GOOD ESTATE MANAGEMENT

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ordinary observer the general conditions of the countryside remain much what they were. In the district best known to the writer, an area roughly twenty miles in length and breadth, two of the principal estates (one of them comprising 9000 acres) have come under the hammer, and the farms are now in the hands of owner-occupiers. But at least twenty-five other estates remain in the hands of private owners, and-what is more remarkable-most of them are resident owners. In some cases land has been bought by new-comers whose wealth is derived from other sources. No doubt a similar state of things would be reported from other counties. In the history of the countryside this sort of displacement is nothing new-it occurred after the Norman Conquest, after the Wars of the Roses, and again in the 18th century-but the continuity of land tenure remained unbroken.

It is sometimes said that, apart from the burdens on an agricultural property, the restrictions upon ownership imposed by successive Agricultural Holdings Acts are such that there is no longer any inducement for a landowner to retain or acquire more land than he intends to occupy himself. It is now almost impossible to terminate an agricultural tenancy, except for bad farming or on the death of the tenant, without paying the equivalent of at least a year's rent as compensation for unreasonable disturbance': this is often described as the beginning of dual ownership. It is open to the landlord or the tenant to demand an arbitration as to the proper rent to be paid for the holding: this is said to foreshadow a Rent Court. If a landlord of the socalled Golden Age of British Agriculture, which followed the Napoleonic Wars, were to return to see how the family estates were faring to-day, he would no doubt be shocked to find that he could no longer prescribe a system of cropping for his tenants; that they were entitled to sell their hay and straw, and to kill rabbits or hares; that he must compensate them for damage done to their crops by game; that he could not give notice to quit to an undesirable tenant-a drunkard or a profligate-without compensating him for unreasonable disturbance; and that any tenant on the estate could require him to carry out, or render himself liable to

compensation for various improvements, and either to submit to the decision of an arbitrator with regard to a fair rent for the holding, or render himself liable to payment of a year's rent as compensation should the tenant elect to leave.

But it will occur to his grandson, the present owner of the family estates, that the net result of these legal enactments compels him to do no more than he was already prepared to do, as a fair-minded landlord who moved with the times. In some respects he gains, for the obligations of a tenant are now legally defined, as well as those of the landlord. The tenant whose only idea of meeting his difficulties is to demand a reduction of rent can properly be referred to the panel arbitrator, and the landlord need not feel under the same obligation to endure an incompetent tenant because his grandfather was a good fellow. He will certainly discover that most of his tenants are surprisingly indifferent to the benefits conferred on them by legislation, and are prepared to meet him in any difficulty in the same spirit of mutual forbearance that obtained before the days of Agricultural Holdings Acts. Perhaps the ownership of land no longer carries the prestige which it did a century ago, but it still creates a relationship of special value between the landowner and his country neighbours. And though figures are frequently cited to prove that land under modern conditions can scarcely be regarded as a 3 per cent. investment, many have discovered to their cost that a higher yield is not infrequently the prelude to a loss of capital. The real obstacle to the survival of the landowner as such is the increase of taxation, particularly of the death duties. In a recent letter to the Times,' Mr Francis Acland has instanced an estate upon which the probate duty in 1879 would have been about 2000l. In 1899, on a change of ownership, the duties actually paid were about 30,000l., increased on another change in 1919 to 130,000l. on a considerably diminished estate. Lord Aberdeen, in his book, 'We Twa,' states that, when he succeeded to the Haddo Estate in 1870, the total imperial and local taxation was 8007.: in 1919 on the same estate it was 19,000Z.

Despite these startling figures, the fact remains that people continue to own estates, and-even more sur

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prising-continue to purchase estates. And if it is admitted that all deserve well of their country who conscientiously continue to carry out obligations which must otherwise be assumed by the State, it is worth considering how they can best play their part in the changed circumstances resulting from the war. For though it is generally conceded that the agricultural landlords have done creditably in the past, there is no reason why they should not do even better in the present critical period.

Hitherto the expression 'a good landlord' has too frequently suggested a noble extravagance-it conveys a picture of good farm buildings, low rents, and generous allowances; expensive improvements on the estate, a model home farm, liberal subscriptions for all purposes, good port for the neighbours, and good beer for every one. In a few favoured cases the type may still survive, and has been picturesquely if inaccurately described as the last ditch of the feudal system. This is magnificent, but not estate management. To-day it is a very doubtful benefit to the countryside, for it sets an uneconomic and impossible standard. If the ownership of land can only be carried on upon these lines, the days of the private landowner are indeed numbered.

