1907.] Small Holdings on Crown Lands. 



281 



men who do not specify at all the locality in which they desire 

 land, or the quantity desired, Lord Carrington has received 

 applications for nearly 10,000 acres of land. That the demand 

 is fairly general is shown by the fact that 4,518 acres are 

 desired in Lincolnshire, 2,347 acres in Yorkshire, 1,074 acres 

 in Cheshire, 690 acres in Oxfordshire, 248 acres in Bedford- 

 shire, 175 acres in Wiltshire, 123 acres in Norfolk, and 105 

 acres in Kent. 



It must necessarily be a gradual process to satisfy this 

 demand in view of the necessity of avoiding any undue inter- 

 ference with the existing tenants, but it is hoped that by next 

 Michaelmas upwards of 2,000 acres will have been let in 

 different parts of the country in small holdings, and the 

 process will be continued as opportunity offers wherever it 

 is practicable. 



In view of the fact that there has been a certain amount 

 of misapprehension as to the extent of the land belonging to 

 the Crown which is in hand, it may be well to state the actual 

 position. At the date of the last report of the Commissioners 

 of Woods, the area of the agricultural lands in hand comprised 



3,494 acres, made up as follows : — 



Acres. 



Burwell, Cambridgeshire ... ... ... ... 917 



Potter's Hill, Oxfordshire 49° 2 



Wingland Marsh, Lincolnshire 357 



Neat's Court, Isle of Sheppey 1,1572 



Shimpling, Suffolk... ... ... ... ... 572 



3,494 



During the past year the farm at Burwell has been let for 

 small holdings, and Potter's Hill Farm still remains in hand. 

 The 357 acres of grass land at Wingland, though technically 

 in hand, actually produces a considerable return to the Crown, 

 as the grazing is let annually in small lots, the gross rent 

 receivable for the present year being £1,274. This is clearly 

 the best method of managing this property, and the land 

 is not suitable for small holdings. Certain portions of the 

 Neat's Court Farm have been let, reducing the area in hand 

 tc V9 2 5 acres, and the farm at Shimpling, which had been in 

 hand for 14 years, and which was unsuitable for small holdings, 

 has been let to a farm tenant. At the present moment, 



