80 OUR ENGLISH LAND MUDDLE. 



Classes for domestic science were instituted in 

 the schools. A Belgian sisterhood was estab- 

 lished in a resumed manor house to conduct 

 a model industrial school. 



Wyndham's Act of 1903 made the system 

 of land purchase general. The British tax- 

 payer gave a bonus of £12,000,000 to finance the 

 scheme, and provision was made to raise a loan 

 of £100,000,000 to purchase the land from the 

 landlord and divide it among the small-holders. 

 It is calculated now that that loan will have to 

 be extended to £160,000,000 to complete the task 

 of making the Irish a nation of small-holders. 



The Irish Labourers' Cottages Act, under 

 which £3,250,000 was spent in providing 30,000 

 Irish agricultural labourers with cottages, was 

 supplementary to these Small Holdings Acts ; 

 and they were further aided by a very remark- 

 able system of Socialistic aid to the Irish settler. 

 The principle of laissez-faire was swept aside 

 altogether. State officials took power to " inter- 

 fere " in all directions. They interfere to improve 

 the farmers' dairy stocks by providing good 

 sires, also by subsidizing the farmer who will 

 on his own account keep an approved sire. 



