i6 
Land & Water 
March 7, 1918 
;ilim)St severe ivpe ot cottat;e, built with btuiie, which can be 
seen almost anvwiiere on the East Coast, from Yorkshire 
northwards into Scotland, well suited as it is to the liimate 
of these, districts, would be equally out of place in the South 
of Ensland. Another perfectly distinct type is that of 
I^ncashire and the Lakes District, and again, in the west and 
south-west of Scotland the whitewashed walls of farmhouse 
and cottage are general. Each one of these distinctive tvpes 
is capabje of adaptation to a strictly modern and efiicient 
design, and it would be a matter for regret if local charac- 
teristics of architecture, where such are worthy of preserva- 
ti>)n, should be wholly abandoned. 
The question of cost in relation to rural housing is one of 
the most difficult, and many of those who have studied 
this financial aspect maintain it to be almost insoluble. 
The pre-war cost of a cottage of three or four rooms, with 
<«uitable office accommodation, and including water supply, 
and enclosure of the site, could not under the most favour- 
able circumstances be less than £250, , and in many cases 
amounted to considerably more. The rise in the price of 
timber and all other building materials, as well as the increase 
in wages, make it impossible that the cost of a similar house 
will for many yeaVs to come be less than ;f400 to £450. The 
rise in the rate of interest is a further burden on rent, and it is 
quite probable that local rates, already onerous, may become 
even hea\ier. If £400 is taken as the minimum cost of a 
house such as described, the economic rent cannot be 
put at less than los. per week, made up as under : 
Interest on i'^oo at 5 per cent .. i-'o o o 
Depreciation on building at, say, i per cent . . 400 
Repairs, maintenance, insurance and managf- 
ment at 10 per cent on rent , say .; i n n 
It is obvious that unless wages stood at a very high level, 
it would be practically impossible for many married men 
with young families to pay such a rent, and local rates besides. 
In England, where the local rates are payable by the occupier, 
the amount due on a £26 rent might be £4 or £5. In Scotland, 
where local rates are divided between owner and occupier, 
the result would be much the same, seeing that although the 
occupier or tenant paid a lesser sum directly in rates, the 
owner would require to take into account his share of the rates 
in arri\ing at an economic rent. 
From consideration of these figures, the inevitable conclusion 
is reached that the extensive programme of new housing 
which is necessary cannot be wholly paid for out of the rents 
which the new houses may be expected to yield, and the 
deficiency must be met from Imperial taxation, local rates, 
or by individuals or firms emplojang labour. 
There appears to be no good reason why all three sources 
should not, according to circumstances, be drawn upon. The 
landowner has in most instances, especially in the North of 
England and in Scotland, provided housing for the labour in 
his direct employ or employed by farmers on his estate. It 
is clearly the duty of local authorities, railway companies, 
and public departments, such as the Post Office, to provide 
housing for those in their employ. There will still remain a 
considerable unsatisfied demand for houses in some districts. 
Where this is so, the local authority would appear to be the 
proper body to initiate well-considered schemes for erecting 
houses either at existing villages or in fresh groups or centres. 
The erection of single isolated houses at public expense is a 
matter of very doubtful expediency, except in special 
circumstances. \ 
The deficiency which would almost certainly arise in 
financing such schemes would perhaps be most equitably met 
by eqiwl contributions from the Exchequer and from local 
rates. It may be argued that any contribution from local 
rates is merely a subsidy from the whole ratepayers of the 
particular area to a few of their own number who happen to 
occupy the new houses. There is some force in this argu- 
ment ; but, on the other side, it can be said that the erection 
of new houses under a "scheme" brings into existence fresh 
rateable values which otherwise would never emerge at all. 
Moreover, the fact of a share of the expenditure falling on a 
local authority, induces economy and care in carrying out a 
scheme which would very probaBly be lacking if the whole 
burden was to be borne by Imperial taxation. 
The housing question is such a large one that it is impossible 
in the compass of a single article to do more than touch on 
salient points. For those who desire to pursue the subject 
further a large and extensive literature is available, and 
some of the recently issued official documents, such as the 
Report of the Royal Commission on Housing in Scotland, will 
well repay careful study. 
A la Victoire 
By Emilc Cammaerts 
La Victoire sculptck^ dans Ic roc des falaises, 
Ses draperies ruissdantes battues par la niaree, 
Ses ailes large ouvertes au vent des destinies, 
La Victoire a parle dan? le roc des falaises. 
Sa voix, depuis trois ans restce silencieuse, 
A Sonne grave et pure, dominant la tempete. 
Sous les cieux ^toil6s, elle a lev6 la tMe 
Et ses yeux ont sonde les vagues capricieuses : 
« Tu montes et tu descends, 
Aloi, je reste. 
Tu regrettes, tu esperes, 
Moi, j 'attends. 
Tu chantes un jour sous la caresse 
Du ciel bleu, pour rugir de colere 
Le Icndemain. La joie succede a la detresse, 
Dans tes flots changeants. 
Tu tournes a tons les vents, 
Moi, je reste. 
• J'entends des voix 
Dans la brise qui me meprisent ou me reclament, 
J'entends des voix 
Parmi les vagues qui me renient ou qui m'acclament. 
Car ceux qui parlent ne savent pas 
Que je suis la qui les 6coute 
Et que leurs plaintes et leurs doutes 
Eclaboussent d'ecume les rochers de ma foi. 
Tu recrimines et tu predis, 
Moi, je crois. 
Tu as ete et tu seras, 
Moi, je suis. 
« Celuj qui m'a sculptee dans le roc immortel 
M'a douee de rn^moire et de longue patience. 
Je n'ai pas oublie mes serments solennels, 
Ma main n'a pas lache le bois dur de ma lance, 
Je n'ai pas pardonne les crimes impunis, 
Mon bras n'a pas cesse de frapper Tennemv. 
Tant que Justice ne sera pas faite. 
Tant que le Mai ne sera pas repare, 
Tant que les bourreaux pourront me braver, 
Tant que je ne sentirai pas la Defaite 
Choir enfin sous mes coups et gemir et prier, 
Tant que le Mensonge ne sera pas confondu, 
Tant que I'Ordre ne sera pas retabli, 
Je resterai gravee sur les rochers chenus 
Comme le sceau de Dieu sur le coeur du pays. 
Si bien que la mer devra briser ces pierres 
Et, durant des siecles, polir ces rocs puissants 
Avant qu'a tons les yeux man image altiere 
S'efface pen a pen sous I'usure du temps. 
« Tu montes et tu descends 
Moi, j 'attends. 
Tu recrimines et tu predis, 
Moi, je suis ». 
[all rights reserved] . 
The death of Mr. Edgar Wilson, some of whose London 
etchings were reproduced in our last issue, is a loss to art in 
more than one direction. To collectors he was best known 
as an etcher of slow and fastidious production ; but a wider 
public, who perhaps never noticed his name, were familiar 
with his work in the shape of decorative pen-drawings in 
periodicals. Mr. Wilson was also one of our leading authori- 
ties on Japanese art ; his knowledge of prints, in particular, 
being reflected in the tactful addition of colour to some of 
his own etchings. 
