|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Congested Districts Board
Congested Districts Board, established in 1891 by Arthur Balfour, and invested with extensive powers to encourage agriculture and industry in parts of the country where, it was believed, acute poverty was inhibiting individual initiative. The congested districts initially covered an area along the west coast from Donegal to Cork but this was later extended inland to take in over one‐third of the country. The board comprised ten (later increased to fourteen) members. The chief secretary and a member of the Land Commission sat ex officio, with nominated members drawn from the local community and including representatives of the churches, landlords, business, and the professions. Sponsored schemes ranged from the employment of agricultural instructors and the promotion of cottage industries to the purchase of land for resale to tenants. Opinions differ as to the success of the board. It was undoubtedly popular, mainly because of its willingness to spend money. (From 1909 it had an annual sum of £250,000 at its disposal.) The quality of its financial management, however, left much to be desired. Conflict was also to arise between the CDB and the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, which was attempting to achieve similar ends by somewhat different means.
Virginia Crossman |
|
|
Cite this article
"Congested Districts Board." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Congested Districts Board." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-CongestedDistrictsBoard.html "Congested Districts Board." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-CongestedDistrictsBoard.html |
|
Congested Districts Board
Congested Districts Board (Ireland). The board was set up in 1891 by Balfour when chief secretary for Ireland as the positive side of his policy of firmness and reform—to kill Home Rule by kindness, it was suggested. The objective was to alleviate the dire poverty of the west of Ireland by providing funds for land purchase, building bridges and light railways, improving drainage, and sponsoring industries. Its resources were strengthened by George Wyndham in 1903. Before it was replaced in 1923, the board achieved much, but it did not kill Home Rule.
J. A. Cannon |
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Congested Districts Board." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Congested Districts Board." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-CongestedDistrictsBoard.html JOHN CANNON. "Congested Districts Board." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-CongestedDistrictsBoard.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
