38 The Agricultural Holdings (England) Act, 1883. 
construction involves a contradiction in terms between the 
earlier part of the section, which recognises that it may not be 
possible to ascertain the compensation, and the subsequent part, 
which makes the ascertaining of the compensation imperative in 
some cases. A judge would certainly struggle to avoid such 
a contradictory meaning in a statute if any other fairly con- 
sistent meaning could be assigned ; and the section seems open 
to the more reasonable interpretation here attempted. 
A doubt also arises as to the powers of the referees and 
umpire with regard to agreements under § 5. Suppose that in 
their opinion compensation given under such an agreement for 
temporary improvements is not " fair and reasonable . . . having 
regard to the circumstances existing at the time " it was made. 
Have they the power to set aside the agreement, and award 
compensation under the Act? It is submitted that they possess 
this power by necessary implication, or they could not com- 
plete their award with the particulars required under §§ 17 and 
19. If the amount claimed be 100/. or under, their decision 
v/ill be final (§ 23). If the amount claimed exceed lOOZ. (§ 23), 
their power is conditional, and subject to appeal, so that it will 
be for a legal tribunal ultimately to say, except in cases involv- 
ing less than 100/., whether the agreement is one to be upset or 
upheld. But the Act furnishes no direct appeal to the County 
Court except from the decision of the referees or umpire ; that 
decision must raise any point afterwards contested ; and they 
have not fully discharged their duties until they have made a 
full award in the terms of the Act upon all matters referred to 
them. It would seem, therefore, that great as this power is, 
they really may, in practice, revise and set aside all the agree- 
ments in question, and a tenant may always make it impossible 
to challenge their decisions, if he is content to claim no more 
than 100/. 
Appeal to Count)/ Court. — One object of the legislation of 
1875 was to provide cheap and easy methods of determining 
the rights of landlords and tenants. The new Act follows the 
old one, therefore, in prohibiting litigation in the High Court 
of Justice by an attempt to withdraw a submission or award 
from the jurisdiction of the referees and umpire or of the 
County Court by making it a rule of Court, or otherwise. 
The award is not to be questioned except as the Act provides 
(§ 22), and will conclude the whole matter if the tenant claims 
no more than 100/. If the claim exceeds 100/., the award will 
also be final, unless, within seven days after its delivery, either 
j)arty appeals to the County Court on all or any of the following 
grounds ( § 23) : — 
" 1. That the award is invalid. 
