Ultimately the negotiations fell through, owing to a differ- ence
of opinion between two expert valuers, and in the end five:sixths of the Thorney tenants bought their holdings at a fixed price, leaving two-thirds of the purchase-money on mortgage, and will own the land from Lady Day, 1910. Lord Carrington's reply in the Times of Wednesday, and the debate in the Lords on Wednesday, have not in any way impugned the veracity of Mr. Prothero's statement. Lord Onslow hit the nail on the head when he said they owed a deep debt of grati- tude to Lord Carrington for bringing up the case of the Thorney Estate. No example could more clearly show that the great landowners of the country desired to treat their tenants with fairness and equity, and did not seek to obtain even an ordinary return for the capital invested. They had the Duke of Bedford letting his land for a return of 2 per cent., and the Government saying they could not do it without a return of 4 per cent. This could scarcely be regarded as a great encouragement to the nationalisation of land.
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