i26 OUR ENGLISH LAND MUDDLE. 



of themselves going to fertilize barren acres. 

 But it has at least some significance that, in a 

 typical year chosen by chance, the only parts 

 of the Empire where agriculture does not get 

 a statute book mention are England, St. Helena, 

 and the Falkland Islands (and in St. Helena 

 and the Falkland Islands I believe that the in- 

 dustries of the land do not need much attention). 



But that curious fact is only a by-product of 

 my work of compilation. What I wished to 

 show was the curious persistence with which in 

 every part of the Empire some sort of a Credit 

 Fonder scheme crops up. This universality of 

 employment as a means of aiding land settle- 

 ment gives a good proof of its efficacy, and it 

 should figure on a bold and generous scale in 

 any plan for the regeneration of rural England. 



The land of England has suffered for genera- 

 tions from the want of a protected home market, 

 from the want of labour, from the want of 

 capital, until agriculture has become a failing 

 industry. It has survived rather owing to the 

 sentimental attachment of landlords to the soil 

 than because of the commercial results of tillage. 

 And a fact which must be faced is that even if 



