18 OUR ENGLISH LAND MUDDLE. 



desirable, even if economically a little suspect 

 of wastefulness. 



With the single postulate, then, that a pros- 

 perous landed industry is necessary to the 

 welfare of England, and with no social or political 

 prejudices and no accepted formulae — what an 

 enemy to reason are those enslaving formulae of 

 the hustings !— let me examine into the condi- 

 tions of the land in England to-day (admitted 

 to be very unsatisfactory by all parties in the 

 State), with the hope of making some useful 

 suggestions, perhaps of helping an atom towards 

 getting a reasonably satisfactory reform, but 

 not with the hope of propounding a perfect 

 system. That, like the secret of perpetual 

 youth, may be left to the dreamers. No nation 

 of any era of civilization has ever found the 

 perfect land system, though many have sought. 

 There is so much of human nature woven up 

 with all questions of the land that the perfect 

 land system must await the perfected human 

 being. 



