tp?tBMt?e were .afraid to avail themselves of thet ?f<Mtt? Game A$ t. Some compensation was granted ( -der game damage, but not sumcient. Game caused brelek betweaa tenants and landlords. The ac4ownwiation, for fl.-trm servants was deficient at its M<i pCiiSibly :ltd to serious evUa. Mf Riynm" J-oneg: Mr Humphreys, a wttnebs at Pwtiheii. a'ated thait there were other tenants who bad til. g&me views aa himself, but who did not coRje -forward because they were afraid of cheir ministers <Mt<! dœaoD8. What bM-B you to say in reference to toAt ot&Mmont? j T < i t.? t WK-tMt-e: I h.-?ve read &.be report, and i teei tnat one ot 6he Commissioners has taken every inch of groll.nd from underneath Lis feet. I refer to Mr Erv ri awr Jones (taughter). Proceeding, witne=s said l1a .r'ed that the tenant farmers in Merioneth had .iiifiaulçy 1" Paying the rents, and could not save <t0ney. The umall tenant" were really slaves, and there arare a good numbe)' of -tuem. Mr Grifitlis: Can you tell me the reason that the -fimo,r-i are not here to-day ? Wibaeaa: Yef. without hesitation. They are afraid ,atthoir I.,tudlords and amenta. McJoks JOMR, Tycl"p, Llanwnda, a tenant of the Sav. Constable Ellis, said he succored !ti9 Km M tenant, and at the request of his landlord .péll\í &OOU.t .6300 in buildin-,r-; on the prom)se of a iaM<. wiueh Mr Kilis afterwards refused to carry Oat :twi sold the holding. His rent was a.;vanced whc.M '?M ieitse was promised, and he has continued TWit?f the increased rent to the new owner. L,"I.{ Ker,yoo, afle ciii,iti,)iting the witness as to -tho dale, said (throwing tho papers down): It seems to be < very h,rd case Mf Jottea admitted tb<tt, the signature to one of the Bras bis. and s.ill he cnderstocd that be was joigniag a. pfper which would enable him to gft a lease. Wit could not speak English and there was to <ttM <<? present. A letter waa here ho.n witness, wbo Mtd tha.t the writing resembled his son s, who vrapdm,i. It was a.neS).tSive acknowledgement of the Rev. Cf,ongt-&b,e Ella's kindness and of the receipt of "4, Mf E,tWf!.rd Humphreys of Victoria Hotel, Llan- berí, &!mi he hetd large farm-! under both Lord Pen- thyn tud Mr Assh,toti Smith- Affairs were much hcttcf amn-iged and land was let lower on large than <ttt .œa. estates ,Po)it'.oa, r..ligi Jll, and language vwart4 UDt altowed to influe[Jc, but agitators usc-d -theot- zu.hjcct" to try aud create irritation between ,LMt and tenants ,ane in some cases succeeded. jMc Bfyumor Jones Who are these apitatord? \Vita"ä: Oh, there are a great many of them about rfile. c tmtry. Mf Hfynmir Jones Peop'e opposed to you in fØlitia ? .WtttMRS!: Not necessarily. Mr Br?nm )r Jones A mcmb?rof Purliament hold- lrbg SiLt ItLic meetiags would bo an agitttor? Wii-.a,-sii 8101.¡d he did no mean that. but a creat deal wa-<doue by leaders of strikes, and he watt oltry y to say. by ministers and deacons of religion .Joa4.1 Agitators went about takiog privitte oppo''ttmtties to do mischief. PfctM.-jd to fxpiain wh-tt an agitator was, witness it ai an" irritatDr who went about advocating tbm<t!< which were contrary to common sense Am",i to explain what he meant, witness referred to tA't t",cent strikes in Featiniog quarry, but did not .pl.in what connection existed between labour rtrMbl. amd agriculture. He was a Churchman and &Coa4ecvative. A are4 many gentry were seHin<? their eatates, .eeiSC what the country was coming to. He r"ferre t to (h< Creat Radical uproar that waa taking place <ioad Laughter". Tb<t Commiasion resumed its inquiry at Carnarvon .<Kt tbepftdfty, Lord Carriugton presiding. Mr W. A. I)arbi,3iLire, J.P., Nantile, a quarry owner, and a m<tMbef of the County Council, said he was besides "&enttC &' quarry owner, a landowner and an estate :dwnt-. He held on a farming ie&se under Mr Haghes. .