126 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY 



The arguments in favour of leafes feem to me 

 fo powerful, that I could not, on this occafion, 

 fupprels giving my full fentiments relating to them ; 

 and it feems unreafonable, to the greateft degree, 

 to expect a tenant to hazard all he is worth, and 

 devote the bed part of his life, upon an eftate, 

 which, upon the death, or perhaps the mere ca- 

 price, of his landlord, he is liable to be turned out 

 of at fix months notice. I will not, however, 

 deny, that there may be fome reafonable excep- 

 tions againft the practice I wifh to recommend, 

 where lands lie near a gentleman's houfe, part of 

 which it may be an object to take into hand ; or, 

 if a minor be very near of age, or if there be any 

 immediate deiign of felling an eftate, it is not pru- 

 dent to grant leafes, becaufe, in the latter cafe, a 

 purchafer may wi(h to enter into immediate pof- 

 ieffion, and may have particular objects in view, 

 which will induce him to give a higher price than 

 he would, under the idea of purchafing merely to 

 pay him a reafonable intereft. But, except in 

 ihefe inftances, leafes, in my opinion, cannot be 

 too ftrongly recommended ; for I am certain, that 

 where eftates are under an entail, or in a family 

 that has no idea of parting with them, leafing i>, 

 unqueftionably, the molt effectual means of railing 

 their value, as the owner, by this means, has it in 

 his power to flipulate for improvements, in what 

 manner and proportion he pleafes (/)» which he 

 cannot do by any other means fo well. 



NOTES. 



