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Show IIDLOROS'ESIATES BONG DIVIDED FORMS Irish Department of Agriculture Agri-culture Dealing With Im-portant Im-portant Problem DUBLIN. March 10 The Dail Fireann's department of agriculture is dealing with what Is regarded as the most important work of the Inch republican re-publican government the alienation of land from the big estates of landlords land-lords and its distribution among small Farmers who have not enough land to parn a living. Hi nc last April, when there was a revival of the "land war" which has occupied such a conspicuous place In Ireland's history, the Dail's socalled land judges" have dealt with 22 cases Involving about 60.000- Irish acres. An Irish acre Is a third again as large as an American apre In eighty-three) of these cases 20,875 l j acres were "alienated" that Is. taken ! by derre from big estates and sold to small farmers who were able to prove that they did not posse sn sufficient suffi-cient land to provide a living for themselves and families. In sixty-seven sixty-seven esses judgment whs given against the "claimant" (the farmer) In favor of the "resister" (the landlord with a big estate). MANY PENDING. More than 100 .cases are pending. ; most of them In Roscommon, which is In a highly disturbed stale.. If the land judges are not permitted to deal with these rases, Sinn Kein fears an- j other upheaval In the spring. Landlords Land-lords in the districts affected are said I to view the situation with great anxiety. anx-iety. The land question has been acute 'in Ireland for hundreds of years. It ' arose wherf the first Jriahmen were driven In feudal limes from their an--"dent clan lands. The great war in the last century cleared off the landlords land-lords and then the British government ; set up the congested districts board. , BOARD 18 SLOW. j Kevin R. O'Shiel. a land Judge, told the correspondent thst the willful and .incredible slowness of the board Is the principal cause of the present agitation, j "In Roscommon alone it la the land-I land-I lord of 60.000 acres of excellent untenanted unten-anted land, and ft is the lord of many i thousands of acres, all untenanted. In 'JaJway, Mayo, Clare and other court- ties." he said. "These estates are capable ca-pable of supporting at least lO.ono leop1e and l here are many valuable j ranches lying derelict In parts of the: country where there is serious conges- I tion." The Iail Klreann. he said, is "mere- , ly carrying out the work hlch the! congested districts board neglected." j "Arbitration courts," be continued, i "have been a revel ition of efficiency 'and dispatch. Now that the way has ; Keen made clear. th- solution of the ; land question is only a matter of jtime." (WELCOME WORK. The landlords themselves, who are1 mostly' Unionists, welcome the work of the land courts, according to Mr. O'Shiel. He said that after the shooting shoot-ing to death last spring of the ;al- way landlord. Captain Hhaw-Taylor. I landlords made earnest appeals to Dail Klreann to intervene. I According to Mr. O'Hhiel. peasant farmers with large famines find them- 1 selves entirely unable to support them on the meager income from their small holdings. They are made desperate when they are unable to purchase a j few additional aeres from nearby es-! es-! tates, which often nre .lying Idle or are used only for graxing . "It is only with euth ca.es that we deal, he said. "The burden of proof that his holding Is uneconomic la on the claimant. We do not touch cases concerning historic claims to land through eviction. |