Here then in
Land Purchase and the abolition of dual ownership, we have one of the
twin pillars on which, on its constructive side, the Irish policy of the
Unionist party rests. But to solve the problem of rural Ireland--which,
as I have said, is _the_ Irish problem--more is required than the
conversion of the occupying tenant into a peasant proprietor. The sense
of ownership may be counted on to do much; but it will not make it
possible for a family to live in decent comfort on an insufficient
holding; neither will it enable the small farmer to compete with those
foreign rivals who have at their command improved methods of production,
improved methods of marketing their produce, facilities for obtaining
capital adequate to their needs, and all the many advantages which
superior education and organised co-operation bring in their train.
Looking back to-day, the wide field that in these directions was open to
the beneficent action of the State, and to the equally beneficent action
of voluntary associations, seems evident and obvious. It was by no means
so evident or obvious twenty years ago.
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