IHi; LAND SYSTEM OF BELGIUM AND HOLLAND 

 BY MILE DE LAVELEYE 



I DO not propose to give here an account of the state of agri- 

 culture in Belgium and Holland, having done so elsewhere ; l 

 what I seek is to point out facts relative to both countries, calcu- 

 lated to throw some light upon the following question : What is 

 jarian constitution (i.e., the system of ownership and tenure 

 of land) most conducive to the progress of agriculture and to the 

 welfare of mankind ? 



A preliminary observation is requisite. Thirty years ago eco- 

 nomists were in the habit of considering only the production of 

 wealth, paying hardly any attention to its distribution, which they 

 thought to be regulated by inexorable natural laws ; the system 

 which yielded the largest produce being, of course, thought the 

 Hut modern improvements in machinery having doubled 

 vblcd the production without adding to the welfare 



med to be entitled to it by their industry, endeav- 



:iow made to devise- means of better distributing the 



produce; and there are those who think that of two systems of 



isation, the one which leads to the more equitable 



distribution of the produce is the one to be preferred. 



exampl' suppose a certain area of land to yield a 



produce of 1000, distributed thus : 



i landlord 200 parts 



M.uit .... i oo parts 



1 4 labourers, at the rate of 50 700 parts 



1000 parts 



mv lui..'. onomic ruralc dc la Belgique," an nomie 



dc la N( . 



433 



