Great Estates 



their future landlords, or a higher price for the 

 freehold, and the ultimate result to them is 

 doubtful. But of the nation's benefit there can be 

 no doubt. Consider what it would mean if agri- 

 cultural values in England were multiplied by 

 three! The national wealth would be incredibly 

 swollen. 



Again, under the division of land, we find that 

 in Belgium the holdings are mostly farmed by the 

 tenant and his family, and although the rural 

 population is greatly increased the labourer tends 

 to vanish. There are not half the number per acre 

 in Belgium as here. 



The large farms in England are worked by 

 labourers who have no interest in the success or 

 failure of their work beyond the payment of their 

 wage. As they are not in any way bound to the soil 

 they are exposed to the full attractive force of 

 town life, to which the enterprising ones yield. In 

 Belgium if not already possessed of a small hold- 

 ing they have a good chance of getting one, and 

 consequently stay on the land. The proportion 

 of the total population engaged in agriculture is 

 fourteen per cent, as against our five and a quarter 

 per cent. Further, the number of agriculturists in 

 Belgium is increasing, whilst in Britain it decreases 

 at a rate which alarms all who are concerned with 

 their country's welfare. The reason for this dis- 



6 9 



