Mr. Birrell introduced the new Irish Land Bill in the
Commons on Monday. In his view, Mr. Wyndham had greatly underestimated the financial extent of the land purchase problem, and instead of fixing the amount at £100,000,000, he ought to hare fixed it at £180,000,000. Turning to the new proposals, he said they proposed to "pat on the Imperial Exchequer the whole burden of the loss occasioned by the issue of the stock below par— the neoesi3ary issue of extra stoelp—and the bonus dividend." They' proposed, subject to Parliament's assent, to relieve at once the Irish ratepayers of prospective losses. They aimed at issuing stock enough to raise ten millions a year, and proposed to offer the landlords who had pending agreements the option of taking their purchase money in stock at the market price of the day, or of taking it partly in stock and partly in cash. In regard to future trans.- actions, the Bill proposed to take power to issue new stock at 3 pet tent. instead of the old rate of and to increase the tenants' annuity to 3t per cent. instead of 31. With regard to the bonus, they proposed to graduate it inversely with the 'number of years of purchase, so as to enable the poorer landlords to sell. At the bottom of the scale would be a 16 per cent. bonus graduated until after twenty-five years' purchase and upwards it would be nothing at all. They proposed to deal with the problem of congestion by reconstracting the Congested Districts Board, enlarging its areas, and by con- ferring on it compulsory powers to acquire untenanted land; all land thus acquired to be paid for in bard cash.
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