LABOUR. 307 



the country millions of pounds— which money can now, 

 happily, not go into munitions of war. There is also, by 

 the side of this, a purely economic form of land settlement, 

 which has accomplished much good. And up to a certain 

 point it has cost the State nothing that did not come back 

 into its cashbox in ringing coin. " You will not find," so 

 said to me on one of my early visits, in 1894, Privy Coun- 

 cillor Metz, at that time President of the Land Settlement 

 Commission for the Provinces of Brandenburg and Pome- 

 rania — a very active Commission — " that my land settle- 

 ment has cost the State a stiver." After a time Jeshurun 

 waxed fat and kicked. Germany had money to spare and 

 the Government grew keen on land settlement. Those 

 settlers — the majority of whom are small holders in our 

 sense, with fairly large holdings for that description of men ; 

 but some of their holdings, intended for working men, do not 

 amount to more than about three and a half acres — were to 

 be petted. And of late, what with this outfitting and that, 

 fruit trees of selected kinds and other little luxuries, a sum 

 averaging £25 is lost, so far as cash goes, on each of the 

 larger holdings — no doubt with the hope that it will be 

 scrupulously repaid in the shape of loyal support given at 

 the poll and otherwise to a kindly paternal Government. 

 That State advance covers, as a statutory allowance, three- 

 fourths of the appraised value of the property. But it 

 often amounts to more. And so far as the man acquiring 

 the property is known to be deserving of being trusted, he 

 finds further assistance with his co-operative credit bank. 

 The persecuted Poles — who make admirable settlers — have 

 achieved perfect wonders in the matter of such land settle- 

 ment, their Polish credit bank providing commonly the 

 whole of the last fourth and so placing their land settlement 

 on a par with the Duke of Bedford's at Maulden — with the 

 aid of the same safeguard, of selection of the beneficiaries. 

 It may be rather easier to accomplish such feat in Germany 

 than it would be here. For land is there, although dearer, 

 more " in the market " — land in more get-at-able 

 small quantities, but readily obtainable in all sizes. Trans- 

 fer is a matter of almost only nominal cost, and easy as 



