230 OUR ENGLISH LAND MUDDLE. 



" serfs " on his estate. The Englishman is, as 

 a national type, far too reasonable, too self- 

 respecting, and too just to use his position as 

 landlord or employer offensively. 



What insistence there is on ' class distinc- 

 tions " in life on the land is, too, I am con- 

 vinced, appreciated and not resented by the 

 " serfs." They like a little " class distinction ' 

 in England. In Ireland, too, the peasant prob- 

 ably mourns his landlord because he prefers to 

 have some one to touch his hat to. About 

 Scotland I am not so sure. But certainly the 

 drift of the agricultural labourer from the land 

 is not caused in any way by the haughty feudal 

 manner of the landlord. It is mainly a question 

 of poor wages ; and any system of rural re- 

 generation must attend to that question of 

 wages. 



