Looking back in history, Hunter believes that the Act established an old-fashioned order, with a place for the tenantry quite different than as in Ireland where crofters could buy their land under "Home Rule" acts. The Act was neither effective in the development of crofting communities nor did it encompass the political and social beliefs of those communities. But according to Wightman, the Act paved the road to further land development in Scotland, although it did not affect areas outside the . Wightman also stated that the "land question" has yet to be resolved, as two-thirds of Scotland's land area is still owned by only 1,252 landowners out of a population of 5 million.