ON AGRICULTURE TO IRELAND 31 



Avhen what is sold is declared by the Commission to be an " estate." 

 Under the Act, the seller receives 12 per cent, of the purchase 

 price of the estate, and that whether he is an absolute or a limited 

 owner. In fact, if he has been six years in possession of the estate 

 and holds under a lease, 60 years of which is unexpired, or in life- 

 rent, he is entitled to get this 12 per cent. Thus, out of an estate 

 worth £40,000 a limited owner gets an immediate payment for his 

 own use of £4800. 



(6) Arrears of Rent 



Hitherto, where an agreement for the purchase of a holding 

 had been lodged with the Land Commission, all arrears of rent 



STOCK BULL, " BAPTON BANGER," AT FARM SCHOOL, ATHENBY 



due by the purchasers were wiped out. This provision is still in 

 force, but the party who would have been entitled to the arrears, 

 that is, the absolute or limited owner may be paid out of the 

 purchase money the equivalent of one year's arrears of rent. 

 Now, an absolute owner would get all the purchase money at any 

 rate. The liferenter, however, would only get the liferent, and 

 the arrears being irrecoverable, he would get none of them. Tlxis 

 provision, therefore, takes from the absolute owner and gives to the 

 liferenter an equivalent of the year's arrears of rent. This is done 

 with the view of inducing the liferenter to sell. The arrears might 

 amount to 4 or 5 per cent, of the purchase money. If the estate 

 were sold for £40,000, the liferenter would get a cash payment of 

 from £1600 to £2000. 



