8 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



bable change of outlook which will occur after the war in regard to 

 the land question. He sums up the situation by saying that they 

 have in England the evidences of a "land revolution as already an 

 effect of the war." He quotes Lord NorthclifTe as a witness to what 

 he calls the dawn of a new era, as follows: 



Tommy Wants His Land. In one of the chapters he (Lord 

 NorthclifTe) uses these remarkable words, talking of the conversa- 

 tion he had with the Tommies. The speaker in this instance had 

 been a gamekeeper and a Tory when he was in civil life; but this is 

 what he said v 



"The men in the dug-outs talk of a good many subjects, but 

 there is one on which they are all agreed. That is the land question. 

 They are not going back as labourers, or as tenants, but as owners. 

 Lots of them have used their eyes and learned much about small 

 farming here." 



And this is what another Tommy said : 



"Many will go to Canada, some to Australia, I dare say; but I 

 am one of those who mean to have a little bit of ' blighty ' for myself. 

 We see enough in France to know that a man and his family can man- 

 age a bit of land for themselves and live well on it." 



The remarkable effects of the system of peasant proprietorship 

 in France, which had impressed this "Tommy," are referred to in a 

 later chapter, which goes to show that the success of that system is 

 due as much to the rural industries and social opportunities in the 

 rural districts of France as to the fact of ownership. It is possible 

 that "Tommy" ascribed to mere ownership advantages which did 

 not belong to it, although they accompany it. Ownership can be 

 obtained in Canada as well as in France, but, in this country of wide 

 spaces, and with the markets and social facilities so far distant from 

 the farmer, more than mere ownership is needed. If a successful 

 system of peasant ownership is set up in Britain after the war, and 

 all signs point to this being achieved, the chances of securing British 

 immigrants to Canada will lessen in proportion as Canada does not 

 seek to provide facilities for proper planning, for co-operation, for 

 marketing, and social intercourse. 



In Great Britain the mistake which has been made in the past 

 has been that the user of the land has not been sufficiently encouraged 

 to own it or to improve it; he has lacked security of tenure and scope 

 to make the most of his own improvements. We have drawn large 

 numbers of British farmers and labourers to Canada by offering free 

 homesteads, and this has, till recently, persuaded many to migrate 

 to this country who were attracted by getting something which was 

 not available at home. But in course of time the farmer has recog- 



