Land Problems and National Welfare 



to proceed further. These members (under 

 our assumption) are only units of one or other 

 of the existing parties, and cannot, therefore, 

 be expected to take any steps in the direction 

 of *' putting pressure " upon their leaders in 

 order to obtain these " facilities." So our hope 

 depends upon a string of chances — first, upon 

 finding a number of candidates ready to pledge 

 themselves to all the details of a Bill ; secondly, 

 upon those candidates getting into Parliament ; 

 thirdly, upon the luck of the ballot ; fourthly, 

 upon the chance of the Bill passing without 

 amendment through Committee ; and, fifthly, 

 upon the decision of the Government as to 

 whether it shall live or die. I submit that this 

 is not good enough, and even this is only one 

 Bill in four or five years, as that may be taken 

 as the average life of a Parliament. 



But we have not yet referred to what must 

 be considered the greatest assumption of all 

 (one fact which our opponents tell us is against 

 us beyond question), and that is the labourers' 

 vote. If it is true that the labourers will 

 always vote against the farmer and the land- 

 lord, then good-bye to any hope of returning 

 those candidates who pledge themselves to one 

 or more agricultural Bills, be they ever so 

 well considered. Luckily it is not true ; but 

 this comes more correctly under the head of 

 •* Impracticability," and must be deferred until 



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