Mr. W. Fowler on Tuesday moved a resolution that the
laws of entail and settlement prevented the development of the land, and made a very solid speech, the main points of which were these :— A tenant for life cannot spend on the land as an owner can, be- cause he must save money for younger children, and is especially unwilling to spend on cottages which do not pay directly, but only produce an indirect return. This was one main cause of the condition of English cottages, which was admitted on all hands to be a disgrace to the country. In 300 cottages visited by the Bishop of Manchester in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Gloucester, he found only two whose condition was satisfactory. Mr. Read took upon himself the burden of reply, arguing that entails saved small estates from being swallowed up, and denying that settlements injured the labourer, entails being as strict in Northumberland, where the labourers were admitted to be well off, as in any other couittys Mr. Fowler's resolution, however, was only defeated by a majority of 103 to 81.
