18 



THE RURAL PROBLEM 



figure, the landlords generally doing repairs and paying 

 taxes.* 



On page 44 of Chapter VII. Mr. W. C. Little, Senior 

 Assistant Commissioner to the Royal Commission on 

 Labour, reviewing the statements of the other Commis- 

 sioners who had reported on typical agricultural districts 

 in nearly every county in England, is shown as saying that 

 the estimates of Assistant Commissioners and their infor- 

 mants as to the value of a cottage and a garden varied 

 from £2 10s. to £5 4s. a year, the most usual sum being £4. 

 Mr. Little further said : " Rent has generally no relation to 

 the size of the cottage and cost of its construction, the 

 accommodation it affords, the conditions as regards repair 

 and sanitary arrangements, or to the earnings of the occupier." 



A rent of Is. or Is. 6d. is low compared with the rents paid 

 in urban districts. But this does not mean that the rural 

 labourer is really better off in this respect. For, in the 

 first place, the cottages often belong to the employers, 

 who charge a low rent instead of paying a decent wage ; and, 



* See, on the other hand, the following table given in the Housing 

 Handbook Up to Date, by Alderman Thompson (p. 175), King & Son, 

 1910: 



Number of Rooms and Weekly Rent. 



