The Irish Landowners' Convention held its annual meeting in Dublin
on Friday week. The speech of the President, the Duke of Abercorn, dealt mainly with the grave hitch in the working of the Act of 1903, caused by the inability of the Government to make the necessary payments to vendors. Only about one-fifth of the purchase-money for estates which have been sold had been paid over by the State, and there appeared no immediate prospect of the Government being able to raise the balance. If, as Mr. Wyndham believed, the rate of purchase will soon be accelerated, this may be a very serious matter for the national credit. It is already a serious matter for the unfortunate vendors, who having sold their properties are unable to secure advances on them, while the fact of sale means an immediate loss of income. Mr. Long proposed last Session to pay off part of the debt in depreciated land stock, but the Bill in question was abandoned. We have dealt with the matter elsewhere ; here it is sufficient to note that it is a really serious problem, which demands the instant attention of the Government. The Irish landowners have relied upon the honour of the country, and some means must be found of relieving them from what is an awkward, and in many cases a grievous, predicament.
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