In the House of Commons on Tuesday Mr. Sinclair intro-
duced a Bill to encourage the formation of small agricultural holdings in Scotland. The Bill is founded on the Crofters Act of 1886, and the Congested Districts Act of 1897. It is now proposed to take compulsory powers which this previous legislation does not give, and to make it apply throughout Scotland. Tenants to be benefited are those having holdings for which •250 a year or under is paid, or holdings not exceeding fifty acres in extent. Fair rents are to be fixed by the Land Commission. A sum of 265,000 a year would be voted for the purposes of the Bill,—that is, for equipping small holdings on farms compulsorily divided under the Act. Mr. Balfour was at his best in his opposition to this mis- chievous and unnecessary measure. No doubt it was an easy task to tear in pieces so wanton and ill-considered a scheme for creating the very worst possible system of land tenure which human perversity has devised—that ie, dual ownership— but at any rate the task was performed to perfection and with a gusto which it is pleasant to note.
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