THE POSITION OF ENGLISH LANDOWNERS. [TO THE EDITOR or THE
"SPECTATOR."] Sin,—In your review in the Spectator of August 4th, of Mr. T. W. Russell's article in the National Review, on the losses of Irish landlords, you express a wish to have access to the budget of a Wiltshire or Essex landlord, The following circumstance, which has been brought under my notice within the last few days, will illustrate the position of Wiltshire landlords, and I believe it is fairly typical. A client of mine owns a small estate near Salisbury, which, twenty years ago, brought him in an income of about 21,200 a year. His rental has been diminishing for years, and be has just had an intimation from the agent that one of the principal farms, at one time let at between 2400 and 2500 a year, will be vacant at Michaelmas, and that it will probably be impossible to obtain a tenant. The only suggestion the agent can make is that the landlord shall farm it himself,—a course that would involve the provision of from 22,500 to 23,000 for stock, implements, and the like. To make the outlook more checrful, the owner is told that one or two other farms will i,. all probability be vacant shortly, and that he had better n re arrangements to farm them also. There is a fair house t d outbuildings, and apparently my friend is not in a worse °Lee than his neighbours. There is still a terminable rent-charge payable out of the farm, representing outlay in improvements effected not many years since, and yet it would seem no farmer can make a living, even at a nominal rent.—I am
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