LAND TENURE 



I am one of those who look with pleasure and 

 approval at our English system of landlord and 

 tenant which, during the past century, or more, 

 has given such a good account of itself. This system 

 has certainly weakened to some extent since the 

 post Great War days, and I should be sorry to 

 see it receive another blow when this present war 

 comes to an end. One realizes of course that to 

 obtain the best return from the soil, landed property 

 should be in strong hands, and by strong hands I 

 mean in the possession of a man or a company 

 who can equip it with modern buildings, and most 

 important of all, be able to let it at a reasonable rent. 



Unless this might prompt the socialist to say at 

 once, " Why not nationalize the land right away ? " 

 let me hasten to say that I have no sympathy 

 whatever with such a radical change. I do like 

 the personal touch of a landlord, and not only the 

 personal touch, but the keeping of our country units 

 together, preserving that contact of classes which is 

 the charm of rural life and one which we must do 

 our utmost to maintain. We might go further and 

 say at all costs we must hold on to it. 



Perhaps someone might be tempted to ask, Why ? 

 Well, surely it must be a sound argument to keep 

 all sorts and conditions of men interested in the 

 country-side, to fill it with life and energy. Again, 

 if it is made worth while to keep capital in or to 

 invest it in landed property then we have a larger 

 volume of capital to run the great industry of 

 agriculture. What I am afraid is happening to-day 

 is that those who own land and let it out to some 



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