<J( KMtaMi. Abergele, 90U acres of land, which be improvea for the puroose of subloting it. He had aaaú c<forts by way of improving the dairy produc- -diott <af Wa-les. He found that the eowbouses, barna, and <<Kt<tttO!t9es were poor and defective, and whole. aonte datfies in the proper sense of the word did not ozist,. No eonsidorable improvements in butter and m'tkingo would be established till con-tiderabte <Ktmt h&d been laid oilt on farms. He had known of ?te:K; ba-rdshipa where tona-n's' improvemente had Se?af <?M in land by representatives of deceased land- lo:-d. <Mhi the purchasers had raised the rent to nearty t.årtNt 'totes the previous rent, the departing tenant -rw-.igrimic no paat of the enhanced vvlue which the vou"t.- realised. Ytte, Ckiirman: Can you give any instances. W,ttA.s said he did not like to give names. He df&tA&t,itat tree-plantintf on exposed situations to 6&eHec the tand was very desirable. He desired to It1& Itt ttomeofthelandbe leaded from Mr Hughes, tMtt he coutd noc obtain a promise of the payment of tM,tf the vaJne of the trees when the tease expired. JBfo«K'&c,bedi'ipli<.ut some in one or two sheltered pl41t,ijlti.or.ls. Thiit, he tl:OUg'llt, was a case in which Mt <.M!?b<: to bo able to demand some payment. R?nts Á"( iwileased. Owing to improved faoilitiea for gistf,W;r proluce to market, fx.rmeM in Carnarvonshire wet tt ut'f obliged to wd.tch the market prices, and ftbir <M<!ttpation was a much more commercial one ttt)M. tt <tMd to be. It would be impolitic and unjust to $If ;)fd relief to tonants-at-will uulesa the same tdi-( ovore given to leaseholders. Mj* yioc-nt handed in the following question: -1 take it that you think the main thing wanted is adequate compensation for all 198A,:t2bLe improvements? t Wituese; That is compensation by landtord to fimaut. 'L rather think that I put it the other way, time <tti the outlay shontd be borne by the landlord, gotbythat,enaiit. I think it is a very great hardship <M: ft tiecmat, who is a working partner, to be obliged uot 4ØIV dnd capital for stock, implements, &c., bat"" t" erect buUdiigs, which will have to return tt&tt «y 4 per cent. He has to make that return wftbb§-well, if he is an annual tenant it is difficult W know when he can get his return, but he has to lwdm. Otbont 20 per cent more than a neighbouring Akri"c who has made no such outlay aud whose oapit.J. Ls not so tied up. Mf Rmhard Owen, printer, Llanberis, said the aboati úrs on Vaynol estate were nearly all in ArAitene, "ircumstaces. Rent! wore nxed in all t!<t<i*«f?a.yaand without uniformiLy. In reply to f?o?'?wo'c Rhya, witnesa said that tenants were ,tt"y Nonconformists. Tbero was not an atom of <Mtt!<t Mt. Mf Humphreys's allegation yesterday that O,Agits4or-i and irritators" sought to make mischief frIt.D l.a.ndlords and teaam.a in that district. He JIuJ ctúùded all the Radical political meetings in Mr dY¡;' district for fifteen or twenty years and mspbege&Uy contradicted his statement. He never af annistord and deacons intimidating farmers Jim giving evidence. B&f J, Rryn Raborts, M.P., gave evidence with fiatt?Ct t<t ('ho approptiation of ojrtain common iand ? t&? p?f?sh of L aiddeinioien, which had been ttpptMpt.&ted to the Vaynot estate. He hitd been t(ttce<i M do so, because when he praoti-ed as solicitor in.' tt)'< <?fanty some yeara ago h-) wai engaged in hugA4ion with reference to one of commons, in the 0-0&roe of which he became aoquain'ed with the .&ct<. In 1814 an enclosure award was mt(io in pur- MAnce af certain Acts of P:.<.rtiamentof3,S48 acres, 'OM tuelaorr,3 being intended b provide common r-e pnd turbary. Over 35 years ago part of tM< tt&d '"M a-ppropriated by the Vnynol estate, and tiMd' «Ktee boHn part of the Garnedd fa"tn, befongicg to that 0..