UNSATISFACTORY FEATURES 55 



hardest. With utter disregard of what is 

 equitable and sound business, he is called 

 upon to pay more while he is trying his 

 hardest to establish himself than later on 

 when he has succeeded in establishing him- 

 self. It is needless to say that in other 

 countries the procedure is exactly the 

 reverse. 1 



(6) Another and still graver injustice is that the 



struggling tenant, though destined to remain 

 a tenant for ever, should yet be forced to 

 pay the purchase price for the land and in 

 the end to make a present of it to the State 

 via the County Council. 



(7) County Councils have as a rule made little or 



no provision for the expert guidance of their 

 small holders. This provision is made on the 

 most generous scale in all other countries, 

 including our own Dominions. 



It will now be agreed that the Small Holdings Act 

 has not been successful as a means of building up 

 the agricultural population ; and it seems also 

 clear that if it is to fulfil its function as a closer 

 Settlement Act it will have to be administered by 

 an authority other than the County Council. 



But though I am strongly advocating an increase in 

 the number of small holdings, I do by no means wish 

 to see England become a country of small holdings. 

 There is not only room, but great need for having 

 all kinds of farms : large farms where existing 

 conditions render them the most economic unit of 

 production ; medium farms ; and small holdings of 



* See page 63. 



