142 AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION 



possibly he thought more of them than he did of the 

 farmer." 



Mr Kay gives the case of a farm let at 14s, which 

 would be worth 25s if properly drained. But drainage 

 is impossible ; the estate is mortgaged to its full value, 

 and is really bankrupt. " If I could borrow, or insist 

 upon the landlord or the mortgagee borrowing, the ^800 

 necessary to drain the land, on the low terms the Govern- 

 ment could get the money, the land would be better 

 worth the increased rent to me than it is worth what I 

 now pay." 



The effect of the growing proportion of mortgage 

 interest to receipts in times of depreciating values is 

 vividly described by Mr Everett, and " the grave imprud- 

 ence of landowners in giving mortgages over a long 

 period has taught them a severe lesson." 



The accounts of an Essex estate of 643 acres strik- 

 ingly illustrate the position of small owners.^ Valued 

 in 1 88 1, on a rental of ;^ii53, tenants paying tithe, at 

 ;!C20,700, the owner borrowed ;^9000, and has to meet 

 the interest, £^60. But his net rents now, less tithes, 

 taxes, repairs, and management, are only £l?>i 6s 6d. 

 The balance received is only £21 6s 6d, and his four 

 largest tenants had given notice. 



In Lincolnshire "there are estates where little, if 

 anything, goes into the owners' pockets. A reduction 

 of 40 or 50 per cent, in gross rental means an alarming 

 encroachment on private income, when all outgoings 

 and also fixed charges and interest on mortgages have 

 been paid. In some cases there are owners of land 

 drawing nothing at all from their properties, and the 

 mortgagees are taking what interest they can get, not 

 daring to foreclose."^ 



The economic hopelessness of the position in many 

 cases is illustrated by the inability of mortgagees to 

 realise anything like the amount of the mortgage itself. 



Thus a farm bought for i^22,ooo in 1874, and mort- 

 gaged for ^11,000, is valued at only ^6796, not much 

 more than half the mortgage. For a small farm, bought 



' Pringle, Essex, App. B. 4, p. 54. * Wilson Fox, Lincoln, p. 47. 



