At the inauguration of the model wooden cottage on the
edge of Merrow Common, near Guildford, on Saturday last, Lord Midleton was the chief speaker. He dwelt upon the need for supplying the demand for cottages in rural districts —for cottages which could be let at reasonable rates—and he endorsed what we have always contended, namely, that in most cases landlords would be quite willing, where they built for themselves, not to include the hire of the land in the rents they asked, but to reckon for rent purposes only the cost of building. This fact makes the landlords a much better agency for obtaining more and cheaper cottages than public bodies. State building in any shape or form is certain to be dear and inefficient. An interesting point made by Lord Midleton is worth special comment. He pointed out that though rural housing may often be exceedingly unsatisfactory in England, we must remember that it is better than in almost any other country in Europe. Anyone who has experience of the houses of the poorer peasantry in Brittany or Normandy, or indeed in any part of France and also in Italy, must agree. We give elsewhere the scheme pro- posed by the owner of the model cottage for encouraging the erection of a model cottage at £100. Undoubtedly if such a cottage can be produced, we shall be getting very near the solution of the problem.
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