A conference of representative farmers was held on Tuesday at
the Holborn Restaurant, to consider the position of agricul- ture, and to listen to a paper from Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear showed that prices had for ninety-four years never been so low for cereals, barley, and oats, as well as wheat ; and that though they would rise, they would hardly exceed again an average of 40s. for wheat. He, therefore, advocated a substantial redaction of rent, perfect freedom of cultivation, complete security for tenants' capital by the prohibition of any demand for rent on tenants' improvements, the abolition of the law of distress, the collection of tithe from the landlord, and the division of rates between the landlord and occupier. He main- tained that the landlord had raised rents since the first year of the Crimean War by 220,000,000 a year, that is, had taken 000,000,000 from the farmers. He treated the question throughout as if landlords taxed farmers, and did not explain why farmers took farms on unprOfitable terms. He repudiated legislative control of rent; but did not say how rent on land was to be separated from rent on improvements without tri- bunals. The meeting resolved that farmers required "a sub- stantial reduction of rent," security for improvements, and complete freedom to farm as they pleased.
Previous page
