110 PROBLEMS OF VILLAGE LIFE 



No Liberal can be thoroughly satisfied with 

 the conditions of rural England at present, 

 and it is equally clear that large tracts of rural 

 England are not satisfied with Liberalism. Bed- 

 fordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Devon, 

 Leicester, and Norfolk are the only counties 

 where Liberalism is predominant. Not a 

 single Liberal is returned in any division of 

 Berkshire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hert- 

 fordshire, Huntingdon, Kent, Surrey, Sussex 

 or Westmorland. Many obvious explanations 

 are offered for this persistent refusal on the 

 part of so many country constituencies to 

 yield their wholehearted support to the cause 

 of Liberalism. Social influences are at work 

 in rural parishes which are altogether foreign 

 to our urban life. Persons are permitted to 

 exercise a control over the thoughts and actions 

 of the " lower orders " whose political efforts 

 would be quite futile in any industrial centre. 

 The control of village charities, the practical 

 monopoly, in some cases, of the house supply, 

 the degrading patronage too often associated 

 with private charity, the light of which is duly 

 suffered to shine in the local newspapers all 

 these factors tell against the fortunes of rural 

 Liberalism. There are hundreds of villages 

 where a Liberal canvasser is told " they are 

 better left alone ; there are some Liberals 



