THE MODEL BY-LAWS 167 



Holdings Commissioner, should settle in which villages 

 in their district the allotted number of cottages should 

 be built, and acquire the necessary land. The Public 

 Utility Society would then take this over on lease 

 and manage the rest. 



For the scheme we propose powers of compulsory 

 purchase of land would be essential. Each individual 

 piece of land should be bought on the basis of its 

 proper rental value. 



As regards the building by-laws, unless the scarcity 

 and cost of materials after the war should lead to the 

 suspension of all by-laws, we propose that the rural 

 code of the Local Government Board should be 

 operative wherever the cottages are built. 



The model rural by-laws, while securing all essen- 

 tials, are not over-elaborated and allow freedom where 

 freedom can be safely entrusted to the builder. 



C. Village Life 



In conclusion, we desire very briefly to indicate the 

 means of organising village life. We have dwelt at 

 some length upon the prospective services of Pubhc 

 Utility Societies in connection with housing, because 

 it is through such bodies as these that the social side 

 of village life can also be developed. The magic 

 touch cannot come from an official body already 

 tasked with many recurring executive duties ; nor will 

 it come from a body which has all the necessary local 

 knowledge and plenty of enthusiasm but not enough 

 powers. A Public UtiHty Society of the kind we have 

 in view combines individual interest with authority 

 to act. 



