Land Problems and National Welfare 



on tlic land and having a direct financial in- 

 terest in the land is always more saving than an 

 urban one — where the surroundings are con- 

 ducive to extravagance. 



The following figures I take from the paper 

 which Mr. Harris read to the Royal Statistical 

 Society some years ago. " During the first 20 

 years of the 19th century France admitted 

 wheat free of duty. After that date she began 

 taxing imported corn and definitely fostering 

 her agriculture perhaps somewhat at the cost 

 of other industries, just as we by the repeal of 

 the corn laws and the introduction of Free 

 Trade definitely fostered our urban industries 

 at the cost of agriculture. 



" It is interesting to follow the results of the 

 two policies in two nations so closely connected. 

 In 1841 Great Britain was vastly richer than 

 France, both as regards total wealth and in- 

 dividual wealth, the latter being ;^2o8 per head 

 for Great Britain, and ^"93 for France. 



" By 1865 France had caught us up, and by 

 1869 was far ahead, having added at the rate of 

 ^240,000,000 per annum to her national wealth 

 during the period of 1865-69. 



" In 1870 came the Franco-German war which 

 reduced the annual increase of wealth for the 

 period 1869-73 to barely ^40,000,000 per 

 annum. Between 1873-85 the increase per 

 annum was ;f 190,000,000 in spite of the great 



196 



