434 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 



owner of a large estate is indeed in a somewhat 

 invidious position ; his net return is only about 3 per 

 cent, on the present sale price of the land, even though 

 that price may be less than the original cost, or as may 

 be demonstrated on various estates, less than has been 

 expended in permanent improvements during the last 

 sixty years. Furthermore, much is expected from the 

 landowner : the locality considers it has claims on him, 

 and is not shy of pressing them ; yet he has no longer 

 any power or political influence other than that which 

 any man of means may win by his personality or his 

 pocket. Hence, if the rural landlord is threatened 

 with some of the odium attaching to the owner of 

 improving urban land, and generally given to under- 

 stand that he ought to be taxed out of existence, small 

 wonder that he thinks of transferring his capital into 

 more remunerative securities burdened neither with 

 responsibilities nor reproaches. It is a delicate and 

 unpopular task to raise rents to their economic level, 

 and in consequence we must expect a continuance of 

 the sales of all land that has not a sporting value 

 round the demesne. There are three possible buyers : 

 new owners who will in their turn let the land, the old 

 tenants or corresponding men who want to farm 

 it themselves, or the State in some form or another. 

 Now by universal agreement small owners who look 

 upon their land as an investment make the worst 

 landlords ; as a rule they are short both of knowledge 

 of agriculture and of spare capital, and are the less likely 

 to take that long view of their position which makes 

 for the stability and prosperity of the farming com- 

 munity. Nor is experience more favourable to owner- 

 ship occupation, even though the tenant has been 

 assisted to purchase ; the mortgage is generally higher 

 than the old rent, and the farm is apt to be starved in 



