XVII LAND NATIONALIZATION— WHY ? AND HOW ? 327 



bonds every year. Taking the difference between the fair 

 rental payable by the tenant and the net rental received 

 by the landlord at 20 per cent., this difference will serve to 

 pay off the whole purchase-money in 56 years, even 

 if there is no increase whatever in the value of the land. 

 But as large quantities of agricultural land are required 

 every year for extension of towTis and villages, for manu- 

 facturing purposes, for market gardens, &c., the much 

 higher rents obtained for this portion of the land will 

 render the transaction a still more secure one, and the 

 period of repayment shorter. 



With regard to town and building lands the conditions 

 are much more advantageous, because they show a con- 

 tinuous rise in value, even in times of depression, owing 

 to increase of population. It is calculated that this 

 increase for the last forty years has been at the average 

 rate of 2 per cent, per annum for all the land of the king- 

 dom, agricultural and urban, and as we have allowed for 

 no increase in the value of agricultural land we may fairly 

 take the increase of the urban land, at 3 per cent. But 

 an increase of only 2 per cent, per annum will suffice to 

 pay off the whole of the ground rents in 40 years, while if 

 the increase were 3 per cent, the repayment would be 

 effected in a much shorter period. 



When this was done, the whole of the revenues derived 

 from the land of the country would be available in lieu of 

 taxation, and would probably suffice for all the legitmate 

 purposes of the community, both imperial and local ; but 

 there is no reason why this great boon should be reserved 

 for our successors alone . The fair plan would be to devote 

 one half of the surplus rents to relief of taxation, the other 

 half to repayment of purchase money by extinguishing a 

 portion of the land-bonds. This plan would have the 

 double advantage of immediately reducing taxation, and 

 effecting this by moderate steps annually so as not to cause 

 too great a disturbance to trade.^ 



1 This is an alternative proposal to that formulated in Chap. XVL 

 It is here suggested because the principle has been adopted in Ireland, 

 but the present writer holds that the former proposal is the most sound, 

 and would be the most beneficial. 



