In other words, the Government sold me a farm and parliamentary title at sixty-five pounds a year which one set of Commissioners thought fair and the other thought cheap, and yet I had to spend more than half a year's rent in defending my title to it.
There is no appeal as to value, except to the head Commissioners. They appoint two other Sub-Commissioners to inspect the land, and they of course avoid disagreeing with their brethren.
It is very like Mr. Spenlow in David Copperfield, who said, 'If you are not satisfied with Doctors' Commons you can go to the delegates,' and being asked who the delegates were, he replied that they came from Doctors' Commons.
I bought the Harenc property as a speculation, and it turned out a confoundedly bad one.
Once I had a conversation with a Land Leaguer on the subject. He said:—
'You bought a stolen horse, and must take the consequences.'
'If that were so,' I retorted, 'I would have an action against the Government which sold me the horse.'
I had a correspondence on the subject with Mr. Chamberlain, which elicited some remarkable letters; but as he marked all of his private and confidential, they of course cannot be published.
Now for a few anecdotes, just to show that I have not exhausted my stock.
It would be cruel to specify the individual of whom I can truthfully say, he was the biggest fool that ever disfigured the Irish bench.