46 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of the landlord in agriculture) should be borne by the landlord, and the 

 tenant should not be made to pay all the expenses. 



3. That if the family lawyer acts as a land agent, he should personally 

 know the land he is dealing with, and be well informed on agricultural 

 matters. I know a case in which in the proposed lease the tenant, among 

 his many other restrictions, was prohibited from fishing, when there was 

 not on the whole farm enough water for a frog to stretch his legs in, 

 except in the well or water-tanks. 



I also heartily agree with most of the recommendations and suggestions 

 of the Fruit Committee of the Board of Agriculture on this subject, viz. : 



I. That the various Agricultural Holdings Acts should be consolidated 

 into one Act. 



II. That the Market Gardeners' Compensation Acts be amended by 

 making Section 4 retrospective. 



III. It is further suggested that, in cases where a tenant gives notice 

 to quit, he shall not be entitled to receive compensation unless he present 

 to the landlord a successor who is willing to take over the holding at the 

 same rent ; that in the event of his so doing and the landlord accepting his 

 nominee, the compensation be paid directly by the new tenant to the old 

 tenant, but that the landlord have the right to refuse to accept the out- 

 goer's nominee, in which case he must pay compensation to the outgoer 

 under the provisions of the existing law. 



IV. That the Board of Agriculture should appoint experts in fruit 

 valuation, and shall call them together for the purpose of formulating 

 general rules for estimating the amount of compensation to be paid to an 

 outgoing tenant of a holding under the Agricultural Holdings Acts on 

 the basis of the value to an incoming tenant. 



V. That the State be empowered to lend money to landowners who have 

 fruit trees on their estates, subject to suitable conditions, for the purpose 

 of supplying the ready money required for the payment of compensation 

 at the determination of a tenancy. 



VI. That it would be to the advantage of landowners and tenants in 

 fruit districts if, under the provisions of Section 5 of the Agricultural 

 Holdings Act, 1883, they settled the basis of compensation by the " par- 

 ticular agreement " therein referred to. 



VII. That a Bill should be passed facilitating the purchase of small 

 holdings by tenants with assistance from public funds, somewhat on the 

 lines of the measure brought in by the Eight Hon. Jesse Collings, M.P., 

 in the Session of 1904. 



Now let us consider the rating of farms and "fruit land." Whilst 

 taxes are a charge for imperial purposes, the rates are the public charge 

 assessed on property (houses, buildings and land) for local purposes. 



The principles of taxation should be that the individual should be 

 taxed according to his ability to pay, and that everyone who benefits by 

 the expenditure shall pay a fair premium for that benefit. The " poor 

 rate," with all the other rates it includes, has long been recognised 

 to fall unduly heavily on the farmer. To quote the figures given 

 at the Central Chamber of Agriculture, whilst income tax is based 

 on the ability to pay, and taxes capital to the value of £500,000,000, 

 local taxes only affect £160,000,000 of capital, leaving £340,000,000 of 