The pinch of circumstances has impelled the vast majority of landowners to depart from this generous though mistaken tradition; and they may find consolation in reflecting that agriculture probably gains more from business methods applied to estate management than from an indiscriminate liberality. It is a constant reproach against the farmer that he is too conservative in his methods, and for his landlord, too, the time may well have come to recast some of his ideas on estate management. Already experience has shown that surprising financial results may be achieved by estate management on economic lines.

Clearly the first necessity for the reforming landlord is that the agency should be good-if the staff work is bad the whole plan of campaign is frustrated. Under normal conditions the estate office, whatever form it may take, must be the directing power for economies, improvements, and judicious administration: this applies whether the landowner is his own estate office, or

delegates the whole or part of his authority. Land agency, formerly regarded as the happy hunting ground of the amateur, is now a serious profession. Both the Surveyors' Institute and the Land Agents' Society have established qualifying examinations, so that the landowner can be satisfied that any agent who holds these qualifications has at least mastered the technicalities of a profession which requires technical knowledge. This is an undoubted advance on the old idea that the landowner should be represented by a good fellow or a good sportsman, without technical qualifications, who should presumably accumulate his experience at the expense of the estate. At present there is no lack of competent and qualified land agents. It is, however, sometimes difficult for the owner of a small estate to decide on the system of administration to be adopted. A first-class estate agent commands-or should command-a first-class salary, which will make the overhead charges for the ordinary 3000-acre property too high; nor will the duties entailed by such an estate keep a first-class man fully employed. Various alternatives may be adopted in such a case, according to the circumstances or inclinations of the particular owner. He may have sufficient knowledge himself to depend on a young agent, with the necessary technical knowledge, but without experience; he may combine with a neighbouring landowner to employ a first-class agent, or he may entrust the management to a good firm of agents, which is able to employ suitable experts in every branch owing to the extent of their business. The whole problem has been immensely simplified by the advent of the motor-car and the motor-bicycle. It is believed that the Country Gentlemen's Association, as well as several well-known firms of land agents, is prepared to undertake the management of estates in any part of the country at a fixed percentage on the rental. This provides every landowner with a means of ascertaining whether his present system is economical or the reverse. If the cost of management exceeds 5 per cent. of the gross rental, there is at least a case for inquiry.

Needless to state there is no form of economy more false than cheap incompetence in the estate office. Many owners must have discovered that a competent

agent can always save far more for his employer than the amount of his additional salary. The mass of legislative enactments affecting land has made it essential that the agent should have a technical knowledge of rating, taxation, tithe, insurance, and the various measures affecting the relations of landlord and tenant. Under any of these headings there may be a direct gain or loss in hard cash. Even more considerable are the indirect gains or losses from good administration. It may also be noted that the business of estate management has now been so developed, and admits of such flexibility, that the owner can do as much or as little as he likes himself, without being stigmatised as an idie landlord, and without detriment to the estate, provided that he adapts his system to his particular case. If other duties prevent him from devoting his personal attention to it, he may nevertheless ensure that the management is just as effective as if he were resident on the estate.

A pre-war estimate of the normal expenditure on repairs, insurance, and management on an agricultural estate is in the region of 35 per cent. of the rental, the greater part of which is of course absorbed under the heading of maintenance and repairs. Since the war the average proportion of the rental expended on maintenance must be higher, in view of the abnormal increase in cost of practically all building materials, the rise in wages, and the reduction of working hours. Here again, as in the case of agency, there is no absolutely best system for the landowner to adopt. He can choose between various alternatives, according to his inclinations or local circumstances. On a good-sized estate, lying in a ring fence, a small permanent staff can be satisfactorily employed under a clerk of works or working foreman. In other cases it may be preferable to employ local builders, who appreciate the fact that so long as their work is well done at a reasonable price the estate will provide them with a certain annual revenue and cash payments. One landowner may prefer to charge high rents, on the understanding that all repairs are carried out for his tenants, and that they are involved in no expense whatever on this account Another may believe that his tenants will take a more