458 STUDIES, SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL 



the others to agree, and thus one great initial difficulty 

 was overcome. 



Dcscri'ption of BalaMnc. 



The farm of Ralahine contained 618 acres, onl}' 268 of 

 which were cultivated, the rest being pasture, some of it 

 very stony or rough, and 63 acres of bog from which jDeat 

 for fuel was obtained. There was also live stock and some 

 farm implements, to the estimated value of £1,500, on 

 which six per cent, interest was to be paid, the total of 

 rent and interest being £900, which the landlord himself 

 admitted was too high, but which was nevertheless 

 punctually paid for the three years that the experiment 

 lasted. Mr. Craig showed great judgment in stipulating 

 that this rent should be paid entirely in produce, 

 estimated at the average market prices at Limerick of the 

 last two years, the grain to be delivered at Limerick, the 

 stock at'^Dublin or Liverpool, a plan which saved all the 

 inconvenience of fluctuations of price, as well as the loss 

 due to forced sales to meet the rent at fixed dates. 

 This arrangement was one of the causes of success, and it 

 is of great importance to all peasant-cultivators and 

 especially in barbarous or thinly populated districts. Yet 

 so prejudiced are our rulers that they continue to insist 

 on money rents in India and hut-taxes paid in money in 

 our African possessions, entirely regardless of the wishes, 

 habits, or convenience of the inhabitants. In Ralahine, 

 unfortunately, this tenancy was a yearly one, and the 

 experiment was thus dependent on the will or the life of 

 the landlord. Had it been a secure permanent tenure, 

 the whole subsequent history of Ireland might have been 

 changed, while legislation would certainly have been 

 beneficially influenced by it. 



The .Organization of the Balahinc Society. 



Mr. Craig also drew up a constitution and rules of the 

 association under forty-four separate heads, dealing with 

 the purpose of the society, the modes and hours of work 

 and nominal rates of wages, the arrangements for food, 



