sinking fund had been fixed at a higher rate and the decadal reductions
of earlier Acts retained, so as to reduce the incidence of the burden in
its later stages. This, be it noted, is one of the points in which the
provisions of the Act differ from the recommendations of the Land
Conference.

I have referred already to the block in sales under the Act owing to the
scarcity of money which is forthcoming to meet sales already effected.
By the financial provisions of the statute, so as not to demoralise the
market, a definite check was put upon the issue of the land stock, and
just before the late Government resigned Mr. Long, as Chief Secretary,
made a proposal, which was not received with enthusiasm by the parties
concerned, that the landlords should in future be paid partly in stock
at a nominal value and partly in cash. Nothing has since been done, and
the only step taken so far has been the appointment of a judge in
addition to those formerly so engaged, to accelerate the judicial
inquiries necessitated by the process of transfer. The whole cost of the
finance of the Act falls on the Irish taxpayer, and before the
introduction of Mr. Wyndham's proposal the idea was mooted--only to be
abandoned--of reviving a proposal made by Sir Robert Giffen in the
_Economist_ twenty years ago, which would have made the annuities paid
on purchase the basis of the funds from which the local bodies in
Ireland would draw their revenue, while the Imperial Exchequer would be
relieved to an equivalent amount by deductions from its grants to local
services.

The cost of the flotation of the Land Stock is borne by the Irish
Development Fund of £185,000 per annum, which is the share of Ireland,
equivalent to the grant for the increased cost of education in England
under the Act of 1902. More than one-half of this fund has already been