THE CONSEQUENCES OF INACTION 115 



troubling himself to reduce costs by the application of 

 machinery and improved methods. But his first 

 impulse will be to make himself secure by an extension 

 of grass, as many farmers are doing to-day, and he will 

 pick up the threads slowly and carefully ; he will make 

 very sure that prices are going to be good enough and 

 labour cheap before he moves even back to his old 

 position. The experience of the last fifteen years 

 teaches us that the farmer who has once got his land 

 down to grass is very cautious about breaking it up 

 again. If prices fall below the pre-war level we shall 

 see England steadily moving towards the condition of 

 universal grazing and depopulation that characterize 

 large portions of Ireland. 



Nor is the farmer to be blamed if he adopts a con- 

 servative policy. Apart from self-interest, he is told 

 that he can best serve the needs of the country by 

 making his farm pay. The State has taken no par- 

 ticular care of him in the past, and if he sees in 

 the period of approaching reconstruction that the 

 State is again indifferent to agriculture and content to 

 let it go its own way, he will be more than justified in 

 taking his own line and making use of his land according 

 to his lights. He asks for a lead, but mere appeals to his 

 patriotism and advice from the chair will be neglected ; 

 he will judge of the country's needs by the effort the 

 country makes. 



Meantime, what of the men who cannot wait ? 

 Are we prepared to accept a widespread emigration, 

 with the corollary of heightened taxation on those who 

 remain and a diminished earning power of the com- 

 munity? We do not wish to deprive the Dominions of 

 a single man who can earn a better living there, remem- 



