TENURE OF LAND AND SUCCESSION 

 THERETO^ 



Up to the latter part of the eighteenth century the land in 

 Denmark was, in the large majority of cases, held as in our own 

 country, by the class of large land-owners, and at that time the life 

 of the small agricultural tenant and labourer was far from a happy 

 one. The country, however, awoke to the fact that something 

 had to be done to improve the lot of this class so as to retain them on 

 the land, and in 1787 a Royal Commission of Agriculture was 

 appointed to inquire into the whole circumstances. This was the 

 precursor of many enactments which have been passed, and which 

 have proved themselves to be beneficial, not only to the class for 

 whom they were intended but to the country at large. 



This Commission did much good work, and was the means of 

 instituting the system of leasing of farms to peasants, hitherto 

 unknown, and thus to its credit must now be placed the initiation 

 of that system which has proved so successful in the country — 

 peasant proprietorship. 



The Government, alive to the facts of the case, backed up the 

 Commission in their endeavours, and created a fund from which 

 loans were advanced to peasants to enable them to buy their farms 

 on easy terms. 



The stimulus once having been given there has been a gradual 

 though increasing tendency to acquire land on the part of the 

 farmer, and as a result the larger estates have been divided into 

 smaller holdings. A further impetus was given in this direction 

 by the formation in 1851 of certain mortgage companies from whom 

 loans on landed security could be obtained on fairly advantageous 

 terms. From time to time various Acts have been passed dealing 

 with the land question, and these have culminated in the passing 

 of the two important Statutes of 1899 and 1904, which will be 

 referred to hereafter. 



Generally speaking, in Denmark, as in Great Britain, we find a 

 similarity in the laws relating to the possession of and tenure of 

 land. Thus, we have the ''Selvejergaard," corresponding to our 

 fee simple or freehold land, on which there are no restrictions on 

 the owner as to the manner in which he may deal with or dispose 

 of his estate. Again, there are estates held under certain burdens 

 and restrictions called " fixed lands " (Danish " Faeste "). These 

 are, as a rule, held either under the common law of inheritance, or 

 are entailed. The lands which are affected by such entails are : 



^ The Danish measurement is by t6ndeland = l'36 acre. 



