ITS LESSONS AND ITS WARNINGS 91 



out the work if it were entrusted to him. He 

 has courage, is not afraid of responsibility, is 

 forceful in action, and would be strong enough 

 to deal with officials who may assure him that 

 " It can't be done." That he understands the 

 nature of the work, and is in sympathy with 

 it, is shown by a speech in which he made the 

 following remarks : 



" Any man who has crossed and re-crossed the country 

 from north to south and from east to west, must be 

 perplexed that there was so much waste and wilderness 

 possible in such a little island. . . . Every acre of land 

 brought into a higher state of cultivation means more 

 labour of a healthy and productive character. It means 

 abundant food, cheaper and better food for the people." 



The question is a pressing one, and as all 

 measures of reform are effective only in propor- 

 tion to their timeliness, steps should be immedi- 

 ately taken to make provision for the lean years 

 which will certainly follow the conclusion of the 

 war. If the Government were to announce their 

 intention to pass immediately the necessary 

 measures through Parliament, to devote, say, 

 only one million sterling as a beginning of the 

 work under discussion, they would receive en- 

 thusiastic support throughout the country. The 



