Mr. Fawcett attended a meeting of the Farmers' Club on
Monday, and warned those present that the clauses in the Tenant- right Bill giving landlords power to interfere with cultivation were much stronger than those giving compensation to tenants. Leases are often drawn with stringent provisoes, but they are left dead-letters, whereas the provisoes under an Act will probably be carried out. Strong opinions were expressed in favour of free cultivation, and Lord Leicester's lease was mentioned as best calculated to secure it. Under this system, the farmer has a lease of twenty years, and for the first sixteen of them has no restrictions. During the last four there are no re- strictions either, if the lease is to be renewed, but if not, the farmer must farm upon the four-course shift. Lord Leicester retains power, however, in extreme cases of deterioration, to compel, cultivation according to the custom of the neighbourhood. This was described as a "magnificent lease," but it must be remembered that the Holkham estates are farmed by men with
capital, and that in some districts sixteen years would be a long time to trust a hundred-acre farmer.
