12(5 
Cotlai/e.s  for  Rural  Lahoarers. 
1893,  and  the  Reports  ot‘  the  Assistant  (jonnnissioners  for 
various  districts  were  ai)ly  siinnnarised  hy  the  late  Mr.  AVilliain 
Little.' 
His  Report  will  well  repay  perusal,  but  space  forbids  any- 
thing beyond  a brief  reference  to  its  conclusions.  In  his 
summary  Mr.  Little  states  : — 
“ I have  reviewed  the  whole  of  the  evidence  connected  with  the  housing 
of  the  agricultural  labouier  at  considerable  length,  because  I am  convinced 
that  in  the  whole  field  of  survey  of  the  conditions  \inder  which  that  class 
have  to  Iwe  there  is  no  darker  spot  than  it.  .To  reca()itulate  in  brief  what 
I have  endeavoured  to  deduce  from  the  Reports  which  arc  before  the  Com- 
mission, I venture  to  submit  the  following  conclusions  : — 
“ The  supply  of  cottages  is  not  now  generally  defective  in  respect  of 
numbers,  owing  partly  to  the  decrease  in  the  rural  population,  and  partly 
to  the  large  number  of  cottages  which  have  been  built  by  large  landowners 
and  others  who  can  afford  to  build  without  an  expectation  of  a profitable 
return  for  their  outlay. 
“The  distribution  of  cottages  is  irregular,  and  their  situation  often  very 
inconvenient  for  the  iidiabitants. 
“ The  accommodation  provided  in  respect  of  the  number,  size,  and  comfort 
of  the  rooms,  the  sanitary  condition,  and  the  water  sup[)ly  are  lamentably 
deficient  generally  and  recpiire  amendment. 
“ The  action  of  tlie  local  sanitary  authority,  though  vigorous  in  some 
di.stricts,  is  in  many  places  ineffective,  and  it  is  everywhere  impeded  and 
sometimes  arrested  by  the  knowledge  that  the  owners  of  iu.sanitary  dwellings 
have  not  the  means  to  remedy  the  defects,  and  that  the  consequences  of 
closing  sucli  dwellings  would  be  to  make  the  present  inhabitants  homeless. 
“The  rent  which  is  received  for  cottage  property  in  rural  districts  is  not 
sufficient  to  make  the  building  of  good  cottages  directly  profitable. 
“That  rent  has  generally  no  relation  to  the  size  of  the  cottage,  the  cost 
of  its  construction,  the  accommodation  which  it  affords,  its  condition  as 
regards  repair  or  sanitary  arrangements,  or  to  the  earnings  of  the  occupier. 
“ Under  these  circumstances  I venture  to  submit  to  the  Commission  that 
the  subject  is  one  which  deserves  the  gravest  consideration,  with  a view  to 
the  suggestion  of  remedial  action.” 
After  many  year.s’  experience  in  tiie  management  of  estates 
in  various  jtarts  of  the  country,  these  views  appear  to  me  to 
be  sound.  Again  Mr.  Little  says  : — 
“ A conclusion  which  may  be  drawn  from  the  facts  submitted  is  that 
cottage  building  for  agricultural  labourers  docs  not  paj'  directly  as  a com- 
mercial undertaking.  Large  or  wealthy  landowners  may  continue  from 
philanthropic  motives  aiul  from  a sense  of  duty  to  indulge  in  unremunerative 
investments,  but  the  ordinary  owner  of  land  cannot  follow  their  example,  and 
a great  and  general  improvement  of  cottage  property  cannot  be  anticipated 
until  some  means  are  devised  for  making  cottage  building  directly  remunerative 
as  an  investment. 
“There  are  three  directions  in  which  it  would  seem  to  be  possible  to 
approach  to  a more  satisfactory  adjustment  of  outlay  and  return  : — 
“ 1. — To  reduce  the  original  cost  by  the  adoption  of  the  best  plans  for 
eeonomising  space  and  construction  and  the  use  of  materials  most  readily 
available. 
* Royal  Commission  on  Labour,  The  Ayriodfurul  Lahotirer,  Vol.  V.,  Part  1. 
General  Report  by  Mr.  William  C.  Little,  page  Sit. 
f 