(;&e. Another area of 6G acres, knowo as lfaMGOC1'f{<), was open to public use as corn-r on va#A-,sg,e a.ad turbary until about the beginning of !M, At that time Mr Assheton bmith. by hia ageat, ea" notica to the residents in the neighbourhood tbg&,O&T were not to send their cattle on to th" land. T&edit<mpa.nt of a smiil tenement and hrm on th' V;s%uot ea-t'te adjoining the common, who was a, 9i4<M' snd her son resisted that order on the grunnd of tU Vublie right, and an action for trespassing was OiMB-eMtteed in the oonnty court for sending her cn.tt)e <iC. t4 the la-nd. Witness was then instructed tn A&MtdL Mr Assheton Smith abandoned the nc'ion <tm(t !XMk another course. na.mely, a notice to quit Trift-Ul, which was served on 'he widow. The Jn. ter =AiXLWA",i he!' right to send cows to the common gQ in ejectment foilowed. The widow in- ct him to nght her case to the la-)t, because So t*&aa had been as-igut'd for her ejectment beyond itef mai!tte.,tance of a public right. He did 90, and &eH them at bay for fome time. Then Mr Asshetou S<mt& <i:ook a.ootber course, and one day the papers ,doutaiaed an account of an t.r pai-le appiicat'un on ,bwbi" of Mr Aasheton Smith to the Court of ie%www.nt for an injunction against some doz"n people, d.IM. Mrs Roberts was on", for sending thf-ir cjws 40 tothe common. The -'eMon alleged wa-< that the down Ur.teriered with the grouae. This applice.toil wm mada about the 5tr¡ August, and it wa.s urged th"&a ieamediato icju ction should be granted in goidwd,pation of the 12th August The Chancery j)Mge asktd how long the cattle hid been on th< ?OcCttty.?nd was told "some months." Thojudge thM <?<sd<*d that notice should be given tue othc-r Oi?e. ami dismissed tho updicatiou. A wr?t wn.s 0&-md «a the wido\v, ttnd she with otber villaer8 .OMtWtatthe aot.ion tor savrral month- but Haally üed it, as they coutd n <t fighc a mfm of Mr Agebot- "mith'n melin. Mr Smth cttmnadastord .O,fdL- manor, bnt in witness's opinion there wns n. te ddenoe to tho action. At the time of the ,ngb&pw of the litill,Üiofl the a'vardiatho a-ction of dontamiat against the nidow matared and contributed ib, t;ho withrJrawal of th) proceedings. The widow afilllJlgea.pitnlated, accepted Mr Asaheton Smith's tv=ssil ronnd.audtbenon, wh,) prt-viou-ly had been WUty determined in resistance, CA'-ried his aa rondef aw jEtt <M to befome a Conservative and a Churchman, A"& tkoy had remained in the farm ever aiace. Hd &ow &itotition to this case bjaoanse it indicated the OWMMtty for tenants to hava aecurity of tenure and bm 8BAÏDllt caprioioM eviction. Further cross-examined, witness said ho had not heard of any persecution of Nonconformists on the Vayuol estate, but after the election of 1880 com- plaints were universal. This to some extent affected the chapels, for weak people of slight principles were disposed to leave. in the nope that when the next chance for advancement came they would have a better opportunity of securing that advancement. The complaints became h0 general and so serious that about three years ego. when the Calvinistic Methodists of the county held their monthly meeting at Dtnorwio, a resolution was passed of protest and complaint as to the disabilities which the Ca.lvinit.tic Methodifts then strongly believed that they suffered from. That resolution was pnb i"hed in the papers Proceeding, witness produced a copy of the Welsh Lund Bill introduced by him to 'he House of Commons. It wa;- absolute'y necessary, for the sake of Weish tenants, that there should be a change in the la.w, giving them security alqinst cipriciius evictton lu friiming lie biti be hd beeI'} careful to every reaWtablé cause of eviction which n. remonabto landlord might require. He wnuid n'.t Huythatcaprtcioua, vindictive evictions were often reoorted to, but the power to so evtot was enough to destroy all independence in the tenants, and made the tcniuts, as in the Fa.wnog-y.go case, tota ly unable to resist the wid of their landlords on any sur'ject whatsoever. He reftrre(i to the fact that in Waics the landlords were Churchmen and Con-<erva- ttves, though he wished to make no charge ugainsc them on chat account, w.ula the tenants were nearly all, or mostly all, Nonconformists. Most of them were also Liberals by couvieti'ju and Tories by profession (laughter). Examined hy Mr R. Jones, witness said the Agr:cuitural Holdings Act, had proved a complete failure. Tno diSer-'nce uf i'ac< tougu' politico. and rdli!