392 REPORT OF COMMITTEE, 1906 



REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENTAL 

 COMMITTEE ON SMALL HOLDINGS, 

 1906. 



In 1905 the Board of Agriculture appointed a 

 Departmental Committee 'to inquire into the 

 administration and working of the Small Holdings 

 Act of 1892, to examine the various arrangements 

 made by landowners in recent years for the provision 

 of smaller agricultural holdings, and to report as to 

 the conditions under which such holdings are most 

 likely to be attended with success ; and as to the 

 measures which may most advantageously be taken, 

 either by legislation, co-operative association, or 

 otherwise, to secure the increase of their number.' 



This Committee has recently reported. As re- 

 gards the amendment of the Small Holdings Act, 

 there are no proposals as to compulsory powers 

 in any form. The suggestions are chiefly confined 

 to various points for making the terms of purchase 

 easier for the small man, and for removing some of 

 the restrictions which tend to cramp the sense of 

 ultimate ownership. They evidently take the line 

 of believing that the Act itself is workable, but 

 that, owing to misconceptions as to its reading, it 

 has not been fairly tested. They draw the attention 

 of County Councils to the strained views these 

 bodies take as to various clauses e.g., as to waiting 

 to act until they receive petitions ; as to the petition 

 having to apply to specific lands in a specific dis- 



