the  Royal  Commission  on  Agriculture,  Sfc. 
153 
a proprietor  to  prefer  an  indifferent  tenant,  who  for  a few  years  may  promise 
to  give  a little  higher  rent  for  a farm,  to  a good  tenant  who  will  permanently 
increase  the  value  of  it.  The  result  is  that  in  the  case  of  a 300-acre  farm, 
worth  10,000/.  sterling,  let  in  the  way  I have  indicated  to  an  indifferent 
tenant,  the  market  value  of  the  land  at  the  end  of  the  had  tenant’s  occupancy, 
is  reduced  to  7000/.  sterling,  whereas  if  it  had  been  let  to  a good  tenant,  the 
market  value  would  have  been  raised  to  12,000/.  or  13,000/.  sterling.  Thus 
the  agriculture  of  the  country  at  large  suffers  from  the  law  of  entail,  for  there 
can  he  no  doubt  that  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  landlord  as  well  as  the  country 
that  the  land  should  be  kept  in  as  high  a state  of  fertility  as  possible,  and  that 
every  law  which  interferes  in  any  way  with  a high  state  of  cultivation  being 
maintained  should  be  abolished.  The  Report  should  also  have  recommended 
a law  regulating  the  easy  and  cheap  transfer  of  land  for  the  whole  of  Great 
Britain. 
4.  The  Report  should  have  recommended  the  total  abolition  of  the  law  of 
distraint  and  the  Act  of  Sederunt  of  1756  in  Scotland,  for  by  these  most  unjust 
laws  the  rents  of  farms  have  been  raised  far  above  their  real  value,  and  farmers 
have  had  to  offer  higher,  and  in  most  cases  excessive  rents,  and  more  particu- 
larly is  this  the  case  in  regard  to  small  farms,  because  there  is  greater  compe- 
tition for  these  than  for  larger  farms.  Landlords  trusting  to  these  Jaws  accept 
tenants  with  insufficient  capital  and  men  who  know  nothing  about  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil,  whom,  without  these  laws,  they  would  not  take,  and  thus 
the  rent  of  land  is  artificially  raised  far  beyond  what  can  be  legitimately  paid. 
The  real  question  at  issue  is  whether  there  is  anything  in  the  relation  of  a 
landlord  to  his  tenant  which  entitles  the  landlord  in  equity  to  have  his  rent 
paid  in  preference  to  the  other  debts  of  his  tenant  ? Looking  to  the  general 
interests  of  the  community,  these  laws  should  be  abolished,  for  their  direct 
tendency  is  to  drive  away  capital  from  the  soil.  I am  clearly  of  opinion  that 
the  operation  of  these  laws  has  been  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  present 
deplorable  state  of  agriculture  in  this  country. 
5.  The  Report  should,  in  my  opinion,  have  recommended  power  being  given 
to  a tenant  or  his  representatives  to  assign  a lease  under  special  circumstances, 
such  as  at  the  death  of  the  tenant,  or  his  insanity,  or  permanent  disability 
from  ill-health,  to  a suitable  tenant  farmer  to  be  approved  of  by  the  landlord, 
the  landlord,  however,  to  have  only  one  veto,  and  after  the  landlord  has 
exercised  such  veto  once,  the  matter  to  be  referred  to  the  judge  ordinary  or 
the  sheriff  in  Scotland  without  power  of  appeal  from  the  decision  of  either  of 
them.  And  in  case  of  the  bankruptcy  of  a tenant  his  trustee  should  he 
entitled  to  take  his  place  in  the  lease,  and  to  dispose  of  it  to  a suitable 
and  responsible  assignee  to  be  approved  of  as  above  for  the  benefit  of  the. 
creditors. 
6.  The  management  of  landed  estates,  regarding  which  explicit  and  valu- 
able evidence  has  been  given  before  the  Commission,  has  been  completely 
ignored  in  the  Report.  This,  in  my  opinion,  is  a great  omission,  for  the 
management  of  estates  is  one  of  the  most  important  subjects  upon  which 
evidence  has  been  given,  and  one  which  bears  directly  on  the  present  lament- 
able state  of  agriculture  in  this  country ; ample  evidence  has  been  given  to 
the  Commission  of  the  appointment  of  men  to  the  management  of  estates  who 
are  unfitted  for  such  a position  from  their  want  of  practical  knowledge  of 
agriculture.  Lawyers  are  often  employed  as  land  agents  and  factors  for 
estates,  and  although  they  may  be  most  excellent  men  in  their  profession,  yet 
from  this  want  of  practical  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  out-door  manage- 
ment generally,  there  is  not  so  much  hope  of  the  improvement  of  an  estate 
but  rather  the  reverse  where  it  is  placed  fully  under  their  charge.  They  are 
not  so  capable  of  giving  the  proprietor  sound  advice  with  regard  to  the  choice 
of  tenants  and  the  improvement  or  management  of  the  farms  upon  the  estate, 
