280 STUDIES, SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL CHAI>. 



sion of which the land itself cannot be held, it follows 

 that no enclosed land will ever be given up till the actual 

 holder finds a purchaser for his " tenant-right," when that 

 purchaser at once becomes the new holder, and as such 

 becomes liable for the ground-rent, just as the new tenant 

 of a house becomes liable for the " house-tax." So far, then, 

 as regards the transfer of land from holder to holder, 

 Government or Government officials would have no more to 

 do with it than they have in the transfer of land or hoiises 

 now, though the new owner or tenant now becomes respon- 

 sible for the land-tax or the house-tax to the Government. 



Even in cases of intestacy, with no relatives within the 

 degree required by the law, it would only be the land 

 itself that it is proposed should pass to the State, the 

 houses or other property upon it, and generally the 

 " tenant-right " of it, being treated as personal property, 

 which would follow the other property of the deceased. 

 In most such cases the value of this tenant-right would 

 have to be realized for division among the heirs. It 

 would, therefore, be put up to auction and sold to the 

 highest bidder, and the purchaser of it would thenceforth 

 be liable for the State ground-rent. Under no circum- 

 stances, then, would Government have anything to do 

 with letting the land, except in the case of default of 

 payment of rent. Should this remain unpaid for a 

 certain fixed period, the tenant-right would have to be 

 sold to defray it. The purchaser would become the new 

 holder, and the balance of the purchase money, after 

 paying the arrears of rent, would be handed over to the 

 ejected tenant. 



The only cases in which Government would have the 

 unfettered disposal of the whole of the land would be in 

 the case of commons, moors, and unenclosed tracts 

 generally as well as land which had been kept unculti- 

 vated and used for sporting only. Along with other 

 landed property, this would of course fall in to the State in 

 due course, and would have to be dealt with in a variety 

 of ways, depending upon special local conditions. Some 

 might, and probably would, be kept as common land in 

 perpetuity, for the use of the surrounding occupiers and the 



