88 OUR ENGLISH LAND MUDDLE. 



The Irish circumstances were, of course, ex- 

 ceptional. The Wyndham Act can be explained 

 as in part an act of penance. But an undoubt- 

 edly serious omission was that of failing to pro- 

 vide any proper precautions against trafficking 

 in the new titles which were created. A tenant 

 is provided with a small holding on an instalment 

 purchase system so easy that his annual payment 

 for capital and interest is less than his old rent 

 used to be. There is no provision against his 

 selling his rights, his " equity of redemption." 

 But it is clearly a valuable asset. Whilst new 

 small holdings are being made available with 

 Government money, this will not be so apparent. 

 But when that supply ceases, the man desiring 

 a farm will purchase it from an existing holder, 

 perhaps borrowing the money at high interest 

 to do so. He will be then, in effect, a rack-rented 

 tenant, having to meet the Government's instal- 

 ments and the money-lender's instalments. I 

 have already heard of one case where a Gov- 

 ernment-assisted small-holder, after being in 

 possession for two years, sold out his rights for 

 something over £100 (the information was given 

 me by a high official, but without exact figures), 



