40 ESSEX PAST AND PRESENT 



land when they have saved money and their children can help 

 them. They have ambition, and, the more they endeavour to 

 realize that ambition, the wider becomes their mental horizon and 

 the broader becomes their view of life. 



In all this the Scottish labourer is encouraged by his master, 

 who looks upon his men as helpmates rather than as servants, and, 

 when the time comes and a favourable opportunity occurs, encour- 

 ages them to take a small farm for themselves even advancing 

 a little money, if necessary , to assist them in making a start. That 

 is the spirit which brings Scots and Scotland so much to the front, 

 inspiring the love and the reverence for country and countrymen 

 which make each individual feel that he has an honourable reputa- 

 tion to maintain far beyond the limits of his own doorstep ! 



What a pleasure, again, it is in after-years for a master, when 

 his old servants come back, one by one, to tell him how they have 

 bettered themselves in the struggle ; to thank him for what he 

 did for them in the days gone by ; to relate pleasant incidents 

 and experiences ; and to compare notes with him on countless 

 matters of mutual interest ! Meetings and memories such as 

 these make life worth living. They bring happiness alike to the 

 master who has helped and to the successful man who returns to 

 the old spot, to express gratitude for the chances opened out to him. 



Then, there is that strongest of all characters the Scottish 

 mother. She instils individuality and strength of mind into her 

 children, and she sets them a good example in the way of industry; 

 for in the country districts she will start work at five in the morn- 

 ing from, at least, the month of March to the month of Septem- 

 ber and will hardly leave off until nine at night. She milks the 

 cow, she feeds the pig and the poultry, she does countless other 

 duties as well, and she not only shares her husband's ambition to 

 get on, but proves herself his willing helper in all that he does. 

 So, from small beginnings the Scottish labourer will rise to higher 

 things, helped alike by his natural qualities and by the conditions 

 he finds around him. 



It was people of this type who came to Essex from Scotland to 

 succeed English farmers whom prosperity had spoiled, and to put 

 fresh life into a sadly depressed industry. They came eventually 

 in such numbers that on some of the largest estates in the county 

 at least 50 per cent of the tenants are Scotsmen. The re-establish- 

 ment of the prosperity of Essex may, it is true, still be far from 

 complete ; but this I would say, without fear of contradiction : that 

 the troubles of the last twenty ./years are making a finer class of 

 British agriculturists than Britain ever had before., just as they are 

 also putting agriculture itself on a firmer basis, by encouraging 

 alike a more general resort to scientific teaching and a wider 

 acceptance of the advantages of combination. What we need in 

 addition is greater relief from permanent burdens on the land, with 

 such improvement in our laws as would encourage the agriculturist 

 to do his best for the land, and make him feel that he was, at the 

 same time, also doing his best for himself. 



