THE WORKING OF THE ALLOTMENTS ACT. T HE Annual Report of
the Rural Labourers' League— the body over which Mr. Jesse Collings presides— shows that the persistent attempts of the Gladstonian Party to discredit the Allotments Act of 1887, and to pre- vent its being put into operation, have in a great measure been unsuccessful. In spite of the opposition which it has had to encounter, not, as might have been expected, from the Tory squires, but from the men who claim to be the natural leaders of the working man, Mr. Jesse Collings's Society has steadily fought the labourers' battle, and has contrived in a great measure to defeat the schemes of its antagonists. The endeavour of the Gladstonians in many parts of England to boycott the Allotments Act—an endeavour by no means dis- couraged from head-quarters—is one of the most cynical pieces of selfishness that has ever discredited a body of politicians. The Gladstonians have not even the excuse of being able to declare that they do not believe that allot- ments are any good to the labourers. Not only is it part of their political creed to extol their advantages, but, for the most part, they realise thoroughly how keen is the desire for "a bit of land" among the poorer classes, and how beneficial is its acquisition. Yet, knowing this, and feeling as they do, they would rather indefinitely postpone the time when the workmen shall get allotments, than run the risk of their opponents obtaining the credit of having produced a workable measure. The word has been passed round that the Act is to be denounced as "a sham, a snare, and a delusion," and, accordingly, everything is done to discourage the labourers from attempting to put its provisions into operation. The poor man is to go landless rather than that the Unionists should be imagined to have contributed towards lightening his lot. The Glad- stonian managers try, in fact, to treat the labourers as if they were their special property. A jealous man waxes furious if any one else is kind to his dog, fearing that it may cease to obey him and learn to trust other people. So the Gladstonians would rather the class they expect to obey them should not be relieved at all, than that they should be helped by the Unionists. It matters not that Mr. Jesse Collings has devoted his life to the labourers. He does not agree with Mr. Gladstone as to Home-rule, and therefore all his attempts to benefit the labourer must be sternly boycotted. It is far more important that the labourer should regard the Unionists as the party hostile to his interests, than that he should be put in a posi- tion to get an allotment or a piece of garden-ground. That we are not speaking at random in talking thus, may be shown by the actual words employed in the Report of the Rural Labourers' League. This is what Mr. Jesse Collings and his colleagues say as to the opposition they have encountered :—" The work of the League has been the more difficult owing to the misrepresentations of Gladstonian speakers and writers. Attempts are continually made to mislead the rural population by the statement that their interests are wholly dependent upon Mr. Glad- stone's return to office, and that no beneficial legislation can be expected from the Unionist Party. As a part of these tactics, the Allotments Act of 1887 passed by the present Government is now systematically disparaged by the party who in 1886 used the question to gain office, and then threw it on one side without making any effort to redeem their pledges."
In spite, however, of such unjust and unscrupulous action, the Act of 1887 has already done a good deal towards providing land for the labourers. To begin with, it has stimulated the voluntary supply of allotments. The villagers are usually the slowest and most dumb of human beings. A landowner who has not the philan- thropic instinct, may live for thirty years in his park and never realise that the labourers want more ground. If there has always been ten acres of allotments, the agent and the bailiff are sure to declare that they do not believe the village could do with more, and in this the cottagers will apparently acquiesce. The passing of the Act of 1887 produced, however, an immense advertisement of the need of more allotments. After it had passed, hundreds of squires began to ask themselves seriously : "Is any more land wanted i1"—and to find that there was. What are the actual figures as to the number of allotments granted in this way, cannot, of course, be ascertained ; but the cases that have come under the knowledge of the Committee of the Rural Labourers' League alone amount to 4,500, and comprise over 2,000 acres. If the figures in regard to land supplied through the actual operation of the Act are considered, they are equally remarkable. Upwards of 1,800 men have been supplied with allotments through the direct action of the local authorities. With the assistance of the authorities, arrangements have also been concluded between the applicants and the local landowners under which a further number of 2,100 men have been supplied. In reality, then, the Allotments Act of 1887, instead of being, as the Gladstonians are fond of declaring, utterly worthless and worse than nothing, can be proved to have already assisted between 8,000 and 9,000 men to obtain a piece of land, and in all probability has helped a very much larger number. Considering that the Act has only been in operation two years, this result is satisfactory, and reflects credit on Mr. Jesse Collings and the Liberal Unionists who have supported him. Many men would have argued that it was useless to try and fight the boycotting of the Gladstonian Party. The Rural Labourers' League was, however, deterred by no such fears, and after a sharp struggle, has emerged victorious. They have shown the country voters beyond a doubt that the Unionist Party is not careless of their interests, and that while their opponents found it necessary to abandon the cause of the agricultural labourer in order to attack the -Union, the Unionists were able to defend their position from assault, and yet to - provide real help on the subject which most deeply affects the rural poor.
In addition to the work connected with the carrying-out of the Act of 1887, the Rural Labourers' League does important service in seeing that the provisions of the Allotments Extension Act of 1882 are properly observed. This measure obliges trustees and other owners of charity lands under certain specified conditions to offer portions of their land to the labourers as allotments. As might be ex- pected, however, the trustees, from laziness or ignorance, often fail to comply with the Act; while the labourers, from want of initiative and a lack of energy, still oftener do not make the necessary demands. To remedy this, the Com- mittee of the Rural Labourers' League give advice and assistance to the labourers on the one hand, and on the other call the attention of the Charity Commissioners to any violations of the law that may occur. Again, in cases where the Charity Commissioners are preparing new schemes for the administration of special endow- ments, Mr. Jesse Collings and his colleagues urge the claims of the rural poor. For instance, last year they managed, with the assistance of the Mercers' Company, to get the Charity Commissioners to modify the scheme pro- posed for the Colliers' Free School Trust. Again, at Cleobury Mortimer, the Committee tell us that they have obtained "important concessions, including provision for the practical teaching of agriculture." The Rural Labourers' League is, in fact, doing good work in the interests of the labourers all over England. The little newspaper they support, the Rural World, is full of matter interesting to the cottagers ; and on every side the Society shows not only great activity, but a real desire to help the agricultural labourer, and to raise him to a higher level. If the public gives the League the support it deserves, we cannot doubt that in a very few years' time, as far as the country districts are concerned, England will be free from the disgrace of possessing a class engaged in tilling the soil, and yet entirely divorced from any share in that enjoyment of the land which alone makes agriculture attractive. Up till now, a man might spend his whole life tilling the earth, and yet never know the pleasure of seeing his own crops grow and his own fruit-trees blossom and bear fruit. If the Rural Labourers' League is only allowed fair play, a condition of things so unnatural will henceforth become an impossibility.
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