THE LAND 

 AND THE EMPIRE 



THE ERRORS OF THE PAST 



Some ten years ago I succeeded to estates 

 which were in a very bad financial condition. 

 Whether I wished it or not I was forced to pay 

 much attention to economy ; and as all prin- 

 ciples of political economy are, or ought to be, 

 based upon concrete facts, my attention gradually 

 extended from the concrete cases as they came up 

 for treatment to a study of certain underlying 

 principles which affect land in general. 



Here I was soon face to face with two outstanding 

 facts. 



One is the enormous influence exercised by 

 political economists, through politicians and the 

 Press, in modelling public opinions. 



The other is that the dominant character in 

 English political economy during the last eighty 

 years has been urban almost to the exclusion of 

 the rural side. 



This unscientific narrowing of the scope of an 

 enquiry conducted by men who professed to be 

 scientific investigators has in the course of years 

 produced giant problems for which we are now 

 fitfully and painfully endeavouring to find solutions. 



II 



