460 History of the English Landed Interest. 



of which he cannot as yet be supposed to realise. The secrecy 

 of the whole transaction is termed underhand, and the legis- 

 lature is called upon to break down " the exclusive and 

 invidious customs which prolong the artificial and absurd 

 distinctions between real and personal property." 



But our Government professes to protect and not attack 

 property. In the words of Mill, " it gives legal effect to first 

 occupancy, by treating as the aggressor the person who first 

 commenced violence by turning, or attempting to turn, 

 another out of possession." In this case, therefore, it inter- 

 fered only where the interests of the community had been 

 shown to be in jeopardy. It drew a distinction between the 

 land that was private property and the produce of the land 

 that was public riches. It protected the rights and en- 

 couraged the energy of proprietors in order that the fruits 

 of their labour might continue to swell the public purse. 

 The bulk of the heavy lands were wet and unremunerative ; 

 for a long time the landlords and farmers were unable to set 

 about remedying these natural defects ; then, towards the end 

 of the eighteenth century, a Warwickshire farmer hit upon a 

 process which lessened the evil. Elkington cut a few deep 

 drains, made a few augur holes, and tapped the reservoirs of 

 these springs. By this rough and ready remedy he cleared 

 the clayfield of a portion of its superfluous moisture, and in- 

 creased its productive powers. The Government recognised 

 in this service a distinct advantage to the national purse, and 

 rewarded him with a handsome present of money. The Essex 

 process, as it came to be called, gave place in time to furrow 

 drainage, and Smith of Deanston in the year of 1823 reintro- 

 duced and perfected the parallel drain system of Palladius, and 

 still further augmented the fertility of the heavy lands. The 

 obstacle which now alone impeded progress was the combined 

 reluctance and inability both of the life-tenant and lease- 

 holder to expend capital on a class of improvements out of 

 which they could only expect to derive a small modicum of 

 the ultimate profits. 



Still distinguishing between private property and public 

 wealth, the State sanctioned a system of private loans which 