{ion ju,¡ itied the separate legislative treatment of taud ia Waics. Examined by Mr Brynmor Jones, witness admitted the dtsirabuit.y of County Court judges posse-sing a knowledge of '\Vehh, but it was ot greater importance that they should have a thorough knowledge of law (daughter). Referring to the complaints said by witness to hate existed at Dinorwic, Lord Kenyon asked whether Mr Assheton Smith had not the right to let his huuses t) Churchmen it he ao wished. Witness Certainly and that is what we complain of. When land is held, as in Wales, entirely by a cia9S of men hotctiug certain political and religions v.ewa, it is occasionally rather rough upon those of tbe<r tenants who dtufer from tbeir views. If there were anything like an equal number of Nonoontor. landowners people might have some sort of rough-nnd-ready ju'ti'-e (apptauae). Lord Kenyou Don't you know of Nonconformist landowners ? Witness: Very few. There are two or three in Anglesey but tney are great exceptions. Lord Kenyon Do they balance it in Anglesey by appointing Nunuonformists to their firms? Witness replied that he did not think so, for in Anglefey there were no Church farmers. Proceeding, witness quoted a letter from the Nort4 W(,Ies Cli-rotticle, a Conservative organ, dated May 7, 18S7, in which the writer stated It is rumoured that a detdrabie farm oaHe'J Hafod, 200 acres, in this ne ghbourhood (Llangwgltog) is now vacant. It is hoped Sir Richard Bu,kelt.,y will this time give preference to a Conservative and a Churchman; otherwise the Church in the place will mifer con- siderably. The suocafs of th" Church depeuds upon the action of the landlords, for they are a power in thf. land." Lord Kenyon But doea not that show that Sir Richard appointed Nonconformists to his farms? Witness: Certainty. I don't think there haa ever been a complaint against Sir Richard in this respect. Captain Stewart, agent of the Vaynol estate, gave rebutting evidence with reterenco to the evidence given by Mr W)Uia.m Ow n. The eviction which was alleged to ba.ve been due to political vindictive- ness took place in 18'i8, and the gentleman who was cbief agent of the estate at that time was now dead. Witness was not agent at the time, but felt certain that the eviction was not due to politics. Mr Wiliiam Owen bad stated that his father had had no acrofment. but this was wrong, and he now produced a copy of the agreement. Lord Carrington pointed out that the agreement was dated March, 1869, which was just a month bttore the notice to quit was served. Witness replied that it was then that agreements were supplied to ail the tenants on the estate. He considered that the fact of this agreement having been F.upplied the tenant in Match 186U, oteariy showed that there was no intention in the minds of the of the estate then to evict the tenant on account of his vote at the election of 1868. Lane- U>ig; polities, or retigion did not eff-ct t!ie adminis- tration of the estate. The renta having bean fixed by a good valuer, there was uniformity in that respect. Twenty-five per cent. ahat'!ments were granted during the labt two years, and the rents w«re therefore now tower than they had evur been. Thou- saild.i,of pounds had been paid by the estate votun- tarity to tenants who could not claim a farthing under their agreements. The Commissioners adjourned. LLANRWST. The Welsh Land Commission sat at LIanrwat on Friday. The first witnesa was Colonel Charles Wynne Finch, of the Vuelas estate, who said heowf.ed 14,000 acres. Tenancies were yearly, and there was no demand for leases Compensation was granted on occupation being resumed, and for timber-cutting and quarrying there were no penal clauses in agree- ments. Rents were nxed in a gross sum on valua- tion, a"J.d farms were never let to the highest bidder as such. He bad made permanent reductions on revaluation. Witness purchased a farm neir Pentre Foelas. which he subdivided into small hold- ings. These had b!