NUMBER OF LANDOWNERS.

Notwithstanding the immunity from invasion which insular Britain (with its volunteer army and no conscription) enjoys, as compared with inland Prussia and its heavy military burdens, it is nevertheless so handicapped by its land laws of primogeniture, entail, settlement, title, and transfer, as to suffer severely from agricultural depression and decreasing cultivation; whilst, on the other hand, Prussia, under its free "EDICT FOR THE BETTER CULTIVATION OF THE LAND," is generally fertile.

Mr. Arthur Arnold, President of the Free Land League, 18, Cockspur Street, S.W., says in his pamphlet entitled, "The Land and the People," "In this country there are fifty million acres, or nearly four-fifths of the land, in the hands of seven thousand persons. There are people foolish enough to believe that this is the consequence of economic laws, and that it represents an inevitable destiny. It is the direct consequence of our laws and practices of settlement and primogeniture, which are closely bound together."

The following statistics show that the result of the operation of the land laws in this country has

been to diminish the number of owners, whilst in other countries their number has been increasing.

STATISTICS OF LANDOWNERS.

From the Times, May, 1888.

"LAND TENURE IN FRANCE.-Among the many interesting particulars with regard to the agricultural condition of France which are furnished by M. Tisserand, the Director of Agriculture, in his valuable report, only just published, the most important chapter is, beyond all doubt, that which relates to the number of persons employed in agriculture and the size of the holdings. . . . To show into what small holdings the soil is divided, M. Tisserand states that out of every 25,000 acres, with an average number of 1144 holdings, there are 437 of less than two and a half acres; 532 of from two and a half to 25 acres, 147 of from 25 to 100 acres, and only 28 of over 100 acres. In other words, the holdings of from two and a half to 25 acres are the most numerous, forming 46 per cent. of the whole, while the holdings of not over two and a half acres make up 38 per cent., the

holdings of from 25 to 100 acres being only 6 per cent. The following table shows, however, that this is not peculiar to France, M. Tisserand making the comparison with Germany:—

Thus it will be seen that the soil is almost as much divided in Germany as it is in France, the number of holdings under two and a half acres being rather greater in the former country than it is in the latter, though, upon the other hand, there are 217 really large farms (over 1250 acres) in France as against over 4000 in Germany. The total number of owners of land in France was 4,835,246, in 1862."

From the Financial Reform Almanac.

"From the Domesday Returns of 1874 (which, as we have pointed out, very greatly understated the

facts as to the size of the large landed estates, having altogether omitted London, and unenclosed woods, etc., and leases reputed to be for 99 or more years) the main facts appeared to be that in ENGLAND and WALES

12 persons own 1,038,883 acres.

5,425,764 ,, (or about one-sixth of the en

10,207

closed land).

one-fifth of all England and Wales.

one-fourth of all England and Wales.

9,267,031 acres.

two-thirds of the whole of England and Wales.

"In Northumberland County, which contains 1,220,000 acres, some 26 persons own half the

A body of 4500 men own 17,498,200 or more than half Eng

land and Wales.

"In SCOTLAND, where the total area is 18,946,694

306,000 acres

12 owners have 4,339,722

about a quarter of Scotland, and more than the whole area of Wales. Equal to 8 entire English counties: Beds, Berks, Bucks, Cambridge, Cheshire, Derby, Cornwall, and Cumberland.

hold more than 120,000 acres each.

two-thirds of all Scotland.

99 99

"In IRELAND, where the total area is 20,159,677

"In the UNITED KINGDOM there are altogether 77,799,793 acres of land, and out of 72,119,961 acres included in the returns it appears there were 12 great owners who possessed 4,440,467 acres. Well may the late Mr. Kay, Q.C., in his excellent letters on the Land Question (Kegan Paul, Trench and Co.)