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Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 61, 12 March 1915, Page 3

Th« Rev. Father Lane, of Gisborne, ■who recently completed * tour of Ireland in a motor car, gave a reporter some interesting details of his trip on his return home last week, in the course of which he said:—"l found it in a very prosperous condition as a result of the Land Act, which has enabled the tenants to 'become the owners of the land and homesteads in which they live. I may say that 330,000 Irish farmers have already purchased their holdings, and in travelling through the various districts it is very easy to distinguish the farms of those who own their land and those occupied only by tenants. The spirit of improvement consequent on the spirit of ownership is unmistakable. Under the old system of .landlordism — now practically defunct—the tenant faTmer of Ireland was penalised for any improvements he effected, whether in land or homestead, by a corresponding increase in rent, and if he didn't pay, the cry was, 'Out you go!' You can readily understand why the Irish farmer "was 'considered unprogressive, and why he was satisfied with bare necessaries as far as housing and agriculture were concerned. Now, newer residences hare arisen on the foundations of the shanties and homes of a while ago, and on the ruine of houses burned by the landlords." With regard to this new Land Act of Ireland, Father Lane mentioned casually that the United States had sent out a commission to visit Europe and Great Britain to ascertain the best form of land h»ws with a view to their adoption in America. After careful consideration, they recommended the Irish Land Law» as the moet modern ,Itad km of Euros!, . _