168 THE AGRICULTURAL CLUB. 



The first class named, the landlord, will, I am sure, be looked 

 on with esteem and affection by all sections of my audience ; 

 as a very general rule he is first and foremost a sportsman ; he 

 heads the local list for subscription, whether for a joyous cause 

 or a sad one ; his care and thought for those living on his property 

 is more often measured by the shallowness of his pocket than 

 the depth of his good nature. But and there is always a but, 

 unfortunately is he by training and education always fitted 

 to hold the important position he occupies ? Often as owner of 

 many thousands of acres of agricultural land he has only a very 

 superficial knowledge of the intricacies of the business of Agri- 

 culture, and often this is gained merely from hunting and shoot- 

 ing. The individual is not to blame, I am sure ; it is the system 

 of his upbringing to which blame must be attached. Our thanks 

 are due to him and his forebears and sons for filling with honour 

 and distinction posts of responsibility in the Navy and Army, and 

 he and his have brought our forces by their manly leading to 

 the proud position our " Old Contemptibles " held in 1914 in 

 France and Flanders. 



To my mind the agricultural landowner stands in the position 

 occupied by the managing director in any other business. There 

 is, however, this vast difference between them : the very large 

 majority of landowners, though they may have some knowledge 

 of the business of farming, are not as fully qualified as the manag- 

 ing director of any other big business would be, a man probably 

 who has worked up from the ranks of the business he is directing, 

 and who has acquired an intimate knowledge of the details 

 and organisation of that business. Without this inside know- 

 ledge of Agriculture, so necessary to the landowner, suspicion 

 is bound to exist in his own mind of himself and possibly of 

 those under him. If a man in any business is not up to the 

 mark in all details of his profession, he is bound to distrust 

 himself, and to wonder if he shall do this or that. Shall he sell 

 now or hold on ? Shall he buy more or less of this or that this 

 year ? In many cases the landowner has his agent to consult 

 and get advice from, but it must be remembered that the final 

 word and order lie with the landowner, and if he is not com- 

 petent to give it, then suspicion of his agent may occur if, for 

 example, he hears that his neighbours have secured a better 

 price for their wool, or have let a farm at a higher rent than 

 he is receiving. Many other causes of distrust might similarly 

 occur. 



I will now deal with the second factor in Agriculture, the 

 tenant-farmer. Here we have a type of man with hospitality, 

 kindness and good nature written largely all over him ; the 

 most conservative in ideas and action of any class in Britain ; 

 physically, the ideal man from the life he leads, exposed as he 



