A National Policy. 83 



national lines. There is no likelihood of private capital 

 beings employed in such work. It does not offer sufficiently 

 profitable returns. How far such work is worth under- 

 taking depends on other considerations than the purely 

 economic returns. It may be found that such work offers 

 a way of employing surplus labour at times when other 

 industries are not able to employ the workers. Again it 

 may be found advantageous to the community to develop 

 land in certain areas for social reasons. The issues 

 involved are questions of policy for the community to 

 decide, but if it is desired to reclaim and develop waste 

 land, the work would naturally be carried out by the 

 Committees acting in conjunction with the Ministry. 



The Unit of Produdion. 



If the policy I have outlined is adopted and a higher 

 standard of cultivation is enforced than generally exists 

 at present, we may expect that the community will 

 find it necessary to take over much land badly managed 

 or indifferently farmed at present. The question arises 

 what is to be done with such land. Where it is necessary 

 for the community to take the place of the landlord, it 

 may not be necessary to change the tenants if they are 

 able to make effective use of the better opportunities which 

 ex hypothesi the change of ownership will effect. The only 

 alteration we need consider in such cases would be where 

 the development of the land was being hampered because 

 it was portioned out in uneconomic units. The interest of 

 the community would be to secure the most effective use 

 of the land and it might be desirable to amalgamate some 



