The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-13

BY TIMOTHY J. o'CONNOR.

BY TIMOTHY J.s s0sC0NNOR-
 Dublin. Dec. 12@-In speaking on the
 question of land legislation recently
 the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Lieutenant
 of Ireland said there was aeconsensus of opinion from many points of view l regarding the far-reaching question of land purchase in Ireland and the great
 need of the attainment of more rapid | progress in It's operation. Obviously | the very fact that the recent act had
 been so successful, had thrown so great
 weight on the machinery established | to carry 1t into effect as to overload 1t; and stiil more had this been the
 case owing to unforeseen fluctuations
 of the money market. which had great | ly in1peded the working out of the
 original financial plans. Meanwhile. the hIndrances. of course. affected both parties in the transaction. A land | lord, for example, who had come to terms as to sale would receive the 1-2 per cent interest on the amount of the agreed price pending the completion of the sale; but 1t was more probable that he would be liable during the same period for the interest on some estate mortgage, which was not like- ly to be less than three per cent. Then
 there was the case of the tenant He
 would be paying 31-2 per cent interest on the purchase money. instead of an instalment and must continue to do so
 until the purchase money was avali- able; and it was only, from that point that the progress to actual ownership commenced It was. only too clear,
 therefore that something was needed to tighten and facilitate the financial procedure, and that was what they were all looking forward to; especially in connection with the measure which would be explained by Mir. Birren in the House of Commons.
 The "Freeman's Journal says; Three hundred and fifty million dol lars worth. of land, or perhaps we should say land for which the tenants have agreed to pay s350.000.o0O had been sold down to the 31st of October. The bonus on that amount payable to the landlords is nearly S42,500,0 ,000. Only about S100. 100000 have been ad- vanced. so that nearly $500, ,o00.0d0 has now to be provided to finance the agreements entered into Obviously there has been a tremendous scramble among the landlords to sell their es-
 ates before the expiration of the period during which the 12 per cent bonus was payable. We trust that the ten- ants have derived as much profit from the hurry of the landlords as the land- lords derived from the haste of the tenants and some of their advisers five years ago. Unless they have succeeded in abating the. price somewhat. 1t ts difficult to estimate the excess price on this payment of $392,500,000. The agreed price. excluding the bonus, has been well over 30 per cent above Ash bourne prices since the zones and the delusiye annuity rate began to work. On the s390.000. 900 the excess is fully $115, 100000, which, added to the bonus, makes the premium to the landlords on tho transaction no less than $1b7.- 100000. Yet the transaction is half through, and unless something is done to restore sanity. Nto safeguard the weak, and to give the proceedings security. the effect Of the act of 1905 will have been to add $325, 100000 to the price Of the land Of Ireland.
 ChancellOr's Part.
 MT. Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has to find those $S00.- 100000 immediately required. under the scheme of finance imposed by Mir. Wyndham and those Treasury advisers whose complaisance surprised MT. Bir- rel1 when he came to examine the transaction Land stock is only S7 1-2 so that to obtain the $300.000, 900 cash required $345, 900, ,000 of land stock ! would be nearly $1.500.000 a year for sixtv-eight and half years. or three | fourths the entire grant contemplated | by Mir. Wyndham for the bonus. The | Chancellor of the Exche equer has to find this discount, which the act im- | poses on the Irish ratepayers. but of | the liability for which the Prime Min | ister has pledged himself to relieve | the ratepayers. He has also to repair | the broken-down financial scheme and l to devise one in substitution that will | work and allow land purchase to con- | tinue His task is no easy one. It l would have been simpI eenough if MT. ] Wyndham had not cut down the an- nuity rate beyond adjustment point; l but it is not simple now, for to raise | the annuity rate without safeguarding | the tenants from further extortion un- der the amended system is not to be | contemplated.
 MT. Birrelrs task is light compared with that of his colleague. The gov | ernment have accepted the contention | of the Irish Party that the restora- tion of the finance of land purchase | cannot be separated from the amend