At a meeting of the Royal Statistical Society, held on
Thursday at the Museum of Geology, Jermyn Street, Mr. Price, the Treasurer of Oriel, gave some very curious figures, drawn from the College accounts, as to the extent of the agricultural depression of the last few years. "The acreage of the College estates amounted to 6,068 acres in 1876-77, and to 6,142 acres in 1891; but the rental had fallen fromI210,472 in 1676-77, to 27,689 in 1890. The broad result of theZdepres- sion was thus a fall of 27 per cent. in the rental accompanying a slight increase in the acreage." Owing, however, to certain changes in tenure, these figures do not represent the full loss of income sustained. Mr. Price mentioned the case of one of the College estates in which two-thirds of the gross rental was intercepted on its way from tenant to landlord in order to meet rates, taxes, repairs, insurance and management charges, 4tc. Dr. Steele showed that Guy's Hospital was even worse off than Oriel. Its income shrank from 241,840 in 1875, to 227,550 in 1891. These figures explain how it is that many landed millionaires, even when they own estates unen- cumbered with jointures and charges, find it difficult to maintain anything like their old scale of expenditure.
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