228 LAND REFORM 



substantial position of men whom a casual observer 

 would pronounce to be not worth a penny." 



On this aspect of the question John Stuart Mill 

 ("Political Economy") states: "It (peasant proprie- 

 tary) is no less propitious to the moral virtue of 

 prudence, temperance, and self-control. Day labourers, 

 where the labouring class mainly consist of them, are 

 usually improvident. They spend carelessly to the full 

 extent of their means and let the future shift for itself. 

 . . . The tendency of peasant proprietors is to the 

 contrary extreme ; to take even too much thought for 

 to-morrow." 



The late Lord Wantage, whose opinions on another 

 point have been already quoted, in his evidence before 

 the Small Holdings Committee, 1889, strongly advo- 

 cated "a large extension of freehold small holdings." 

 Even from an. economic point of view he contended 

 they were good, because they yielded produce much 

 larger, and in some cases twice as much as that got 

 from large farms. But besides the economic, he 

 gave his opinion that "there were strong political 

 reasons why efforts should be made to multiply the 

 owners of land." In reply to Question 1834 he 

 said : — 



'• I may remind you of what M. Thiers said about 

 small holders. He said that ' every acre of land in 

 the hands of a small holder furnishes a musket for the 

 protection of property.' That was M. Thiers' view of 

 the advantages of small holders as you get them in 

 France. There is no more staunch and conservative 

 set of men than the present farmers of France, and I 

 have no doubt they have saved the country frequently," 



The evidence of Mr. Elias Squarey before the same 

 Committee is very valuable, not only on account of his 



