36 THE ERRORS OF THE PAST 



I suppose the best known law of rent is Ricardo's, 

 but it always seems to me to be a most unsatis- 

 factory one. It leaves out the human element, and 

 for this reason alone I think it falls to the ground. 

 No hard-and-fast law of rent can be made, for the 

 human element must be taken into consideration, 

 and the human element varies continually. Agri- 

 cultural land being really consolidated capital, it 

 can either be purchased by the would-be cultivator, 

 more or less as an investor buys securities, or it 

 can be hired on the payment of interest in the 

 form of rent. I think that from the point of view 

 of a practical man some such definition as the 

 following more nearly meets the case than does 

 Ricardo's : — 



" The price of land and the rate of rent is fixed 

 by the value of the land to the cultivator, influenced 

 by the consideration : Can he make his living off 

 land bought or rented at a given price ? And 

 although the law of supply and demand undoubtedly 

 affects the price of land it is much more affected 

 by other conditions, for example, the standard of 

 skill, intelhgence and energy of the race of culti- 

 vators, the presence of conditions favourable to 

 the industry and the state of organisation of the 

 industry." 



4s 4: ill 4^ 4: 



The principal points to be remembered in con- 

 nection with the landowners are that if they are to 

 consolidate and maintain their position they must : 



(i) Consider and understand their position in 



regard to the State. 

 (2) Realise that they are the stewards of the 



Nation's greatest asset. 



