76 Agriculture and the Community). 



tenancies and to take possession in case of default. 

 Without such power the passing of orders and inflicting 

 of fines will be of little use, and we may expect Committees 

 to resort very seldom to direct pressure when they have 

 no power of making such pressure effective. The fact that 

 the power to evict was refused is a direct instruction to 

 the Committees not to attempt anything of a vigorous 

 nature. They may deal with the grosser cases of neglect, 

 but as active agents in bracing up the handling of land 

 they are not meant to do more than advise and recommend. 



I believe that the Committees ought to be given powers 

 to take over the control of land even where gross misman- 

 agement on the part of the owner is not alleged. It is 

 absurd to allow the inefficiency to continue until the stage 

 of gross mismanagement is reached. Many owners fail 

 because of financial inability, and much damage can be 

 done and loss be caused to the community long before the 

 stage of gross mismanagement is reached. If the Com- 

 mittees can show that the best use is not being made of 

 the land because of defective or impoverished management, 

 and the Committees are prepared to accept the responsi- 

 bility for improved management, they ought to be 

 empowered to proceed. There will be mistakes made by 

 the Committees, and they will not fail for w^ant of critics, 

 so that the test for them will be a real one. If the Com- 

 mittees make good the nation will benefit. The policy will 

 have to be judged on its total results, and the responsibility 

 will rest upon the whole community. That responsibility 

 ought to be accepted if we are to make demands on the 

 industry. 



