The Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c.73), commonly known as the Ashbourne Act is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

, passed by a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

government under Lord Salisbury. It extended the terms that had been achieved under the

Kilmainham Treaty The Kilmainham Treaty was an informal agreement reached in May 1882 between Liberal British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone and the Irish nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell. Whilst in gaol, Parnell moved in April 1882 to make a ...

. It set up a £5 million fund and any tenant who wanted to buy land could do so. One could take a loan from the government and would pay it back in monthly installments. The Act was effected by, and informally named for, Edward Gibson, 1st Baron Ashbourne, the then

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

. The loans would be paid back over 48 years and the rate of interest would be fixed at 4% per annum. This made the loan repayments affordable, and more people could benefit from the Act as they would now be able to buy their own land. It strengthened the original

Irish Land Acts The Land Acts (officially Land Law (Ireland) Acts) were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by ...

as they had enabled tenants to buy land in restricted circumstances. The Ashbourne Act formally gave this right to the tenants and funded the

Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...

It has been argued that the Act was passed to win the support of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of t ...

. Salisbury knew that his government would not last long as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

had an overall majority. Salisbury realised that he would need Irish Party support to maintain power. Therefore, the Ashbourne act was a way to win over Parnell while keeping

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

on the opposition benches. This failed, as Gladstone came into government soon after and introduced the Government of Ireland Bill 1886; which however also failed. The Ashbourne Act was extended in 1889. It increased the government grants for loans by a further £5 million and became law in August 1891. It was one of the

Land Purchase (Ireland) Acts Land Purchase Act (with its variations) is used as a short title and collective title in Prince Edward Island and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to the purchase of land. Under the act, those who own more than 40 acres (16.2 ha) of lan ...

.The

Short Titles Act 1896 The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Short Titles Act 1892. This Act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and Part 4 of Schedule 1 to, the ...

, section 2(1) and Schedule 2

References

United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1885 1885 in law Land reform in Ireland 1885 in Ireland Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Ireland {{UK-statute-stub

See also

References