150  Supplementary  Memoranda  to  the  Report  of 
Mr.  Clay  lays  stress  upon  the  fact  that  both  the  value  of  land  and  the  price 
of  labour  in  the  West  of  America  has  very  materially  risen,  and  he  expresses 
the  opinion  “ that  the  farmers  of  the  West  cannot  possibly  produce  wheat  so 
cheaply  as  they  did  ” in  consequence  of  this  rise ; * and  it  is  undoubtedly  the 
case  that,  so  far  from  being  permanently  lowered,  the  prices  of  English  beef 
aud  English  wheat,  from  whatever  cause,  have  risen  rather  than  fallen,  in 
spite  of  American  competition,  since  this  inquiry  began. 
Looking  to  these  facts,  as  well  as  to  some  of  the  latest  evidence  on  American 
competition  which  has  come  before  the  Commission,  it  would  seem  that  the 
fears  which  were  at  one  time  entertained  in  many  quarters  in  regard  to  it 
have  been  to  some  extent  without  foundation,  and  that,  with  a return  of 
favourable  seasons,  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  the  English  agriculturist  will 
be  able  to  successfully  compete  with  any.  competition  from  abroad  which,  as 
far  as  we  can  judge,  he  may  be  called  upon  to  undergo. 
If  this  hope,  howrever,  is  to  be  fulfilled,  it  is  essential  that  he  shall  be  no 
longer  prejudiced  by  the  continued  grant  of  preferential  rates  now  allowed  to 
foreign  produce  by  some  of  the  leading  railway  companies. 
There  are  other  matters  dealt  with  in  the  Report  to  which  I should  have 
wished  also  to  refer,  and  more  especially  to  the  subjects  of  the  Agricultural 
Holdings  Act  of  1875  and  of  compensation  for  unexhausted  improvements ; but 
as  I agree  in  the  main  with  the  recommendations  contained  in  the  Report,  I 
am  unwilling  to  add  to  the  length  of  this  Memorandum. 
Henry  Chaplin. 
11th  July,  1882. 
4. — By  Mb.  John  Clay. 
Though  signing  the  Report,  I find  it  incumbent  on  me  to  dissent  on  several 
points  under  the  following  heads  : — 
1.  Compensation  for  unexhausted  improvements  and  increased  fertility. 
2.  Rent. 
3.  The  law  of  entail. 
4.  The  law  of  distraint  and  the  Act  of  Sederunt  of  1756  in  Scotland. 
5.  The  right  of  tenants  to  assign  their  leases  under  certain  circumstances. 
6.  The  management  of  landed  estates. 
7.  Emigration. 
My  motive  for  this  dissent  is  for  the  purpose  of  advocating  the  adoption  of 
more  decisive  remedial  measures  than  are  suggested  in  this  Report,  because 
I think  that  unless  these  are  adopted,  not  only  will  landed  pioprietors  and 
tenants  continue  to  suffer  from  agricultural  depression  in  its  various  phases, 
but  also  the  country  at  large. 
1.  With  regard  to  compensation  for  unexhausted  improvements  and  in- 
creased fertility,  notwithstanding  the  full  and  distinct  evidence  taken  by  the 
Commission  proving  that  the  farmer  is  entitled  to  the  most  complete  and 
absolute  security  for  the  capital  he  has  invested  in  the  cultivation  of  the  land, 
the  Report  does  not  specify  or  indicate  any  sufficient  means  of  affording  such 
absolute  security,  or  of  giving  the  tenant  that  protection  to  which  he  is 
entitled,  nor  does  it  recommend  any  effectual  measure  to  secure  the  whole 
interest  of  the  tenant  in  his  improvements,  including  his  interest  in  his 
tenure.  More  particularly,  while  agreeing  with  the  Report  that  legislative 
provision  should  be  made  for  securing  to  tenants  compensation  in  respect  to 
their  outlays,  I go  further,  and  think  that  the  result  of  a tenant’s  energy  and 
industry  expended  in  improved  fertility  are  as  much  capital  as  the  cash  he 
invests,  and  are  as  much  entitled  to  legislative  protection.  Thor  remedy 
* 65,001. 
