JOURNAL 
OF THE 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF ENGLAND. 
I, — On the Condition of the Agricultural Labourer; with Sug- 
gestions for its Improvement. By George Nicholls. 
Prize Essay. 
This is one of the questions proposed by the Society as the 
subject of an Essay, and it must be admitted that none can be 
of greater interest and importance. The condition of the whole 
community depends upon that of its several parts, and the agri- 
cultural portion forms so important a part of the entire British 
community, that too much attention cannot be paid to its condition 
by individuals of every class, and more especially by the owners 
and occupiers of land, with whom the labourer comes into daily 
contact, and upon whom he may be said to depend for obtaining 
the daily means of support. 
That the condition of our agricultural labourers is not in all 
respects what it ought to be, must at once be admitted. Indeed 
it is implied in the question proposed by the Society ; for if their 
condition were altogether satisfactory, means for its improvement 
need not now be so sedulously sought after. This admission 
must not, however, be taken to imply more than that the present 
condition of the agricultural labourer, in common with the con- 
dition of the labouring class generally, is such as to invite the 
efforts of the more affluent for its amelioration. With all there 
is much to improve, much to be amended; and this will not be 
denied by any one who has had extensive ojiportunities of ob- 
serving the condition of the working classes. There is, it is true, 
nothing new or peculiar in this state of things. Poverty, with 
its attendant privations, always has existed, and always will exist ; 
but whilst compelled to bear with its existence, we are at the 
same time bound to do all that we can to lighten its pressure and 
mitigate its evils. 
VOL. VII. B 
