968 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



Decem'ber 1, 1913: 



from the Court of Chancery the adminis- 

 tration of the law affecting" settled 

 estates, to take over the machinery of 

 valuation created by the Budget of 

 iQog, and to have control and super- 

 vision of land generally, to deal with 

 small holdings, land i^urchase, disputes 

 between landlord and tenant, reclama- 

 tion, afforestation, and the development 

 of uncultivated land. This new depart- 

 ment of State ought to receive a very 

 hearty welcome. The i^roblem of the 

 land needs some such concentration of 

 Governmental purpose. 



POWERS OF THE LAND COMMISSIONERS. 



Fierce controversy has been aroused 

 by the method through which the 

 Government proposes to enable the 

 Ministry of Lands to discharge its mani- 

 fold and onerous functions. Commis- 

 sions are to be appointed, of a judicial 

 character, who will have similar powers 

 for giving the land back to the people, 

 to quote Mr. George's way of putting it, 

 as the Enclosure Commissioners had for 

 taking the land away from the people. 

 The Land Commissioners will have 

 power to revise eviction notices, to award 

 full compensation and exemplary 

 damages in the case of evictions which 

 they regard as capricious. Notices to 

 quit which they find to be wanton or 

 arbitrary they will have power to declare 

 null and of no effect. So they secure 

 fixity of tenure. In cases where land 

 is sold over the head of the farmer, they 

 will have power to compel the seller to 

 compensate the farmer for his unex- 

 hausted improvements, and to giv<e him 

 substantial compensation for disturb- 

 ance. They will have the power of the 

 Scottish Land Courts to reduce rents. 

 They will also have authority to acquire 

 derelict and uncultivated land, to af- 

 forest it, or otherwise develop it for pur- 

 poses of cultivation. Mr. George also 

 announced that the Government had 

 come to the conclusion that a minimum 

 wage for the agricultural labourer 

 should be established by statute, and if 



the farmer cannot pay it, " then he has 

 to go to the Commission and ask for 

 an abatement in his rent to enable him 

 to pay it." The Commissioners will 

 have similar control over the hours of 

 labour. To remedy the shortage of 

 120,000 houses in the rural area, the 

 Government undertakes itself to build. 

 For its houses it would charge an econo- 

 mic rent, but, being able to borrow the 

 capital at a much lovyer rate, could offer 

 very low rents indeed. 



THE NEW LORDS OF THE LAND. 



The powers to be given to these Land 

 Commissioners are indeed extensive and 

 varied. It seems as though they are 

 meant to do for the twentieth century 

 what Cromwell's Majors-General were 

 appointed to do for the seventeenth. 

 Everything will depend upon the per- 

 sonnel of these Commissions and of the 

 Minister of Labour. If these new bodies 

 are carefully recruited from the most 

 progressive and democratic portions of 

 the community the land may be rescued 

 from the despotism of irresponsible 

 landlordism and really made accessible 

 to the people. If, on the other hand, 

 the traditional British method of filling 

 Government posts with relatives of great 

 persons, with 'Varsity pals, and Party 

 hacks, is applied to this new department, 

 we may be almost as far as ever from 

 any genuine land reform. 



OUT FROM THE TOWNS. 



One of the most important points in 

 the Swindon speech was that in which 

 Mr. Lloyd George laid down the prin- 

 ciple that " it is to the interest of the 

 nation to induce everj/one who can to 

 live outside the town." In England 80 

 per cent, of the people live in the towns, 

 and only 20 per cent, in the country. 

 In Belgium, w^hich is, like Britain, a 

 great industrial country, 56 per cent, of 

 the people live in the country, and only 

 44 per cent, in the towns. Why ? Be- 

 cause they have got cheap transit and 

 nationalised railways. 



