The passage of the English Small Holdings Bill through the
House of Lords was in the end much less stormy than was expected. Concessions were made on both sides, and it may be said to have passed amidst general congratula- tions. What will be the actual working of the Bill remains to be seen. For ourselves, though we do not believe that it will bring many men back to the country, we trust that it will at any rate keep some there. Our hope is that small holdings may prove useful stepping-stones for the ablest agricultural labourers to rise out of their class. For any real increase in the number of persons living under rural conditions we must, we hold, look to the ruralising of our industries rather than to small holdings. As we have often said, there is no reason in Nature why people who work in a factory should also live in a slum. Quick transport has made the congestion of the industrial population in purely urban areas unnecessary.
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