The Marquis of Waterford is the first great Irish landlord
who has acted upon the provisions of the Land Act. He did not like the Bill, which he criticised in the House, and he does not like it now ; but he accepts it, since it is law, in a frank and cordial way. He has, we believe, 70,000 acres, and he has written to his tenantry that he intends upon his property " to carry out not only the letter, but the spirit of the Act." He circulates, therefore, the official summary of the Act, reduces all rents which are higher than the average, and concedes voluntarily to two evicted tenants " all the same advantages which would have accrued to them if they had been evicted after, instead of before, the passing of the Land Act." We do not know whether Lord Waterford's average rental was high, but undoubtedly this is the kind of spirit which will avoid liti- gation, make the Act a reality, and soothe away the bitterness which has sprung up during the long contest. If the two or three hundred families which own half Ireland will act in the temper of Lord Waterford, the Act will do its work at once.
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