12 Agriculture and the Community^. 



concerns. That is not a correct reading of the facts. 

 Wealthy people buy estates, not for their agricultural 

 value, nor because they are looking for investments, but 

 because the ownership of land gives them a social position 

 and a standing in the county, which other forms of wealth 

 fail to give. Thus it is that while landowners complain 

 that the returns they receive from their land do not enable 

 them to maintain the permanent equipment of their farms, 

 there is never any lack of buyers who are content to pay 

 a price for agricultural estates which will not give them 

 a net return on the purchase price of more than 3 to 4 

 per cent, per annum. 



The truth is that land in this country is not owned by 

 people who are primarily interested in agriculture, or who 

 become possessed of land because they desire to develop 

 the industry. The principal motive is social. Ownership 

 of land gives prestige and political power. Hence the 

 waste of land for sporting purposes and for the amenity 

 of the owners' residences, the indifference and incapacity 

 of much of the estate management. 



It is clear that the owners of land are not performing 

 the function in agriculture which is given as the chief 

 justification for our system of land tenure. They are not 

 maintaining the permanent equipment of the land as a 

 going concern. Some of their defenders allege that this 

 is due to the burden of rates and taxes and the sums 

 exacted in Death Duties. Whether or not this is a 

 legitimate complaint need not concern us here, as not even 

 those who complain most have any hope that these burdens 

 can be removed. Whether or not the returns in the form 

 of rent are sufficient to enable the landlords to spend more 



