64 THE IRISH AGRARIAN PROBLEM. 



In this way arose a sort of divided property, 

 " dual ownership," which gradually came to be 

 recognized, first by custom, then by law. 



On the whole, the ownership of large estates 

 in Ireland is not carried on upon economic and 

 businesslike lines. It is true that we may find 

 almost everywhere large demesnes with park, 

 garden, and home farm ; but the landlord's house 

 at the best was only an important centre of con- 

 sumption, and very rarely the central point of a 

 great scheme of management embracing the en- 

 tire property. The administration of the estate 

 is generally in the hands of an agent who carries 

 on business with the farmers, collects the rents, 

 and conducts the entire financial administration 

 of the property, in which he is often controlled 

 by the family lawyer. The business with the 

 farmers is, in a great number of cases, a consider- 

 able task. On an estate recently purchased by 

 the Congested Districts Board there are over 

 4,000 small farmers. The agent as a rule re- 

 ceives 5 per cent, of the rent receipts for his 

 labour. As the majority of agents do not con- 

 fine themselves to the administration of a single 

 estate, an agent can be found for small properties 

 as well as for large ones. The number of Irish 

 agents must be about 400. 



The importance of the agent in Irish eco- 

 nomxics cannot be over-estimated. It depends 

 upon his tact and business capacity whether the 

 landlord lives in peace or in discord with his 

 tenants, for Ireland is a land where nothing 



