The House of Lords on Friday, December 17th, made further
amendments in the Agriculture Bill. The clause amending existing leases, so as to entitle a leaseholder to compensation for which he had not bargained when his lease expired, was struck out. The power of an agricultural committee to compel land- owners to carry out any improvements that the committee might think desirable was wisely restricted ; the clause as it left the Commons might have been used to ruin the wealthiest land- owner. On the Report Stage of the Bill, on Monday, Lord Lee arranged a compromise in regard to compensation for disturb- ance. The compensation to be paid to a dispossessed tenant for loss on removal was fixed at a year's rent, unless the lose was proved to be greater ; but the compensation was in no case to exceed two years' rent. Landlords of the old type rarely, if over, get rid of a tenant, unless he ie a very bad farmer ; but some of the new owners of the soil may need to be restrained from dealing arbitrarily with their tenants. The Bill was read a third time on Tuesday.
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