24 AGRICULTURE AND TARIFF REFORM. 



It needs no argument to prove to any indi- 

 vidual possessing ordinary common-sense, and 

 who, at the same time, has some acquaintance 

 with town and country life, what a serious state 

 of things the figures referred to indicate. 



Bankruptcies. 



The Board of Trade returns from 1885 (the 

 first year for which official figures are avail- 

 able), show that in the list of Receiving Orders 

 made in bankruptcy farmers have always been 

 in point of total number of failures nearly at 

 the top of the list. The actual figures are as 

 follows ; — 



The foregoing table alone indicates pretty 

 clearly how seriously distressed agriculturists 

 have been. 



Physique. 



Although it is true that a large proportion of 

 our agricultural labourers year after year drift to 

 the towns to " improve " their position, we find 

 that instead of the physique of the urban labour- 



