WINTERSLOW 113 



account. Once this obstacle had been success- 

 fully surmounted, the forty years which was 

 allowed for the repayment of the balance of 

 the purchase-money with interest was found to 

 be more than long enough, and most of the 

 small owners at Catshill will be in a position 

 to acquire their absolute freehold before this 

 period has elapsed. Thus we learn by actual 

 experience gained from the operation of the 

 1892 Small Holdings Act, how a demand for 

 small holdings will be entirely stifled by 

 insistence on a deposit, and how in practice 

 the deposit may be dispensed with without 

 minimizing in the least degree the security 

 for the repayment of the capital debt. 



At Winterslow this most important axiom 

 was foreseen, and successful applicants for 

 small holdings took possession with only the 

 obligation to pay their annual instalments. All 

 spare cash could be invested in the land or in 

 stock, so that a satisfactory return could be 

 immediately obtained from their properties. 

 This undoubtedly accounts for the regular 

 manner in which instalments for sinking fund 

 and interest were paid, although the time 

 allowed was only flfleen years, which required 



15 



