Sir Thomas Acland, in an address to his allotment-holders at
Broadclyst, on Saturday last, gave us a good illustration of what a good landlord can do to identify the interests of labourers and very small farmers with the land by which they live. There are but 440 householders in Broadclyst, and Sir Thomas Acland only owns about half the parish in which these 440 householders live ; yet he provides 300 of the 410 householders of Broadclyst with patches of land out of his own half of the parish, though near nine hundred acres out of his half are taken up with wood- land. His net receipt from these allotments—after paying tithe, Income-tax, poor-rate, repairs, and expense of collection, —is about £1 9s. per acre, and lie congratulated his allotment tenants on Saturday on the punctuality with which their rents were paid. The allotments are held by 170 agricultural labourers, 48 mechanics, 6 tradesmen, 10 gardeners, and 10 other persons, some of them widows. Sir Thomas, who, as a newly-made Privy Councillor, speaks with authority, gave his allotment-holders a little insight into the working of the British Constitution, together with some admirable advice as to the way in which they should use their suffrage, so soon as they acquire it,—especially warning them of the unpractical nature of such schemes for the nationalisation of the land as are pro- posed by Mr. Henry George ; bat we doubt whether any advice is so likely to keep them straight as that sense of having a bit of land to do their duty to, which he has secured for them.
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