534 Decline in Agricultural Population, [dec, 



the reports. But while simple restlessness or mere rebellion 

 against the conditions of their environment may induce the 

 more active-minded youth of the countryside to seek fortune 

 elsewhere, it is admitted generally that the higher wages and 

 superior social advantages afforded by employment in other 

 industries and the attraction of town life, lead, in very many 

 cases, to a deliberate and calculated abandonment of rural 

 labour. Some correspondents allude to the fact that the higher 

 wages of the towns do not necessarily imply an improved financial 

 position, as the additional expense of living more than counter- 

 balances the additional income. This is no doubt true, but it 

 does not materially affect the position so long as the men are 

 actually attracted by the prospect of " handling more money." 



Cottages. — Among specific causes of discontent, a deficiency 

 of adequate or satisfactory housing accommodation is reported 

 from about thirty counties. Speaking generally, there is evidence 

 not only — or perhaps it should be said not so much — of an actual 

 scarcity of cottages, though this is mentioned in some cases, as 

 of a lack of cottages which satisfy the more exigent requirements 

 of the labourers in these times, or comply with the demands of 

 vigilant sanitary authorities. As with every other class, the 

 rural labourers' standard of comfort has been raised, and they 

 are not now contented with the accommodation which previous 

 generations placidly accepted. The recognition of this fact 

 merely states the problem without helping to its solution, which, 

 as several correspondents admit, is extremely difficult, its initial 

 difficulty being that rural cottages are not let at commercial 

 rents. As a part of the labourer's wages is, in effect, now given 

 in house rent, so the provision of more expensive and commo- 

 d|ious cottages may be regarded as equivalent to a rise of wages, 

 at any rate from the employer's point of view. 



Lack of Incentive. — Many correspondents refer to the absence 

 of an incentive to remain on the land and of any reasonable 

 prospect of advancement in life, and it is mentioned that in some 

 districts, particularly in Scotland, many of the best men have 

 been attracted to the Colonies, where their energies may find 

 wider scope and where the road to independence and a com- 

 petency is broader and more easy of access. It is, indeed, 

 impossible not to recognise that the ordinary career of the 



