HOMES AND WAGES 161 



normal rate of wages against the wishes 

 of the majority. 



Whatever may be alleged to the contrary 

 by certain economists, the common-sense 

 view of agricultural rent is that it consists 

 of what remains over after the labourer has 

 secured decent conditions of life and a living 

 wage, and the farmer a fair return for his 

 energy and skill. We have hitherto in Eng- 

 land begun at the top instead of the bottom. 

 Our landlords have to a large extent arranged 

 their rent-rolls without adequate regard to 

 the question whether or not the subordinate 

 classes in the rural community could or could 

 not obtain a reasonable competency. Some 

 startling examples of this are, of course, 

 furnished from the experiences of the Corn 

 Laws period. When the price of wheat was 

 artificially raised by heavy taxation, when 

 at one time no wheat was permitted to enter 

 our ports until the home price reached 80/- 

 a quarter, when money was pouring into the 

 pockets of our landlords, and a large per- 

 centage of our great country mansions were 

 built at this time farmers were continually 

 driven to bankruptcy by heavy rent burdens, 

 while thousands of our labourers lived in 

 misery on 8/- a week. 



For the establishment of Rent Courts in 



1 



