THE LANDOWNER 35 



One idea still prevalent among the landholding 

 class is that the land is an amenity for the few. 

 They fail to realise that in a country like ours, land 

 must needs be a necessity for the many. The 

 primary function of land is food production. The 

 lessons of the war render a proof of the truth of 

 this statement unnecessary. 



This view of the land being an amenity either led 

 directly to the neglect of the land or was itself the 

 outcome of seeing so much neglected land. But the 

 effect in each case was the same : a reduction in our 

 output of food. This fact brought up the socialist 

 with his equally superficial view. " Look at the 

 rich landowners," he says, " with their enormous 

 rent rolls. What right have they to charge any rent 

 at all ? " 



Now let us see how much income the landowners 

 derive from agricultural land. Here is a diagram 

 which tells the facts at a glance. (See next 

 page.) 



The total aggregate income of the United King- 

 dom in the form of rent from land is about 

 £250,000,000 a year. 



The gross rental of agricultural land is about 

 £40,000,000 a year. 



Of this, some £17,000,000 are expended every 

 year in the upkeep of the farms. 



The net rental of the rural landowners of the 

 United Kingdom amounts therefore only to about 

 £23,000,000. But even then we have not done 

 justice to the landowners, for the bulk of the 

 £23,000,000 is not rent at all, but represents 

 a low rate of interest on the capital expended 

 by landowners in buildings and other improve- 

 ments. 



