CHAPTER II 



PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF LAND : THE 

 LANDLORD AND THE GOVERNMENT 



To the economist the ultimate justification of private 

 property rests upon the conviction that the surest 

 way to bring about the abundant production of wealth 

 is to secure to the producer the free disposal of what 

 his exertions have produced. This general argument 

 in favour of private property does not, however, afford 

 any vindication of private property in land. Land is 

 the free gift of Nature, and its extent and productive 

 capacities are not (except in rare cases) due to the 

 exertions of the landlord, and therefore no privileges 

 or disabilities imposed upon the landlord could affect 

 the productiveness of the land. Indeed, there is no 

 reason to suppose that the production of wealth would 

 be impeded in a society which did not recognise private 

 property in land at all, as long as the use of the land 

 was guaranteed to the cultivator for a season. 



But though the landlord cannot nowadays rest his 

 claims to the exclusive ownership of land upon the 

 same fundamental principle which justifies other forms 

 of private property, it is probable that in earlier ages 

 he rendered services to industry which fairly entitled 

 him to a share in the product. Those services con- 

 sisted in the protection of industry. In the lawless 

 condition of early society the chief who could assure 

 the agriculturist of security and enable him to reap 

 the crop which he had sown, performed a most 



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