AN ADVANCE 57 



authorities have awakened to the importance 

 of technical education and of rural credit. 

 The 1907 Act in many respects is a distinct 

 advance over the 1892 Act. The demand 

 for small holdings has been proved, and the 

 inability of applicants to pay a deposit dis- 

 covered. The necessity for organization is 

 acknowledged, and an attempt has been made 

 to provide rural credit and adequate agricul- 

 tural advice. 



But the Act is by no means perfect, and it 

 is extremely doubtful whether its administra- 

 tion will create a peasant community which 

 will ultimately prosper. The first flaw in the 

 measure is the policy of tenure under a local 

 authority. Besides the obvious injustice of 

 asking a tenant to contribute to a sinking fund 

 to reimburse the purchase price of the land, a 

 Council, in the position of a landlord, provides 

 all the embarrassments and none of the advan- 

 tages which the private landowner furnishes 

 to a small-holder. A County Council is ac- 

 countable only to the ratepayers, and has no 

 responsibility to its tenants ; while the great 

 argument in favour of a private landlord is his 

 traditional interest in those who occupy his 



