documents which a great English lawyer--Lord Westbury--once described as
"difficult to decipher, disgusting to touch, and impossible to
understand," is not necessary prior to sale; for an enjoyment for six
years of the rents of an estate brings with it the right to sell, and
proof of title is needed only after purchase has been completed in order
that the vendor may establish his right of disposal of the proceeds, and
as further inducement he gets a sum not exceeding one full year's
arrears of rent, or at most 5 per cent. of the purchase price.

The good results which have accrued where a peasant proprietary has
arisen are admitted on all sides. Mr. Long himself, in words which form
an illuminating commentary on landlordism, confessed that the blessings
and advantages of a change of ownership are obvious. Everyone is agreed
that the happiness, bred of security on the part of the occupying owner,
brings in its train sobriety and industry. The business of the gombeen
man is going, and one may well hope to see arise before long that thrift
and energy characteristic of the peasant proprietor, whether in France,
Belgium, or Lombardy.

It must not be forgotten, however, that land purchase to bring peace
must be universal. In 1901 the De Freyne tenants rebelled against the
payment to their landlord of a rent which was 25 to 30 per cent. higher
than the purchase annuities paid by the neighbouring tenants on the
Dillon estate, which had been bought up by the Congested Districts
Board. Under the Wyndham Act there are in progress reductions of annual
charges, ranging from 10 to 40 per cent., on holdings adjacent to those
where either the landlord is recalcitrant and refuses to sell or where
the slowness of administration has delayed progress and secured no sale,
and, as a result, dissatisfaction reigns among the less fortunate
tenants.