The Land Remains 



But amid wars or rumours of wars, the land 

 remains. The first effect of a scare will be to send 

 foodstuffs leaping upwards. There is only thirteen 

 weeks' supply in this country at the best of times 

 and often less, so that in spite of our preponder- 

 ance of warships (so rapidly vanishing) the spectre 

 of want will have a deadly effect upon prices. 

 Shipping will be almost at a stand-still or come 

 here at " war prices," but food the people must 

 have — and the farmer has it. 



As long as he can defend his property with a 

 rifle — one wonders what sort of a regiment 

 his labourers would make — from the starving 

 hordes that will roam the country, within a 

 fortnight his fortune is assured. He has sheep, 

 bullocks, pigs, poultry — and horses. He is never 

 without hay and straw and a good supply of horse 

 corn, and rarely is his yard without a stack, so 

 that the time of famine will be his harvest. So, 

 also, indirectly the landowner will stand secure. 

 Amid the chaos of panic, ruin, and crumbling 

 fortunes he will remain steadfast, and were I a 

 wealthy man I should invest my money for 

 security, apart from other considerations, in 

 land. Whatever else may fail, the land remains. 



To live in the country is to breathe properly; 

 to lead the ideal life. For thousands, perhaps 

 millions of years, man's natural environment was 



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