£60,000,000 MORE FOR IRELAND.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1844, 2 September 1913, Page 8

£60,000,000 MORE FOR IRELAND.

i 9 MR. BIRRELL'S LAND PURCHASE. £1,000,000 FOR COTTAGES. The work of land purchase in Ireland is "two-thirds through," m Ml'. Jiirrell's vigorous collcguiai phrase. Another £60,000,000 will bo required to complete it. . A fresh issue of Land Stock is obviated under the now financial scheme. Tt is hoped to complete land purchase in another ten or iilteen years. _ The foregoing aro somo of the sanent points of tile speech in which Ml. Birrell a few. weeks ago introduced his Bill for the completion of Laud Purchases in Ireland. It was a first time, and that (says tho "Daily Mail") is tho end of it for the present session. Frionds and critics—and it did not. encounter any determined hostility—will have tho recess in which to ponder its complicated financial provisions before it comes on again next session. A recital of all that has been accomplished so far constituted the' preliminary passages of Mr. Birrell's speech. The value of tho land sold, or agreed to be sold, under Mr. Wyndham'B Act, 1903, was £85,410,602. Onder the Act of 1909, for which Mr. Birrell was responsible, the amount was £11,225,234. Taking these figures togethor, ind adding the, sum of £3,845,000 advanced tor the purpose of labourers' cottages, wo <ret £100,481,427 as .the total expended upon land reforms in Ireland during tho last decade. ■ Prior to 1903 some 24 millions odd ha"? been spent, thus giving £125,260,000 as a grand total. £1,000,000 for Cottages: Mr. Birrell admitted to a iiesitancy in estimating tho accurate size of tho problem still facing them, but £60,000,000 was the sum he quoted as necessary, together with another odd million "to place upon a 'satisfactory footing tho most beneficial wont necessary corollary to land tho building of labourers' cottages. (Cheers.) Already 41,000 cottages had

been built. Some 9000 moro were "authorised" and another 10,000 were, included in the scheme. A refercnco to "how the . money lias been raised" 'brought him to the doleful Stock Exchango record of Irish Land Stock: Issues at 87, onco 92, now " Outside tho congested districts land purchase was proceoding far too Henco tho now measure. "I wish the money market had rendered it possiblo to adopt a system of cash payments, confessed Mr. .Birrell, but, this being impossible, tho new purchases will bo paid for half in cash and half in stock, plus a bonus in cash to the seller m cases of voluntary agreement. Tho only further public issue of Land Stock would be 24 millions required to complete tho transactions now pending and to bo accomplished in tho nest four years. _ Souroo of tho Cash. "It cannot fail to bo an immense relief to tho money market to be told that a period will thus bo put onco and for ever to the issue of Irish Guaranteed Loan Stock," he remarked with a smilo of triumph. ' But whore was the money for tne half cash to como from ? TJio National Debt Commissioners, by far the largest holders of Irish Land Stock, had stated that thoy were in a position to advanco tho money as and when re-, quired. ' A concrete instance of a tenant at'a rental of £100 buying his land at 22 years' purchase rounded off the speech. Tho price would bo £2200. The landlord would, receive £1100 in cash and £1100 in stock, and this, taken at 82— tho figure was lower now—would givo him £902 if he realised immediately. Adding a bonus of £264, this meant . tho landlord could get £2266. cash, and tho investment of this sum in a trustee security ajfc 4 per cent would yield him £90. The tenant, on tho other_hand, would pay an annual charge of £70 15s. It was mentioned that* m future tho tenants' pufchaso annuity would stand at £3 12s. 6d., instead of £3 10s. Mr. Redmond Critical. The Nationalist Leader had nothing but praise for the proposal to givo moro

money for cottages, but he grew critical over the "half and half" proposals of Mt. Birrell. Ho wanted to see cash payments. Then the landlords would "make no bones" about compulsory sale. "I honestly do not believe that this scheme of half stock and half cash will givo the landlords what I think they' should obtain," ho said suavely, "and that is, tho full land conference terms." ; Tho Irish Party would take no responsibility for the Bill and would strive for bettor terms. Tho raising of the tenants' purchase ■ annuity excited the protests of Mr. William O'Brien. He agreed to join in any representations to tho Government to extract better terms. From tho Opposition front bench Mr. Campbell laid ho would do nothing to hinder the progress of the Bill, but he expressed the opinion that it was shopwindow dressing. If this Bill was supposed to meet with general approval he asked why wero its provisions not adopted in 1909? Why was it not introduced till tho end of the session and just after Mr. Lloyd-George had denounced Irish land purchase as "a fraud and a swindle"? , Mr. M'Kenna stated that the Government had every reason to congratulate themselves on tho reception of the Bill. The money for the cash payments would be obtained by the National Debt Commissioners from the Post Office and 1 Trustee Savings Bank Funds. Tho Chief Secretary had'asked him to say that tho landlord's bonus would be 011 1 a sliding scale. "Tho Well-intentioned," by A. Stodart Walker (Andrew Melrose; per George Robertson and Co.), is a long . and well-writton story, with Edinburgh for its main -background. Tho heroine, 1 the wifo of a highly-respectable, but rather cold and precise doctor, has had, in Egypt and elsewhere, two separate love passages, and when the_ earlier ' lovers turn up in_ "Auld Reokie her position, the position of a woman who, : however well-intentioned, is naturallj 3 flirtatious, and never seems to know 3 her own mind, is bot-h delicate and awk- . ward. The author drives his rather restive and wayward team of characters ' ycrv cloverly, but the story drags not , a little at times, and though readable enough, in its way, can hardly be con-

sidered a success. "Gillan Vase," whose story, "A Great Mystery Solved," has lons been out of print, but is about to be republished by Sampson, Lows, is in real life a Cornish lady Sirs. Elizabeth Newton, nee Palmer, Her book is an attempt to provide a Mmi"or Dickens's unfinished -'f' r ,V "T.he Mystery of Edwin Drcod. Tlu story fascinated her, so that the siloes tion of friends that she should attempl n sequel was eagerly welcomed, and sooi: the young authoress found chapter oftei chapter flowing from her pen, a, word 01 a phrase bavin; rarely to bo altered 1 ; eh* .seemed • conscious of inward prompting: whicli smoothed,away all difficulties. Th< ttoi'v was qmcli praised, ono critic evei preferriii" it to that of the Master. Tin spirit and diction of t.lve original have, 1 is claimed, been cleverly caught and pre p»rved, though not slavishly, in tlii ponuei. "Gillan Va-«o" wrote 0119 or tw other stories, but not under t.lie clan am the inspiration which made easy ill oarier task. Philanthropic and politica work in Manchester also took up niucS of her time then. The pen-name js , childish corruption of "Ghylliug Vaes, a beautiful litllo covo pear Falmouth. About IMO iwrvanU nro attached to Kia George's Royal Household,