EFFECTS OF YEARLY TENANCIES f>5 



and the rents could be raised to a reasonable extent so as 

 to give the landlord a fair return on his capital and For 

 his organizing work and personal supervision. 



This pre-supposes conservative* and enlightened landlords. 

 There are sure to be many who are neither conservative nor 

 enlightened, but will seek, as they do at present, to extract 

 the highest income they can from the estate with the least 

 trouble on their part. If the landlord abdicates his proper 

 functions, the welfare of the community demands that he 

 should at least have a liberal-minded and enlightened agent 

 to represent him on the estate. The agent and his sub- 

 ordinates must in the first place be honest ; secondly they 

 must understand the principles of good estate management, 

 and the bad economy which ultimately results from raising 

 rents to a fictitious level. They must understand how 

 the land deteriorates, must distinguish between good and 

 bad cultivators, and must generally work for the future 

 benefit and prosperity of the estate. Assuming that such 

 agents are available, the system of yearly tenancies will be 

 workable, provided such agents are employed wherever the 

 landlord himself does not personally supervise the estate. 

 Without doubt it should be a duty of Government to 

 provide the means of educating honest, reliable and intelli- 

 gent men as. agents and their subordinates ; and when a 

 supply is available to insist that they be employed. 

 Wherever such provisions failed to secure the proper 

 management of an estate, Government should itself take 

 over control, charging a little more than the full cost of the 

 management, by way of a tax or penalty on the landlord 

 for his want of reasonable attention to the duties of bis 

 position. 



Let us consider what would be the aspect of the yearly 

 tenancy system from the point of view of the tenant. To 



* The word " conservative " is used here in its original sense ; 

 and applied to landlords it means one who " conserves "that is 

 keeps and preserves his estate in good order, accumulates and 

 invests capital therein, and does not live beyond his income. 



