FARMING, PAST AND FUTURE 93 



meat or dairy produce, a remission of taxation on 

 that crop or product might be granted. 



The essence, however, of my whole scheme is that 

 under no conditions whatever should remission be 

 obtained by the land-robber. To remit the food-tax 

 to the land-thief means giving profit to the individual 

 at the expense of the nation's wealth. To remit to 

 the intensive farmer is my idea of the best way to 

 subsidize production. 



Any such scheme involves the setting up of some 

 form of authority to decide which estate is well or ill 

 managed, which farmer is paying a living wage, what 

 is intensive farming, &c. I admit this to be a dis- 

 advantage, but, I contend, it is less of a disadvantage 

 than to go on with a very large proportion of this 

 land of ours not properly farmed. I confess I would 

 rather have the trammellings of a Department of 

 Lands and a Land Court with its many possibilities 

 of evil than run the risk of not getting every acre we 

 possess once again under conditions of high fertility. 



Anyhow, I am convinced that if we are to be warned 

 by the past, it is necessary that future policy should 

 on the one hand deal out greater fairness to the land- 

 lords and the farmers, and, on the other, insure by 

 every and any reasonable means that agriculturists 

 themselves do their duty in winning food in the 

 greatest possible profusion from the land of England. 



K. J. J. M. 



