On Thursday, a somewhat important extension was agreed to by
tho Government for the Arrears Bill, by virtue of which the Loan Clauses of the Act of 1881 will be revived and strengthened, for the benefit of all those tenants who, not being poor enough to avail themselves of the Arrears Bill, are yet in want of means for the proper cultivation of their holdings. Mr. Gladstone proposed that every tenant of a holding above £30 and under £50 yearly value, should be permitted to bor- row, on the joint application of the landlord and tenant, and on their joint security, a sum for the cultivation of the farm, which must be repaid, with 5 per cent. interest, within thirty-five years. In those cases, as the principle of loan is adopted, there can, of course, be no compulsion, and the State does not allow itself to be placed in the direct relation of creditor to this class of -tenants for a long series of years. There was, of course, a good deal of objection made by Mr. Parnell to the condition of the landlord's joining the tenant in the security ; but it is obvious that on this point the Government must insist, and, as a matter of fact, they stood quite firm. This proposal will, no doubt, greatly increase both the utility and the popularity of the Arrears Bill.
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