SMALL HOLDINGS. 69 



report which obviously tries to make out the 

 best case possible) can say is this : — 



' Although the return from the land 

 obtained by most of the small-holders com- 

 pares favourably with the average standard 

 reached by larger farmers, they might do 

 much better in many cases, and there is 

 ample room for improvement." 

 It is not possible, therefore, to describe this 

 existing small holdings scheme as other than a 

 failure. If Mr. Lloyd-George, the Chancellor 

 of the Exchequer, can be accepted as repre- 

 senting the official Liberal view on the subject, 

 the failure will not be mourned seriously. Speak- 

 ing in London on July 5, 1913, on the " problem 

 of the land," Mr. Lloyd-George emphasized the 

 importance of the industrial life of England, 

 and argued strongly against the idea of building 

 up a great peasant proprietary of landowners. 

 He said, inter alia : — 



" The cities are spreading out. Elec- 

 tricity has almost transformed the housing 

 problem. People are pouring out by trams 

 and trains dragged by the lightning, by 

 tens, sometimes scores, of millions, from 



