TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' WORK. 17 



tions of certain ruin under such a rent. Three or 

 four years in every case have, however, altered the 

 story. Every single man has thriven. They had 

 no choice but industry and manuring the land, and 

 these soon made a much greater difference to them 

 than the higher rent, and both the tenants and 

 farms are now in quite other condition than they 

 were in when the purchases were made. I need 

 not add the purchases pay a good deal better interest 

 than that at which they were bought. Two unfor- 

 tunates were so unwise as to refuse the offers made 

 to them ; many and bitter have been their lament- 

 ations since. 



So plain has the whole thing become, that hav- 

 ing lately taken an old tenant, in whose judgment 

 I had confidence, to help me in valuing land I 

 wished to buy, I had to discuss with him how much 

 the rents might be raised. In giving his opinion 

 that a much higher rent might be charged, he added, 

 " Of course they will grumble, and maybe at first 

 have hard work to pay, but in five years they will 

 be as well off as the rest of us." I was met not 

 long ago with the following speech : " I cannot 

 understand how it is. Your property is let one- 

 third higher than many others in the neighbour- 

 hood, and yet your tenants are twice as independent 

 and well to do as those who are paying so much 

 lower rents." 



The answer, I believe, is in the facts stated above, 

 c 



