MARKETS. 165 



whole rents of land in England, is not very much less 

 than the half of the income from all capital, both fixed 

 and personal together. Small as the distribution of 

 other wealth is in other hands, very little of it is found 

 in the hands of 'our landed proprietors. In England, on 

 the contrary, there are few landed proprietors who, in 

 addition to the income from their land, have not an 

 equally large, and oftentimes larger income, from houses, 

 railway shares, government stocks, &c. Many of them 

 are proprietors of coal-pits which have yielded them, and 

 every day bring them in, immense sums. Others have 

 property upon which are constructed manufactories, 

 dwelling-houses, canals, or railways, and from which 

 they have profited by a rise in value. 



It is well known that the Marquess of Westminster, the 

 Duke of Bedford, and others, own a great part of the land 

 upon which London stands, and which is let upon long 

 leases. And it is the same with almost all the English 

 towns. Since the year 1800, 1,500,000 new houses have 

 been built in England alone, 6000 miles of railway have 

 been opened, and an enormous number of coal-pits and 

 mines have been set to work. Here are millions annually, 

 the greater part of which goes into the pockets of the 

 landed proprietors ; and it is not the great proprietors 

 only who partake in this good fortune, the middling and 

 smaller ones have also their share. 



Lastly, there is another means which causes a large 

 portion of the capital created by manufactures to flow 

 towards landed property and that is, the acquisition of 

 estates by wealthy traders. These acquisitions, more 

 numerous than we in France suppose, add greatly to the 

 average wealth of property, and contribute to make its 

 possessors more liberal towards the soil. The new pro- 

 prietors bring into the administration of their country 



