CHAPTER IV 



The Labourer 



It is very hard to forecast what final 

 effects the conditions created by the war 

 will have upon rural labour. There may be 

 a serious shortage of agricultural labour after 

 the war is over, because there is no doubt 

 that a large number of rural labourers, 

 having once been shaken out of their groove, 

 will not return to it. On the other hand, 

 there may be an increased supply of labour 

 in those parts of the country, at any rate, 

 where wages are good and housing con- 

 ditions decent. There is little doubt that a 

 large number of ex-service men will elect an 

 outdoor occupation, and though it is to be 

 hoped that many of these men will be 

 enabled to settle on small farms of their 

 own, still a considerable number will pro- 

 bably be available as farm labourers. 



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