126 Large and Small Holdings 



its recommendations were only in part the basis of the Bill of 1907, 

 since the change of government which took place in the meantime 

 naturally meant that the Bill, when introduced, would represent the 

 views of the Liberal Party, which differed essentially from those of 

 the Committee and the Report. The Small Holdings Bill of the 

 Liberal Party it was which became law on August 28, 1907. 



To understand the whole significance of this measure it is necessary 

 to outline the provisions of the Act of 1892, which the new Act 

 amended. Those provisions were briefly as follows: Every County 

 Council was empowered to create small holdings if a sufficient demand 

 were proved to exist; that is to say, if any person laid a petition to 

 that effect before the Council, and the Council convinced itself that 

 there was such a demand. The State was to provide the necessary 

 capital for the purchase of land at a low rate of interest, but the 

 purchaser must pay down on the spot at least \ of the price. He 

 might leave upon the land a perpetual rent equal to the interest on 

 \ of the remaining capital ; but the other J was to be paid off in half- 

 yearly instalments of principal and interest. Where the applicant 

 was not in a position to purchase land, the Council might let a small 

 holding to him. But such a holding was not to be more than 1 5 acres 

 in area, nor of a higher value than would be represented by a rent of 

 15 per annum. The main object was thus the creation of small 

 properties and not of small tenancies. 



The result of this legislation by no means corresponded to the 

 hopes of its promoters. Although the Act obliged every County 

 Council to form a Committee to receive and consider petitions, and 

 although such petitions were received in 27 counties of England and 

 Wales and 14 Scottish counties, in the ten years 1892 to 1902 only 

 652 acres had been acquired for the purposes of the Act. Only five 

 English counties and one Scottish county bought land, and three 

 English counties rented land, for small holdings. Between 1902 

 and 1906 only two cases were known in which an English County 

 Council had purchased land under the Act. In one case 46 acres, 

 in the other 92 acres had been bought. 



The question arises as to why so promising a measure failed to 

 accomplish the "home colonisation" expected of it. 



The most natural explanation would be that the legislation 

 corresponded to no economic need. But neither the witnesses before 

 the Committee of 1905-6 nor the Report of the Committee gives any 

 countenance to such an hypothesis. On the contrary, the whole 

 enquiry showed plainly that a lively demand for small holdings 



