1 FEBRUARY 1873, Page 2

The election for MA-Cheshire, should .a vacancy occur,. as is

expected, before the present Parliament is dissolved, will be one of the most important ever held in England, Mr. G. W. Latham, of Bradwall Hall, who is the probable candidate of the Radicals, has issued an address, in which he makes land reform the most important part of his programme. He says :—" The whole system of the descent and tenure of land has for a long time engaged my earnest attention. Otir present laws on the subject are a hindrance to the proper cultivation of the soil, and prohibi- tive of the application of sufficient capital thereto. I would therefore abolish all possible distinctions between real and per- sonal property, make the sale and transfer of land easy and simple, limit the right of settlement, and give a legalised tenant's right to the occupier. By such reforms the owners of the soil would be more able to improve their property, the occupiers would be better secured in their investments of capital, and the general public less dependent upon foreign countries for a full supply of food." A county election under the ballot on that cry will tell us more about farmers' feeling than a ream of speeches.