SMALL HOLDINGS. 89 



and went to America. The net result of that 

 transaction is that the Government has pro- 

 vided him with over £100 with which to emigrate, 

 and the actual small-holder will have the burden 

 of repaying that sum. 



One can foresee that ultimately in Ireland 

 there will be a revival of rack-renting evils. 

 The small-holder created by Government sub- 

 sidies will sell or rent his holding, and the actual 

 cultivator will be in a position, perhaps, as bad 

 as in the old days of landlordism, with a 

 ' gombeen man " as his new landlord. Then 

 there will be a demand to revise the terms so as 

 to allow of further concessions. Clearly, in any 

 case when a Government subsidy is used to help 

 a settler to a holding there should be a limitation 

 of title. It would not be fair to bar transfers 

 of title altogether, except by testament, for that 

 would inflict injustice in some cases where the 

 settler has good reason to wish to abandon his 

 holding. Transfers should, however, be under 

 some effective supervision. In Australia, when 

 the Government grants special conditions for 

 settlers wishing to set up homes of their own, 

 there is a check on transfers. Each individual 



