LIBERAL LAND BILLS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 133, 28 February 1908, Page 7

LIBERAL LAND BILLS.

0- :— SCOTTISH LANDHOLDERS. A PRIVATE BILL IN THE LORDS. LORD ROSEBERY. BY TEIiECHArn—-PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT. London, February 26. In the Houso of Lords, tho Earl of Camperdown's Scottish Small Landholders Bill was read a second timo, despite a remark by tho Earl of Crewe, President of tho Council, that tho Bill was an intentional slight on the House of Commons. ; Lord Rosebery retorted by emphasising tho football-liko' precipitancy with which tho Houso of Commons was sending up tho Government Bill. ■ LORD ROSEBERY AND THE MINISTRY. Lord Rosebery and the present Liberal Government are much at variance over tho Government's Scottish Small Landowners Bill. Speaking recently at a dinner given to his tenantry at Dalnieny, Lord Rosebory. said the past year rank as one of the most disastrous to Scottish agriculture of which they had any record. In addition to the bad season, there had been'an attempt by tho most powerful Government of modern times to remodel the whole system of Scottish agriculture. In tho Houso of Lords the. Bill was advocated as a means for the prevention of the overpopulation of Glasgow, but if the Government wished, to .try experiments of the kind they should'-.do it at .their own cost and übon their own responsibility. Lot them have'as many landlords as they liked; the State had a right to do what it liked in that respect; but tho State, like the individual, should'behave as an honest individual would, and try its. own experiment at its own expense. lie (Lord Rosebery) should not' think that the Government Bill in its Dresent-form would pass, but if it did it was difficult to foresee tho results which would accrue to this'. country. One effect of it was already visible, because no landlords or factors, in their senses .would invest any further money in improvements niltil they saw how they were going : to stand in relation to .the proposed legislation. They had .proved in Parliament by their votes on the, English Bill that' they wished to see small holdings established on a logical and practical, basis,. but . he did not wish; lo sco ,any such Bill as .the Government had proposed passed into law, for the reasons' that ho felt that tho old Scottish friendly ■ relations betweon landlord- and tenant would materially change, that their good'fellowship would disappear, and that they would be plunged shortly into those.discussions-which had'torn Ireland and mado her a subjoct of anxiety,and distress to. this country. ' ■ 1

Tho ' Government . Bill has been 1 ' passed through ;tho House of Commons by the special guillotine procedure devised by the' Government, nnd it is' this that provides ; the! basis'of Lord Rosebery's rotort. , The "Scottish Small Landholders Bill, which has been introduced in the llouso of Lords by Lord Cnmperdown (Liberal Unionist), avoids a Land Court, divided ownership, and other contentious features of the Government's; Scottish. Small Landholders Bill, and'follows the main lines of the Englisif Small Holdings Act of 1907 (which provides for voluntary' or compulsory purchase of' land to be subdivided among small tenants).