692 
On  the  Far  mine/  of  Somerset. 
conditions,  the  tenant  shall  be  entitled,  in  the  event  of  his  quitting 
the  farm  at  any  of  the  periods  agreed  on,  to  receive  back  a 
portion  of  the  expense  which  he  has  incurred  in  durable  im- 
provements. 
In  order  to  acquire  a title  to  this  repayment  the  tenant  must 
give  an  account  each  year  of  the  outlay  which  he  proposes  to 
make  in  durable  improvements,  and  must  obtain  the  owner’s 
sanction  in  writing,  such  sanction  being  necessary  in  order  to  his 
being  entitled  to  the  allowance.  The  allowance  will  then  be 
calculated  on  the  supposition  of  the  tenant  being  repaid  his  out- 
lay with  a profit,  in  the  number  of  years  set  opposite  to  each 
improvement,  as  follows:  — 
1.  Draining].  . . . 8 to  14 years. 
2.  Lime  ....  4 years. 
3.  Bones  . . . . 3 ,, 
4.  Subsoiling  peat  lands  . 4 ,, 
5.  New  fences  . . . 14  ,, 
G.  Water-meadows  . . 4 to  8 years. 
7.  Buildings  ....  20  years. 
The  written  consent  of  the  owner  or  his  agent  to  the  proposed 
outlay  before  it  is  incurred,  and  his  signature  affixed  to  the  bill 
of  disbursements  after  the  work  is  done,  is  the  tenant’s  voucher. 
The  non-payment  of  rent  for  six  months,  or  breach  of  covenants, 
forfeits  the  claim  to  compensation.  Disputes  to  be  settled  bv 
two  referees  (or  their  umpire,  whom  the  referees  are  to  nominate 
before  proceeding  to  business). 
It  w'ill  be  observed  that  this  arrangement  gives  full  security 
for  the  investment  of  capital  to  a responsible  tenant,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  protects  the  landlord  against  a man  of  straw.  The 
compensation  allowances  are  not  claimable  unless  rent  has  been 
paid,  covenants  kept,  and  the  amount  of  outlay,  of  which  a 
portion  is  to  be  repayable,  sanctioned  by  the  owner. 
While  this  Report  has  been  in  progress  the  news  of  the  death 
of  Mr.  Knight  has  reached  England  from  Rome,  where  he. has 
resided  for  several  years;  but  it  is  said  that  to  the  end  of  Ins 
life  the  remembrance  of  this  wild  moor  was  more  pleasing  to  him 
than  all  the  charms  of  the  Campagna.  He  will  long  be  remem- 
bered as  the  first  person  who  had  the  spirit  to  commence  a great 
agricultural  work  which  Mr.  Billingsley  foretold  fifty  years  ago 
in  the  following  words: — 
“Avery  large  proportion  of  the  whole  (Exmoor)  needs  but  the  spirit 
and  the  fortune  of  some  one  or  more  of  our  wealthy  gentlemen  of  England, 
whose  attention,  if  turned  this  way,  sanctioned  by  the  royal  proprietor, 
would  render  the  forest  of  Exmoor  in  a few  years  as  fair  a prospect  as 
the  surrounding  country,  and  not  a useless  and  void  space  in  the  map  of 
the  county  of  Somerset.” — p.  288. 
It  is  remarkable  that  Mr.  Billingsley,  in  foreseeing  the  possi- 
bility of  cultivating  the  moor,  should  have  pointed  out  at  the 
