14 



10s. or 12s. an acre, and lessened areas would require a still further 

 increase of rent. But rather than adopt this alternative in order to meet 

 the requirements of capitalists^ might not the 1^000 acres be farmed by a 

 company, under the directions of skilled men possessing judgment and 

 means for obtaining the utmost production, and also with the power to 

 maintain such production, as shown in the instance of "Wilton House 

 Home Farm, the area of which, however, was considered too small to 

 induce a skilled tenant to occupy it. 



On large estates where the tenant farmer's capital is not sufficient to 

 develop the full resources of the land, might not a company of farmers 

 be substituted for individual tenants, provided the land laws of the 

 kingdom were so improved as to afford security and give encom-agement, 

 so that the necessary capital might be obtained ? These alternatives 

 necessarily arise when we consider the position of the landowner under 

 the circumstances of " Protection,^' and also the position of the Consol or 

 Fund-holder during the like period, the latter being insured against 

 taxation, in consequence of the Protection on the produce of land. But, 

 under the circumstances of Free Trade, the issue of the relative positions 

 become changed, and the question arises. Why should the landed interest 

 be sacrificed in the production of food at low prices for the benefit of 

 the community ? And, at the same time, why should the Fimd-holder 

 not bear his relative proportion of taxation ? I do not infer that rents 

 should be increased by the change of circumstances, but that taxation 

 should be fairly adjusted by Parliament. 



As regards the farm labourer as a sine qua non, he should have a 

 home with accommodation suitable for the requirements of his family, 

 in regard to sexes, together with a garden allotment, adjacent to the 

 cottage, varying in size, according to circumstances, of from twenty to 

 forty perches each, but not greater than could be maintained in proper 

 cultivation. Should the garden adjoining the cottage not be equal to 

 his wants, an increase might be provided in an allotment field, so situated 

 as to best suit the accommodation of the villagers. These allotments 

 might vary in size beyond the cottage requirements, according to cir- 

 cumstances, and extend to cow allotments (to the most deserving parish- 

 ioners) of hay ground, lea pasture, and an acre of arable ; the areas 

 being limited to the quality of the soils, their situation, and with due 

 regard to the position of the cottage to which it might be attached ; 

 the hay ground allotments to be mown, and the after-math to be fed off 

 in common ; the summer lea ground allotments also being grazed in 

 common ; the cultivation of the arable portion being left to the dis- 

 cretion of the occupier; the number of cottages and allotments being 



