Plain Talks To Irish Farmers

Excerpt from Plain Talks to Irish Farmers: An Examination of the Changes Which Must Be Made by Irish Farmers in the Management of Their Private and Public Affairs if the Land Settlement Is to Bring Prosperity to Ireland The following pages relate to a movement and a policy which have been built up during the last two decades. The movement aims at a complete re-organisation of the farming business in Ireland on co-operative lines, its promoters believing that this will result not only in economic, but also in social improvement. The policy seeks to define the principles upon which the newly-provided State assistance to agriculture should be administered so as to evoke and supplement organised self-help. The scheme as a whole is the working out of a now well known formula for the rehabilitation of rural life - better farming, better business, better living. Thus it is hoped that, as the land settlement proceeds, agriculture in Ireland may be gradually raised to the level of efficiency which it has reached in many European countries where the land question has been settled. The present pamphlet is a revised and condensed reproduction of some articles which I have recently written in The Irish Homestead. I seized the occasion of an attack upon the movement and the policy to explain and defend both. No one will deny the gravity or importance of the main issue I discuss. In the circumstances of Ireland the prosperity of the farmer is a fundamental condition of the well-being of all classes. Personally I doubt the feasibility of developing subsidiary industries while the main industry of a country is in a backward condition. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Plain Talks to Irish Farmers: An Examination of the Changes Which Must Be Made by Irish Farmers in the Management of Their Private and Public Affairs if the Land Settlement Is to Bring Prosperity to Ireland You, the farmers of Ireland, to whom I speak, have it in your power to make or mar the fortunes and the reputation of our country. Masters of its natural resources, producers of almost all its wealth, you are the makers of its life. Your fellow-countrymen at home and abroad see in your skill, industry and intelligence the only hope of saving the present, for which we are responsible, from the depressing effects of a past in which we had no share. It depends mainly upon you whether the present generation of Irish workers will leave to those who come after them an inheritance of excuses, of which the world is getting tired, or a fine example of practical patriotism. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

"The strength of this volume cannot be conveyed by an itemisation of its contents; for what it provides is an incisive commentary on the newly-recognised landmarks of Irish agrarian history in the modern period. . . . The importance, even indispensability, of this achievement is compounded by exemplary editing."—Roy Foster, London Times Literary Supplement "As a whole, the volume demonstrates the wealth, complexity, and sophistication of Irish rural studies. The book is essential reading for anyone involved in modern Irish history. It will also serve as an excellent introduction to this rich field for scholars of other peasant communities and all interested in problems of economic and political developments."—American Historical Review "A milestone in the evolution of Irish social history. There is a remarkable consistency of style and standard in the essays. . . . This is truly history from the grassroots."—Timothy P. O'Neill, Studia Hibernica