44 RURAL DENMARK 



thing of the sort was in contemplation in England, 

 as one of the new planks in the platform of the 

 Unionist party at present in opposition was the 

 establishment upon the land of small freeholders, 

 by the aid of money to be borrowed directly or 

 indirectly from the State. Therefore it became a 

 matter of importance to discover how such a system 

 was working in what I believed to be the only 

 country which had made a similar experiment. 



Mr. Nielsen replied that he quite understood my 

 object. He added that the Danish Government 

 contemplated the appointment of a commission in- 

 structed to report as to whether State leaseholds 

 should be substituted for, or established in addition 

 to State freeholds. I said, " Does not the appoint- 

 ment of such a commission suggest that there is a 

 doubt as to whether these State freeholds are suc- 

 cessful in Denmark?" 



He replied, " Yes, Mr. Haggard, there is a 

 doubt." 



In the course of further conversation I gathered 

 that an idea is afoot that the glebe-lands, which the 

 Danish clergy declare they cannot make remunera- 

 tive, might be taken over and used for the purpose 

 of such State leaseholds. But of all this matter I 

 shall have more to say. 



At the conclusion of our interview the Minister 

 kindly handed me over to Mr. Knud Vall6e, Secretary 

 and Deputy in the Ministry of Agriculture ; and to 

 Mr. Waage, assistant in the Ministry of Agriculture, 

 Director of Credit Banks of Communes in Denmark, 

 and advocate. 



