22 THE AGRICULTURAL CLUB. 



for the maintenance of a man, and that if his statement were 



correct it would imply that at the time " ere England's 



grief began " the population of the country was about 120 



million men. The historical sceptic distrusted Macaulay's 



assertion that even in Rome there was a time when none was 



for a party and was still more doubtful that such a period had 



occurred in English history. But statisticians and sceptics 



were not encouraged. The prevalent tone of the discussions 



was optimistic and charitable. Buoyant faith in the future 



prevailed, and confidence that the clouds would roll by 



and that, even if it were after much tribulation, we should 



in due time enter the kingdom of contentment and goodwill. 



The spirit of assured hope in a better time coming was 



especially evident in the outlook of those who spoke for 



Labour. Perhaps this was the more noticeable because it 



was prima facie the less to be expected. The history of the 



agricultural labourer has not tended to stimulate optimism. 



Its shadows have been unduly deepened by some recent 



writers, who have preferred to accentuate the hardships and 



overlook the alleviations of those who cultivate the soil. 



The troubles which the rural worker endured were often 



those which were common to all workers and were not 



attributable to any particular agricultural causes or to any 



unusual aggravation of the defects of human nature among 



farmers. But when all allowances are made, the impartial 



reader of history could feel no surprise if resentment and 



bitterness were felt by the descendents of those whose lot 



in the past had been hard and who inherited traditions which 



had fostered through many generations a sense of injustice. 



But the hope which in bye-gone days flickered in spite of all 



discouragement has flamed up in the present generation, 



and the worker's faith in the future has induced a more 



charitable view of the past. All concerned with the land 



have their ideals. The landowner looks forward to the day 



when all those who own agricultural land will be regarded 



by the State as trustees for the whole community and when 



all of them will be worthy of the trust and sensible of the 



responsibility it involves. The farmer looks forward to a 



time when he will be regarded as the friend and not the 



