LAND TENURES 263 



English law ; that in practice in early times, and in theory at the 

 present day, the only absolute owner is the kinj^, and that every one 

 else holds such land as he may possess (whatever may be his ri;^hts 

 with rejfard to it and its free alienation) simply as a tenant of the 

 kin;?." * 



" ]]ut it is hopeless to expect that, under our present system of 

 land tenure, there can be any considerable increase in the number 

 of peasant proprietors except by the means of State aid. In cases 

 where men hold a few acres of land as tenants — and there are lar^^e 

 numbers who do— their rents arc very heavy as compared with those 

 paid by larf^e farmers." f 



" Some time ago the author of ' Land Reform' visited two small 

 holdings in a midland county. One of them, about six acres, was 

 rented by two men at five pounds per acre." J 



" The ' land hunger ' must indeed be great to induce men to pay 

 such large rents and to think themselves fortunate in being able 

 to get land at all. No doubt the six acres the two men rented at 

 five pounds per acre were worth five times as much per acre as the 

 adjoining field. But it was the industry and skill of the men that 

 made it so, and the question naturally arises, Why should their 

 industry and skill be taxed to the extent of £24 per annum ? The 

 position is best illustrated by thus stating individual cases, provided 

 that the cases are not solitary ones, but are representative of a large 

 class which exists." § 



FllEE-TRADE VOWED TO DESTROY Ac.rxICULTURE 



Here, then, we have tlic opinions of two eminent living 

 authorities, albeit their views on political economy are as 

 wide apart as the poles. The writer of "The Free-Trade 

 Movement " is, as his works prove him to be, one of England's 

 stauuchost and most doughty Free-trade champions, a man 

 who would not save agriculture and give it back to the people 

 as their greatest labour employer, their chief source of wealth- 

 production, by putting a duty of even one shilling a quarter on 

 wheat. 



" For good or for evil. Great Britain has become dependent upon 

 imported wheat to the extent of more than 70 per cent, of her con- 

 sumption. Cheap food is essential to her iudusLrial supremacy, and 

 only by free importation can an adequate supply be maintained," \\ 



says the writer of this most up-to-date Free-trade work, and 

 so it will be found all along the Free-trade line. The national 



* " Land Reform," the Right Hon. Jesse CoUings, M.P., p. 4.3. 

 t Ibid., p. 229. X ^'">^- P- 22'.). 



§ Ibid., p. 2:30. II " The Free-Trade Movcmont," p. IG'J. 



