THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY SIR,—I was very gratified to read
the article by Sir Carleton Allen on Mrs. Woollett in your issue of December 10. The dangers of the kind of legislation which is now on the statute books and which in many ways affects the rights of private property are not understood in any way by the public. Few people realise, for instance, that under the Agricultural Act of 1947 someone can bo dispossessed under Section 84 without a right of appeal to a tribunal or a court of law. Under that section they can be dispossessed for a whole series of matters of opinion which are nothing to do with good ' or ' bad' farming. They deal with matters of lack of capital, etc.
Under the 1949 Marketing Acts the Minister of Agriculture completely controls the Marketing Boards. Therefore with Section 84 of the Agricultural Act of 1947 and with the 1949 Marketing Act in his pocket, a minister so minded could nationalise and control completely the agricultural economy of this country without passing any new laws.
Constitutionally the position is extremely dangerous. Economically the effect is no less dangerous as it is evident from history that the more governments have interfered with agriculture, right down through the ages, the more harm they have done. Events since the last war confirm what history tries to tell us.—Yours faithfully, ANTONY FISHER New Place Farm, Framfield, Sussex
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