Legislative Action 131 



no means necessarily meant that resort would be had to that weapon. 

 Between 1897 and 1902, 3576 acres were acquired by the Councils by 

 way of agreement with the landowners, and only 206 by compulsion 1 . 

 Various cases were brought to the notice of the Committee of 1905-6 

 where "the mere existence of the (compulsory) powers has secured 

 the provision of land where otherwise none would have been forth- 

 coming 2 ." The possibility of expropriation put pressure upon the 

 landowner. It also prevented the evil often complained of before the 

 Committee, that the price of land offered to the authorities was often 

 far above the " fair market price." For if this happened to be the case 

 the Council could use their powers of compulsion. It was thus a 

 simple statement of fact when Sir F. A. Channing wrote that "com- 

 pulsory powers, if too costly for frequent use, at least tend to bring 

 about acquisition by agreement 3 ." 



Even the Conservatively-minded Majority Report could not leave 

 this proposition out of account. But it confined itself to the suggestion 

 that such powers should be vested in the central authority, namely 

 the Board of Agriculture, and only in the case of purchase. Even 

 that, however, was a step forward, as compared with Lord Salisbury's 

 pronouncement of fourteen years earlier. The Liberal Bill went 

 further. It did not take the Committee's view that the right of 

 expropriation should be confined to the central Department, which 

 would be unlikely to use it "arbitrarily 4 ." On the contrary, section 6(2) 

 of the new Act provides that "If a County Council are unable to 

 acquire by agreement and on reasonable terms suitable land for the 

 purpose aforesaid, they may acquire land compulsorily in accordance 

 with the provisions of this Act." This power, as has been shown 

 above, passes in case of need to the central authority. It includes the 

 right of compulsory hiring, as well as of purchase. And in the former 

 possibility lies hid the most significant and decisive reform of the 

 whole measure. 



For the great hindrance to the effectiveness of the Act of 1892 

 had obviously not lain simply in the fact that the County Councils 

 found it difficult to acquire land. From the very first, experience 

 under the Act brought a second problem to the fore: namely, whether 

 the purchase of land by the local authority and the formation of small 

 properties rather than small tenancies is the best means to pursue for 

 the revival of small holdings in England. 



1 Return to the House of Commons, May 18, 1903 (Local Government Board), p. i*. 



1 Small Holdings Report, 1906, Minutes, p. 432. 



8 Ibid., p. 53, 13. Ibid., p. 33, 43. 



92 



