Mr. G. Dixon has been doing a novel thing. He
has held a public meeting of agricultural labourers iu Herefordshire, and in- duced them to speak on their grievances. They all spoke sensibly enough, complaining mainly of their wages, which they said were 10s. per week, and of the cost of helping the parish to support their parents, cost from which " the old folk didn't get any bene- fit." They wanted 15s. a week, and security of tenure in their cottages—which at present they must quit if they quit the owner's service—and a bit of land for a cow. The speakers all regarded the state of affairs as quite natural, and looked to emi- gration as the only means of escape. Give those fellows educa- tion enough to save a ten-pound note out of " beer and bacon," and how many of them will be left in Herefordshire ? Or, if they stay, the tenure of land will have to be radically reformed.
Previous page
