William Frederick Bailey

“ Sales under previous Purchase Acts were carried out by holdings. A landlord could agree with one or more of his tenants to sell them their farms, and if the Land Commission, after examination, found that the particular holding was security for the advance asked for by the tenant to buy out the landlord, such advance was made irrespective of any other sales on the estate. The Act of 1903 introduced the system of sales by "estates." ”

“ The Act of 1903 gave considerable powers to the Estates Commissioners to improve small and uneconomic holdings by the purchase of untenanted land, to be re-sold to the tenants or sons of tenants on the estate, or to the occupiers of holdings not exceeding £5 in rateable value in the neighbourhood, or to tenants evicted from their holdings since 1878, or in case such tenant is dead, to a person nominated by the Land Commission as his representative. ”

“ To encourage sales of estates, and to enable owners to get such a sum as would give them their net income out of the purchase money, when re-invested in suitable securities, a bonus of twelve per cent, on the purchase money was paid to the owner on the completion of this sale. ”