*cn very usefuL Only two cases of consolida.tiou bad occurred, and no land was going out of cultivation. No waste lal'.c .i&d been reclaimed, but there was ,till some waste ) ind ca,p\ble of pro- fitable cultivation. CompHnsa,'i';n was given for im- provements. Allowances were made to (,ut,,oit,g tenants in respect of growing crops, which were paid by incoming tenants. Rabbits were kept down because of the damage they did. Hares were scarce. Birds were raised artinciaUy, but not to the disad- vantage of tenants. Witness oon-idered that the ca.use of the depression in eg'-icutturein Wales was the importation of foreign goods, such as foreign meat, wheat, etc. In reply to questions, witness ,;aid the butter made on the estate was in moat casea so tuil of hair and dirt that it had to be rem&d He did not say a word a,z,iinst the farmers' wivea, but be did not approve of the way they m'ide butter (lallg-hter). Tho farmers' wives were very indu-trioua. The farmers them selves were very industrious and intelligent; but it frequently happened th.tt through indolence they negteotfd to keep the drdn outfalis open. On some f,rins there was sunici':nt accommodation for the labourers to sleep on the premise- but not on all. Owen Hugbes. PantySridd, Hanaantfraid, said be was tenant of Miss Jones, of Bryneistedfod, Glunoon. way. He complained that rents were high, and that with four or live exceptions tenants leaving t'ao estate received no compensation. As an instance, he men. tioned the caae of th? tenan'j of Tydu Gl%neonway, who had been on tha estate over 27. A few years after his death hia widow was turned away, and shf w'ts paid no compensation whatever. In 1882 witness received notice to quit tl-¡c farm called Vron because he had taken Nantoy-arch fann in addition, having removed to the latter farm His holding was sold by its owner, and he was turned out without being paid a penny compensation. Mr Roger Hugb"s. C.C., of Eglwya Vach. s'lid he desired to ?'ve ovideuc with reference to the Bodnant} H?U es?a'e, owf.ed by Mi II D. Pochin, who pur-- chased it ab 'u?. 18 yeara ago. Immediately after the ) &1r the on tho) whole eatate with the exceptio:] of one farm. with the rpaait that by this time nca.rly all the tenants who were there eighteo,n years i'go ha.d g me a,.va.y. ) he eHttte was now farmed by new tenant. At one time Mr Pocbiu had SHvertt fa.rms on hia hliide, and cuhi- vnted ten or twoiva iumselt'. Asked to eucply in- =t&Doea the witlle1'\ refcrre 1 to the oa.Re of Tyuc\¡a. In the time of Mr Hammer, the previous :.wner of the oata.te, this farm was let at a rent of j8100, but Mr Ponhin let it to a tena.nt. Thorns Edwards, at .6120. Edwarde ooonp ed it twoive or thirteen yoa'-s, and then left it, a ruined m-in. The Penllyn farm in time of Mr Hanmer was lnt to one Robert Williams at .870. Mr Poohin for som" years c'Utivu.ted it him'<e)f, and then let it to Wiiliatn for .8H6. Robena atayed thera thre'< yeUi! only. and then left. where- upon Mr Foobin commenced farming it. The f-rm was now let for .6100, but f-everat 6 dds had bseu taken from it. IVit-iosi gave aeverni other instances Røplying to Mr R. Jon"s, witness admitted that Mr Pochin wa'1 a very farmor, and the buildings on h; 's far,.n. were n.s a ru)e better now thin they used to be. Th) imprivemr-nta. ho"<ver, were carried out during' :be tnue Mr P.<chin cuttiva.ted the fa,n)a hiniae)f. Questions wero then ha.nde i in by Mr Vincent, in ropty to which witness paid that Mr P.tohin had gr,inted ''n nba-tement of 10 per cent. at thf) lait a.uht. He did mt think Mr Pochinwa.s a Churchman. Mr Henry Carr Pit, KoUoay Houae, Muthill, Perthshire, aa.id he w'<.s fgent to thl'J Ma.rl of Ancestor fort lie Giydyr citilte ifi CarnIJ.rvOI,shir¡>. Agreemoutil canta.inin;f pcnaiÍt'itlg' ctanaea wore in force, but these o'.n.uaea were never acted upon. Twenty-three years a.RO the estate was revalued, resulting in an incl'e&.se of .8759 in the rents. Since 1879 abatements varyin? from 10 to 20 per cent. ha.d been ma.de. amounting to noarly Xll,000. Smco 1872 .840,000 bad been spent in imp'ovomanta of ba'.ldings, &o., exolnsiTe of timber. Mr Owen, Maet Gared, Capol Garmon, said that he