PEASANT PROPRIETARY 229 



general experience, but of his close personal knowledge 

 of the class at present existing in considerable numbers 

 in the south of England. They were, he said, indus- 

 trious and flourishing men who passed through agri- 

 cultural depression better than the larger farmers did, 

 and, he added, "they were good for every one." Mr. 

 Squarey, however, was not in favour of the creation 

 of this class by means of State aid, but his objection 

 was one of principle only. He told the Committee 

 that he would be happy to "see any experiment result 

 successfully," and said : "I should like to see the 

 creation of a million small holdings in England." 



But it is hopeless to expect that, under our present 

 system of land tenure, there can be any considerable 

 increase in the number of peasant proprietors except 

 by the means of State aid. In cases where men hold 

 a few acres of land as tenants — and there are large 

 numbers who do — their rents are very heavy as com- 

 pared with those paid by large farmers. These high 

 rents can only be paid by extra produce got off the 

 soil through the untiring industry of the cultivators. 

 The men are, in fact, working for rent. There may be 

 cases where such men — under special circumstances — 

 are charged farmers' rents, plus any outlay made by 

 the owner, but the present writer, during a long ex- 

 perience, has found that, as a rule, these small holders 

 pay from twice to four times as much as the large 

 farmer pays, and in some cases still more. Some 

 time ago he visited two small holdings in a midland 

 county. One of them, about six acres, was rented by 

 two men at five pounds per acre. It was exceedingly 

 well cultivated, bearing crops of beans, peas, potatoes, 

 winter onions, and cabbages. As a contrast, on the 

 other side of the road, there was a field (part of a farm) 



