ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. 



him with social and political knowledge. In spite of these 

 intellectual advantage his wages were 135. a week 



In one of these cottages a labourer's wife heroically 

 brought up a family of nine children on I2s. a week, and 

 they all had to sleep in two bedrooms. At times the only 

 way the mother could satisfy the pangs of hunger in her 

 children was by giving them cooked nettles and bread and a 

 hard pudding made of flour and water. For many weeks 

 this would be their daily dinner. 



A few miles distant I came to an estate made tragic by 

 the death of Whittaker Wright. This was Lea Park, now 

 owned by the great Liberal capitalist, Lord Pirrie. There 

 was no necessity here to display that excellent electioneering 

 placard of his Party, " Keep off the Earth," for five miles 

 of brick wall are more compelling than words. Inside these 

 walls the good agricultural land nourished deer and phea- 

 sants. 1 Across the park and over the public highway 

 stretched a private motor track which took my lord when 

 he pleased to Haslemere. If a carter was fortunate enough to 

 obtain employment inside these walls he had to be prepared 

 to renounce all worldly pursuits, such as the keeping of fowls 

 or pigs, or even that of adding to his family should he be 

 fortunate enough to inhabit one of the charming lodges. 



In 1912 wages were still low, cottages scarce and land still 

 beyond the reach of most labourers. 



Mr. Runciman in 1913 had to admit to the House of 

 Commons that of the 6,000 approved applicants still waiting 

 to get land " there were very few labourers amongst the 

 applicants because the low wages paid to agricultural labour- 

 ers did not enable them to lay by even the small amount 

 of capital required for a small holding." To facilitate 

 labourers stocking their holdings the Government of 1912 

 induced Joint Stock Banks to advance loans to credit socie- 

 ties. But this, as can well be imagined, met with little or 

 no success. 2 



1 "Lord Pirrie was fined 50 at Guildford yesterday for failing to clean 

 and cultivate a farm after receiving three notices from the Surrey Agri- 

 cultural Committee. " Daily Mail, 13 March, 1920 



1 I pointed out at the time that the Government by shirking the straight 

 course of lending the money itself would bring about a dismal failure. 