paid his rent to the solicitor who acted for the mortgagees. His father occupied a farm under Lord Willoughby, who had been exceeded by Lord Aneaster, and was evicted because of his Liberal views in the year 1863. He had spent .8400 on the hotdings. and did not get a iarthing compensation. Witness farm at Capel Garmon had been raised from .S36 to .660 in 40 years. He held that tenants should be protected by land courts to secure fair rents, fixity of tenure, and compensation tor im- provomeitts. Mr Curr, agent to the estate, said that he called upon his predeces80r in London two monh8 ago and asked him whether there had been any political evio* i tions, and he said there had been none. Mr Warne, the gentleman he referred to, would be able, he thought, to give evidence in London, and to deny the allegation. Replying to Mr Grove, witness was abte to say without hesitation that his statement was *rue. He could prove it. Mr Beech, who was the agent, was now dea.d. Replying to Mr Vincent, witness gave the names of haif a dozen farmers who, he alleged, were ttvicted in 1868 for politico.! reasons. David Withama, Tubwntirxfon, Llangerniew, a tenant of the Hafodunas oatate. owned by Major Sandbaou, said be appeared to give evidence on agri' culture on behalf of a public meeting of farmers be!d at Llariairtalhaiarn. Ho desired not to say a word a;:raln8t hii3 master, who wa one of the cleverest ttt-men iu the country (laughter). He complained, however, of the arbitrary action of the keepers, who were in many respects more the master than the owner himself. The graziers had done more barm to Lbe farmets than anything else, for farmers in years gone by could not afford to pay the high prices ff'r 'and which graziers off,red. He handed in a list of twenty farms upon which the buildings bad disap- peared, and the land was let with other f armi. The condition of farmers was exceedingly unsatisfactory, and something must be done to help them to live. Relying to Mr BrynmorJonef, witness said that the farmer!' on Hafodunas estate were Nonconfor- mists and Churchmen mixed (laughter), but he was bound to say that there were mor<* Churchmen there now than formerly. John Jonea, Felicuoha, LIanrwst, a tenant on what was once the estate of Mr Joseph Evans, aa!d the property was sotd in 1890. an t be bought his own farm. He had previously sppnt a good snm in im. provinfr the farm, which was 20 acrea iu extent, with a small mill. The purchase money waf over .81,100, but the va ue of the farm had been increased by the money be had spent in improving it His rent had been .867. He considered that in the sum he paid for the farm he paid over again for his own improve- ments. Tenants in his district felt very insecure in their holdings, owing to the frequent land sales Land was rented too high by far in that district, and he could not pull through had his sons not assisted him. The only remedy for the present depression was a substantial reduction in the rent. Land courts might be desirabte. The reduction he suggested should be at least 40 per cent. John GfiSth' Cote NeUwr. Hanwrst, <aid he had been a tenant of Lord Willoughby in Denbighshire, but the farm was sotd at a high sum. Witness, who ai still the tenant, had then the best par's of his farm taken from him with no abatement of the rent except .87. If turned out he would get no compensa tion. At present he was unable to make the place pay. but he did not wish to leave, because he was toad of it. Mr Lewis Roberta, Gelly, Capel Garmon, alleged that his rent bud been raised as he had improved hia farm. It was glebe land. Another farm belonging to the rector had been similarly treated. He went to church sometimes, and the other tenant was now a churchman a so. It was n. condition of letting the larm that the tenant should attend church.—On leav- ing the chair witness said, amid much laughter I have appeared before my betters this time at any late; I know I have never done so before." The laat sitting in the present aeries was held at Conway on Saturday.