Major Kingsmill Pennefather, Law Suit

From ‘The Irish Jurist, Volume 15’ of 1863.

Kingsmill Pennefather was the son of Rev. John Pennefather of Newport, and of his second wife, Elizabeth Percival.

The following recounts a law suit taken by Jane Catherine Pennefather, the widow of, and executrix of Major Kingsmill Pennefather, against the land agent, Edward J. Bolton.
Jane C. Pennefather was demanding that she be given an account of the rents received by Bolton during the period while he was agent to her late husband.
In 1848, Major Kingsmill Pennefather, being resident on the continent, appointed Bolton as his agent to receive rents of the lands of Golden and Knockinglass in Tipperary.
In 1851, Major Kingsmill and his family emigrated to Australia where he died in 1858, leaving his widow and three infant children.
It was stated in court that Mr. Bolton had allowed rental arrears to build up on Knockinglass despite the rent having been set at a reasonable rate and despite the tenants being well able to pay it.
Jane C. Pennefather was demanding that, due to Bolton’s wilful neglect, he should be forced to pay the resulting arrears.

The following letter had been written on February 7th 1851 from London, the day before the family’s emigration, by Major Kingsmill to Richard Bolton, the father of Edward J. Bolton, who had been joint-agent with him at the time -

‘My dear Sir, - I have only time to write you a few lines to tell you I leave here tomorrow, at 10 o’clock, for Gravesend, then to embark and sail with the afternoon tide.  During my absence I place the greatest confidence in you, and expect you will exercise your abilities in the management of my estates in my far distant abode as you have during my nearer residence.  Whatever money you can put together for my use, send me a bill for it, and direct it under cover to Messrs. Winter, Williams, & Co. 16 Bedford-row, London, who will forward the same and other letters to me. I remain, my dear Sir, your obedient servant, 
                                                     Kingsmill Pennefather.’

An earlier letter, headed ‘Ouchy, Nov. 16 1849’ was written by Major Kingsmill to the same Richard Bolton - bear in mind that this was written at the tail end of the Great Famine. This letter was presented to the court to demonstrate that Kingsmill himself would frequently lower the rents of his tenants when they found themselves under pressure:
 
  ‘My Dear Sir, - I have just received your letter of the 10th inst. I see by it that I have more and more reason to congratulate myself on my good luck in having obtained a man of your abilities and firmness as my agent.  I really feel very grateful to you for all your exertions on my part, for you have saved myself and my family from ruin. My confidence in you has already been fully justified, beside which, I have already heard you highly spoken of in several quarters. I pity poor James Ryall.  I will leave the matter in your hands, to do what you think fit and fair, knowing, as you do, the state both of us and of our unfortunate country.  If possible, I should like to accede to his request, for he has been a good tenant hitherto.  Next year, please God, these present difficulties will all be over....I remain, my Dear Sir, your obedient servant,
                                                                                                 Kingsmill Pennefather.’

James Ryall, mentioned above, was the Kingsmill’s tenant at Knockinglass, who had laid out a large sum in improving the land on his property, and whose rent had been reduced by Kingsmill himself.  Edward J. Bolton considered it should have been reduced even further, given the fact that Ryall was elderly, and given the appalling conditions prevailing in the country at that time.  He wrote off much of Ryall’s arrears, and it was this loss of rental income which Jane C. Pennefather wished to see returned.

The judge found in favour of Bolton -  ‘when we go now into the facts, it seems to me that it would be too strong to hold  that even in the case of Ryall, there was that default which would properly be called wilful. It was a mere remission, and when we consider the many circumstances which, in the unfortunate state of the country at that time, might have caused this remission to be made, we cannot look on this as wilful default or neglect on the part of an agent in Mr. Bolton’s position, especially too when we are ignorant whether this remission may not have been directly authorised by Major Pennefather, or at least allowed by the general discretion and authority vested by him in Mr. Bolton....’