Moreover，thelandwhichtheycultivatedintheirplaceofrefugewasnottheirsbuthis。Theywerethefirst’tenantsatwill，knowntoIreland，andthereisnodoubtthattheywerealwaystheoreticallyrackrentable。The’threerents，’saystheSenchusMor，arethe’rackrentfromapersonofastrangetribe，afairrentfromoneofthetribe，andthestipulatedrentwhichispaidequallybythetribeandthestrangetribe。’The’personfromastrangetribe’isundoubtedlytheFuidhir；andthoughtheIrishexpressiontranslated’rackrent’cannot，ofcourse，intheancientstateofrelationbetweenpopulationandland，denoteanextremecompetitionrent，itcertaintyindicatesanextremerent；
sinceinoneoftheglossesitisgraphicallycomparedtothemilkofacowwhichiscompelledtogivemilkeverymonthtotheendoftheyear，Atthesametimethereisnoreasontosupposethat，inthefirstinstance，theFuidhirtenantswereoppressivelytreatedbytheChiefs。TheChiefhadastronginterestinencouragingthem；’hebringsinFuidhirs，’saysoneofthetracts，toincreasehiswealth。’TheinterestsreallyinjuredwerethoseoftheTribe，whichmayhavebecomestrongerfordefenceorattackbytheadditiontothepopulationoftheterritory，butwhichcertainlysufferedasabodyofjointproprietorsbythecurtailmentofthewastelandavailableforpasture。TheprocessbeforedescribedbywhichthestatusofthetribesmendeclinedproportionatelytothegrowthoftheChiefs’
powers，musthavebeenindirectlyhastenedinseveralwaysbytheintroductionofFuidhirs。SuchindicationsofthecourseofchangeastheBrehonlawsfurnisharecuriouslyinharmonywithapassagefromaworkrecentlypublished，which，amidmuchothervaluablematter，givesamostvividpictureofagriculturallifeinthebackwardIndianprovinceofOrissa。MrHunter，thewriter，isspeakingoftherelationoflandlordandtenant；butasthe’hereditarypeasantry’referredtohave，asagainsttheirlandlord，rightsdefinedbylaw，theyarenotwithoutanalogytothetribesmenofanancientIrishterritory。’Themigratoryhusbandman，’theFuidhirofmodernIndia，’notonlylosthishereditarypositioninhisownvillage，buthewasanobjectofdislikeandsuspicionamongthenewcommunityintowhichhethrusthimself。Foreveryaccessionofcultivatorstendedtobetterthepositionofthelandlord，andprotantotoinjurethatoftheoldercultivators。Solongasthelandonanestatecontinuedtobetwiceasmuchasthehereditarypeasantrycouldtill，theresidenthusbandmenwereoftoomuchimportancetobebulliedorsqueezedintodiscontent。Butoncealargebodyofimmigrantcultivatorshadgrownup，thisprimitivecheckonthelandlords’exactionswasremoved。Themigratorytenants，therefore，notonlylosttheirpositionintheiroldvillages，buttheywereharassedintheirnewsettlements。Worsethanall，theyweretoacertainextentconfoundedwiththelandlesslowcasteswho，destituteofthelocalconnectionssokeenlyprizedinruralsocietyastheevidencesofrespectability，wanderedaboutashiredlabourersandtemporarycultivatorsofsurplusvillagelands。’Hunter，’Orissa，’i。57，58
YouwillperhapshavedivinedthegroundofthespecialattentionwhichhasbeenclaimedfortheseFuidhirtenants，andwillbepreparedtohearthattheirpeculiarstatushasbeensupposedtohaveabearingonthoseagrariandifficultieswhichhaverecurredwithalmostmysteriousfrequencyinthehistoryofIreland。ItiscertainlyastrikingcircumstancethatinthefardistanceofIrishtraditionwecomeuponconflictsbetweenrent-payingandrent-receivingtribes——that，atthefirstmomentwhenourinformationrespectingIrelandbecomesfullandtrustworthy，ourinformantsdwellwithindignantemphasisonthe’racking’oftenantsbytheIrishChiefs——andthattherelationofIrishlandlordandIrishtenant，afterbeingrecognisedeversincethebeginningofthecenturyasasocialdifficultyofthefirstmagnitude，finallybecameapoliticaldifficulty，whichwassettledonlytheotherday。IdonotsaythatthereisnotathreadofconnectionbetweenthesestagesofIrishagrarianhistory，buttherearetwooppositeerrorsintowhichwemaybebetrayedifweassumethethreadtohavebeenuniformthroughout。
Inthefirstplace，wemaybetemptedtoantedatetheinfluenceofthoseeconomicallawswhichlatterlyhadsuchpowerfuloperationinIrelanduntiltheirenergywaswell-nighspentthroughtheconsequencesofthegreatfamineof1845-6。Anoverflowingpopulationandalimitedareaofcultivablelandhadmuchtodo，andprobablymorethananythingelsetodo，withtheconditionofIrelandduringthatperiod；butneithertheonenortheotherwasacharacteristicofthecountryattheendofthesixteenthcentury。Next，wemayperhapsbeinclined，assomewritersofgreatmeritseemtometobe，topost-datethesocialchangeswhichcausedsolargeaportionofthesoilofIrelandtobeplacedundertheuncontrolledLawoftheMarket，or，toadopttheordinaryphraseology，whichmultiplied’tenantsatwill’toanunusualextent。Doubtless，ifwehadtofoundanopinionastothesecausesexclusivelyonancientIrishlaw，andonmodernEnglishrealpropertylaw，weshouldperhapscometotheconclusionthatanarchaicsystem，barelyrecognisingabsoluteownership，hadbeenviolentlyandunnaturallyreplacedbyasystemoffarmoremodernstampbaseduponabsolutepropertyinland。But，bytheendofthesixteenthcentury，ourevidenceisthattheChiefshadalreadysomuchpowerovertheirtenantsthatanyadditiontoitisscarcelyconceivable。’TheLordsofland，’