We have dealt in our leading columns with the Budget,
and with the debates in Parliament during the week. We can only say here that the fluid nature of the Budget has been once more illustrated, and that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has made many concessions whieh, though they to some extent mitigate the rigour of his proposals, also increase the confusion which is bound to arise if the land clauses pass into law. It must be noted that the concessions, far-reaching though they have been in some cases, do not alter the fundamental evil of this part of the Budget,—that it is not a bona-fide effort to rai money, but rather an attempt to produce a revolution in our land system through fiacid means. In our belief, the attempt to bring more land into the market through penal legislation is bound to prove a failure. The true way to encourage men to buy and sell is to take away, not to create, obstacles to a free market.
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