CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS 25 



would amount to ; but they appear to be doing 

 well, and old residents dilate on the increased 

 prosperity of the place. 



' See for yourself ; do we look depressed ?' was 

 the indignant rejoinder of a substantial-looking 

 small holder when I intimated that suggestions 

 had been made in that direction. He showed me 

 the sleeve of his coat and said : ' When I was a lad 

 such cloth was only worn on Sundays, and the only 

 beef eaten in Epworth was at the annual fair.' 



FINANCIAL POSITION. 



It must not be ignored, however, that there was 

 a small percentage of people who went under from 

 having bought land at too high prices in the pros- 

 perous times on borrowed money. In many in- 

 stances the passion for acquiring more land pre- 

 vented them from recovering themselves when it 

 would have been otherwise possible with hard work 

 and thrift. That this is recognized by the small 

 holders of the present time is apparent from the 

 unanimous assertion that 'it is a dangerous thing 

 for a man to have a larger holding than he can 

 manage.' 



That the bulk of the freeholders are now in the 

 state of financial insolvency which has been attri- 

 buted to them is emphatically denied by men of 

 long-standing local knowledge, though they admit 

 that there will always be some failures. This state- 

 ment appeared to be borne out by the general air 

 of prosperity among the holders themselves, the 



