This is not a matter of speculation, but of experience. As long ago as 1818, in the case of Canada, we discarded as vicious the old doctrine that a dependency ought not to be allowed to provide for the whole cost of government out of its own taxes, for fear that its Legislature would control policy. If we are going to remove features which make Ireland resemble a Crown Colony now, do not let us import others which recall the ancient fallacies of a century ago.
There remains to be considered the important question of loans, and to that I shall devote a separate chapter.
CHAPTER XIV
LAND PURCHASE FINANCE[152]
I.
LAND PURCHASE LOANS.
The data of the land problem are as follows:
The superficial area of Ireland is 20,350,725 acres, and in 1909 it was utilized as follows:[153]
| Acres. | Percentage. | |
| Area under tillage, hay and fruit | 4,582,697 | 22.5 |
| Area under pasture | 9,997,445 | 61.6 |
| Grazed mountain land | 2,548,569 | 61.6 |
| Woods, etc. | 301,444 | 1.5 |
| Bog, barren mountain, water, roads, townlands, etc. | 2,925,570 | 14.4 |
| Total | 20,350,725 | 100.0 |