198 



agriculture and a decline in the rural population, al- 

 though the net profits from the land have, if anything, 

 been actually increased. 



But we are not in position to look with equanimi- 

 ty on any falling off of agriculture because we have no 

 other employment to offer our growing population, 

 nor any way of assimilating the hprdes of immigrants 

 which we desire to attract to our shores. 



COLONISATION AND RURAL PROSPERITY. 



The number of hands required for a cattle raising 

 "estancia" is insignificant compared to those who find 

 employment in connection with the cultivation and har- 

 vesting of the grain crops, nor ,can all the subsequent 

 manipulations at the frigorificos compare to the hand- 

 ling and embarking of cereals from a standpoint of 

 provision for labour. 



We have started on a plan of populating this 

 country, and populated it is admittedly by foreigners 

 and have built up considerable prosperity thereby, 

 most of which will disappear if there is^ any change of 

 system, so that willy nilly, we cannot afford to pass 

 over any symptoms of decay in our plan. 



Another aspect of the question is the relative re- 

 turn or rent from land dedicated to "chacra'' against 

 that used for cattle and sheep raising. 



Any going back extensively in cereal growing 

 would be seriously reflected in the pockets of innumer- 

 able land owners, especially that class of land owner 

 who looks on land as a field of investment and who finds 

 in land investments a good return for his capital, but 

 who himself is absolutely ignorant of any practice or 

 theory of land utilisation, because as is a well observed 

 phenomenon, the highest priced and most rentable of 

 lands are those most sought after by investors with a 

 legitimate desire for a return on their outlay, the out- 

 side and far-lying lands are the common field for the 

 speculator or "acaparador de tierras". 



The rents ruling- for good "chacra" land are un- 

 doubtedly much higher than could ever be obtained 

 from tenants dedicating the land to cattle or even 

 'tarnbo". 



CEREALS AND LAND VALUES. 



Therefore any diminution of the demand for k< cha- 

 cra" lands would mean a general ,dirainution in rents,. 



