94 OUR ENGLISH LAND MUDDLE. 



by the small-holder, but he must be a skilled 

 small-holder. The idea of finding places on the 

 land as small-holders for city unemployed is 

 absurd." 



Yet another landlord (of 850 acres) said : 

 " The tenant farmer has so much the best of 

 the deal in land cultivation that, unless he is a 

 fool, he does not want to own his farm. The 

 English landlord is the easiest of money-lenders 

 to the tenant farmer ; indeed, since the replac- 

 ing of the old-fashioned banker by the modern 

 joint-stock bank, he is the only easy money- 

 lender. In the old days the country town 

 banker would help the farmer to tide over a 

 bad time. The modern joint-stock bank does 

 not. The responsibility falls on the landowner. 

 He has to make reductions in rent to meet a 

 hard time ; he has sometimes to forego rent 

 absolutely. When wheat was 22s. a quarter, 

 landlords got little or no rent. In 1880 there 

 was a great reduction in rent to meet hard times. 

 It was hoped that it would be only temporary. 

 By 1890 it was established as a permanent 

 reduction. Since then the profits of agriculture 

 have advanced, but rents generally have not 



