ABSENTEEISM, a term applied to the owners of estates in a country who habitually absent themselves from that country and spend the income of their estates in it in another; in current use, referring almost wholly to the Irish nobility whose fixed residence is outside of Ireland. Much of the poverty and many of the disturbances in Ireland have been charged directly to it, and the Irish people have protested against it since 1380. While an Irish Parliament existed, there seemed hope for its gradual dwindling, careers being open for ambitious men in Ireland; but with its abolition the evil is almost incurable. Hungary suffered heavily from the same cause—its aristocracy looking on their native country's language and life as badges of barbarism, priding themselves on being Germans and liv ing in Vienna — till the great national move ment set going by Szechenyi and his com panions early in the 19th century. Despite the defense of the system by some economists and the good theoretical arguments that may be made for it, in practice its economic, social, personal and political mischiefs are obvious. Not only is the absent landowner and property owner, collecting his rents by agents, inaccess ible to complaints, representations, appeals for help in upbuilding local institutions, etc., and
unwilling to acknowledge rackrenting he does not personally see to be such (even a generous and kindly agent dares not be as lenient as he would, in fear of his master) ; but he should be the leader of his section, the fountain of careers, furnishing it employment, having his own success depend on its prosperity, and the active defender of its interests and rights and susceptibilities. The estate of an absentee owner, in fact, is essentially like a colony in the old conception,— a mine to exploit for out siders who cared nothing for it; but the colo rusts of a distant province have a collective power much greater than that of the tenants of an absent landlord. Furthermore, it makes social co-operation for general needs almost impossible. The literature on this subject is nearly coincident with that of the Irish ques tion as a whole; and the debates in Hansard's 'Parliamentary Reports' abound in its discus sion.