CHAPTER XIX 



SOME OBJECTIONS TO LAND NATIONALIZATION ANSWERED. 



IN the present chapter I deal with a few of the most 

 frequent of the objections of those who oppose Land Nation- 

 alization, and also discuss a few of the difficulties which are 

 often felt even by those who are fully in sympathy with 

 the principle. 



State-tenants versus Freeholders. 



When Nationalization of the Land is advocated, a great 

 many people reply, " I don't see the good of Nationaliza- 

 tion, I prefer freeholders to State-tenants." Let us 

 therefore see what are the comparative advantages of the 

 two modes of tenure. 



In order that the greatest number of people may 

 become freeholders, many Liberals advocate the abolition 

 of all restrictions on the sale and transfer of land. They 

 say, make every man who owns land an absolute owner, 

 with power to sell, or divide, or bequeath as he pleases, 

 and plenty of land will come into the market. Then, every 

 one who wants land can buy it, if able to do so ; and if 

 the mode of transfer is also made simple and cheap every 

 thing will have been done that need be done. We shall 

 then have free trade in land ; there will be no limited or 

 encumbered estates ; and capital will flow to land and 

 develop its resources. 



But people who talk thus forget that we have already 

 had two great experiments of this nature, both supported 



