84 Agriculture and the Community. 



holdings and to divide others. No rule can be laid dov.n. 

 Each case would have to be considered on its own merits. 

 In some instances the committees might decide to take 

 over the cultivation of the land from the tenants, because 

 they believed that it could best be developed as large 

 scale units ; in others they might decide to let to tenants, 

 if suitable tenants offered. Similarly with holdings from 

 which tenants were evicted because they were inefficient. 

 It might be simpler for the Committees to replace the 

 undesirable tenants by others who appeared likely to make 

 proper use of the land. Where, however, the Committees 

 took over the actual cultivation of the land it would not 

 be wise to hand over such land again to private individuals. 

 Generally speaking the tendency would be for private 

 enterprise to seek to replace the committees where they 

 had proved that the land could be profitably farmed and 

 to avoid the holdings which the committees found least 

 remunerative. It would not be in the public interest to 

 accept the risks and make the expenditure for the purpose 

 of providing remunerative openings for private individuals 

 and leave the more burdensome holdings for the public to 

 maintain. 



If the policy I suggest is adopted we may expect that 

 a considerable amount of land will in the course of a few- 

 years come under the control and management of the 

 agricultural departments and committees. The transfer 

 would be gradual and we do not require to envisage 

 anything in the nature of an upheaval in agriculture from 

 the adoption of such a policy unless it is accelerated by such 

 a collapse of the markets as will drive out those engaged 



