The evidence given before the Welsh Land Commission by Mr.
Ellis on Friday week was, in fact, an attempt to state the case for abolition of freedom of contract in Wales, and with this we hope to be able to deal in detail next week. Mention must also be made of the very curious evidence tendered by Mr. Pritchard on Tuesday in regard to the state of the land question in Anglesey. Mr. Pritchard, who is a magis- trate, a barrister, a farmer of his own freehold of one hundred acres, an ex-Bank manager, and a Wesleyan, divided the landowners with tenants into two classes, A and B. In A he placed the large owners, who were Church- men and Conservatives ; in B the smaller owners, who were Nonconformists and Liberals. " The distinguishing feature of Class A [we quote from the full and scrupu- lously fair report of the Manchester Guardian] was that they charged 75 per cent. less than Class B, putting it mildly. The best proof was that when any member of Class A sold and one of Class B bought, the rent was immediately raised. When Class B sold and Class A bought, which rarely happened now, and which used to happen frequently, the buyers reduced the rent as a rule." If a Land Court were estab- lished, and the standard of Class A were taken, " it would be absolutely ruinous to Class B landlords," while if the standard of Class B were adopted, it would do irreparable mischief to the tenants of Class A landlords. Mr. Pritchard ended by telling the Commissioners lhat they would be surprised if he told them the total amount of the deposits of the tenant-farmers of the island. The evidence was most striking; but it must in justice be mentioned that the facts are denied, and that the witness, though he offered to give the names and details on which he relied to the Commissioners, would not state them publicly.
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