eventually be
complete freeholders. In addition, agreements for the purchase of
properties by 150,490 tenants, under the Wyndham and Birrell Acts, at a
total price of 461/2 millions, for 41/2 million acres, were pending in
March, 1911, though the sale and vesting were not yet completed. The
properties represented by these agreements will be duly transferred in
the course of the next few years, though the congestion of business is
very great.

That will make a total of 113 millions advanced to 315,623 tenants for
the purchase of 11 million acres under all Acts up to and including that
of 1909. Now, how much more will be required? We have only one recent
official estimate--that made by the Land Commission in 1908 for the
Treasury Committee which sat to consider the crisis in Land Purchase. It
did not pretend to give an accurate forecast, but only to estimate the
maximum amount which would be needed, on the assumption that all unsold
land would eventually be sold at the average price reached under the Act
of 1903.[159] It is certain that the amount so calculated, covering as
it does all classes and descriptions of agricultural land, and including
land farmed by the landlord himself, as well as short-term pasture
tenancies,[160] will considerably exceed the actual requirements. Some
of the unsold land, especially of the pasture land, will never need to
be sold; nor is the average purchase price likely to remain permanently
as high as that obtained under the Act of 1903.

Still, this speculative estimate gives us an outside figure which is
useful. The conclusion from it is that 95 millions may be required to
finance all future sales initiated under the Act of 1909.

But if we want to know how much cash may be wanted, dating from March,
1911, onwards, to finance Land Purchase, we must add the 461/2 millions
needed for sales now agreed upon, and waiting to be carried through, but
not yet completed. That brings the total to 1411/2 millions.

For the reasons given above, I think we might very well strike off 20
from the 95 millions of future sales, and so reduce the total to 1211/2
millions.

Two further questions remain to be considered: (1) Can we assume that in
the future purchase will proceed smoothly? (2) Who pays for the
machinery of Land Purchase, and what is the security for the money
advanced?

1. The Act of 1909 is still young. At the end of March, 1911,
applications had been lodged for the direct sale of 5,477