MAULDEN 117 



The wage-earner, who is also a small o^vller, 

 is as important to our rural constitution as 

 the small owner, who depends entirely on the 

 cultivation of his holding. Where the latter 

 exists the former should always be found. 



The organizers of the village farm at Maulden 

 appreciated this fact, and the presence of eight 

 holders, who supplement their earnings by 

 working for other occupiers on the estate, adds 

 greatly to the value of the experiment. The 

 successful introduction of the common pasture 

 and the equitable terms on which the land is 

 being acquired are the natural evolution of 

 previous experience, and the satisfactory results 

 justify us in accepting the main principles 

 here selected for more general adaptation. 



The theory of the reducible mortgage has 

 been advocated in relation to State-aided pur- 

 chase for the sitting tenant. The argument 

 applies in a like manner to the purchaser of a 

 small property on a village farm. So long 

 a period, however, as sixty years, in which 

 to repay the capital, is often unnecessary in 

 the latter case. The subdivision of a farm 

 into " small ownerships " recjuires the land to 



be devoted in the future to intensive cultiva- 



16 



