17 SEPTEMBER 1881, Page 3

The agitation for a Land Bill for Great Britain is

spreading rapidly. In Scotland, associations for this purpose have been formed in Aberdemshire and three other counties, and there is a distinct desire for it in the Highland counties and the Western Isles. In England, the Farmers' Alliance, which so greatly influenced the last elections, has definitively pledged itself to pro- duce a Land Bill by November, adding that in its judgment Fair-trade, or any other form of Protection, is "a delusion and .a snare." The character of the Land Bill to be adopted is not yee known, but it will undoubtedly make the tenant the secure owner of his improvements, and put an end to eviction-at-will. The Scottish farmers appear inclined to add that in cases of -dispute rent should be lowered or raised by a Court of Arbitra- tion, and are demanding reductions with a certain fierceness, —even in one or two cases threatening to pay no rent at all. They had much better combine to take no farms, as they will mot, when cooler, think it right to break contracts. This movement is, of course, independent of the Government promise to in- troduce Bills limiting settlement, and enabling life-owners to grant a complete title.