The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-03-07 00:00:00

ME AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS' ACT.

Mr. POPE, of the firm of Andrews and Pope then
read the following paper on the above subject :-
MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN, -In bringing this
subject before you for discussion this evening. I must ask
your indulgence, as I regret that I have been unable to
give that time to the careful study of the Act which it
would seem to require. In treating on my subject I think
it might be found, convenient that I shoold, in the first
place, give you a short summary of the Act, drawing your
attention to the more important provisions thereof, and
then, before leaving it in jsmr hands for discussion, I will
make a few remarks on the general bearing of the Act,
more particularly as it effects the interests' of the Tenant
Farmer. By section 2 the Art is nude to continence front
and immediately after the 13th February, 1`.76; it applies
to all lettings of land, front and alter that slate, which are
wholly agricultural or wholly pastoral, or as part agricul-
tural, and as to the residue pastoral. and of more than 2
acres in extent; unless the 1411.11.,n1 or his agent enter
into an axaeeinent with the tenant that the Act shall not
apply to the contract of tenancy, and this agreement can
either be contained in the lease or agreeinent under which
the land is held, or may he embodied in a separate agree-
ment. The Act is also, to • certain extent, retrospective,
as it applies to existing tenancies current on the lith
February, 1876; but onlp in the two cases following, viz. :
le, where the tenancy is from year to year, and 2ndly
where the tenancy is at will, and any of these may be
excepted, if either party within two months from the date
of the commencement of the Act, serves a written notice
on the other that he objects to the Act applying to that
particular holding. Thie avoidance of the operation of
the Act may, at any time before the 11th of April, le
again cancelled by a subsequent notice in writing, and the
Act will then effect the holding in all respecta as if the
former notico had not been given. In all tenancies
created on and after the 14th February, 1876 the landlord
and tenant, whether the landlord be absolute owner of
the holding for his own benefit or not, may in any agree-
meat in writing relating to the holding, adopt by reference
any of the provisions of the Act, without adopting the
whole, and it is enacted that any provision so adopted
shall have effect, in connection with the agreement
accordingly; but there is no provision in the Act whereby
a put only of the Act can be adopted in existing tenancies,
in these cases it must Is the whole or none. For the
benefit of those gentlemen who may be tenants of the
Prince of Wales in this locality, I will mention, that by
Section 47 the Act is made to apply to lands belonging to
the Duchy of Cornwall, and the duly appointed agent of
the Duke of Cornwall shall be deemed to he the landlord,
and may do any Act or thing under the Act which a
landlord is authorised or required to do these under.
Having adverted to the various tenancies to which the
Act applies, we will now pass on to consider the several
cases in which a tenant is, on the termination of his
tenancy, entitled to ceinpensation under the Act; these
are divided into 3 classes. In the first ChM are included
13 kinds of improvements; but all claims for compensa-
tion in respect thereof depend for their ralidity on the
tenant having obtained the previous consent in writing of
his landlord to execute them. The improvements u ester thil
Act are the following. via : drainage of land. erection
or enlargement of buildings, laying down of permanent
pastures, making and planting of osier bode, making of
water meadows and works of imitation, making of gardens,
Making or improving of rain or bradigoA, making or hu-
prov ing of watercounies, ponds ini Ils or roservoirs,or of works
for supply of water for agricultural or domestic purposes
-making of fences, planting of hops, planting of orchards,
reclaiming of waste lauds, and warping of lands. If the
landlonl has given his consent in writing to any or either
of these improvements, previously to the execution
thereof, the tenant will on the termination of his tenancy.
within 21 years from and after the year of the tenancy in
which the outlay thereon was made, acquire a claim for
compensation in respect thereof. The amount of such
compensation is regulated by Section 7, and shall be the
sum properly laid out by the tenant on the improvements.
with a deduction of a proportionate part thereof, for each
year while the tenancy endures, after the year of the
tenancy in which the outlay is made, and while the
improvements continue unexhausted - " but so, that
, where the Landlord, was not at the time a the consent
given, to the execution of the improveilent, absolute
owner of the holding for his own benefit, the amount of
the compensation shall not exceed a capital stun, fairly
representing the addition which the improvement, as far
as it contains unexhaustel at the determination of the
tenancy, then makes to the letting value of the hoisting."
So that a tenant, before he lays out his money in an
improvement of the find chum although with the previous
consent in writing of his landlonl, should be most careful
to ascertain whether such lausllord possesses an absolute,
or only a limited interest in the holding. As in the former
case he is sure of having its unexhausted value repaid
him ; but in the latter it depends on the addition which
the iinproveinent makes to the letting value I ,f the
property; no regard being had to the amount originally
expended. The Act assumes that the improvement, or
the unexhaused portion thereof, shall le given up in goo,'
tenantable repair and condition, and provides for the
deduction from the aiuouunt payable to the tenant for
compensation, of such a sum as may he necessary to put
the improvement into tenantable repair or good condition.
The improvements under the 2nd class are the following,
viz. :-Boning of land with undiasolvel hones, chalking of
land, clay turning, claying of land, liming oh land, and
marling of land. And an improvement under this class
shall be deemed to be unexhausted for a period of seven
yearn; and the amount of compensation in respect thereof,
shall be the sum properly laid out by the tenant on the
improvement, with a deduction of a proportionate part
thereof, for each year while the tenancy endures, after the !
year of tenancy in which the outlay is made, and while
the improvement continues unexhausted. But in order
to entitle a tenant to compensation under this cleat, it
must be shown that not more than 42 and not less than
seven days before beginning to execute it, he gave his
landlord notice in writing of Isis intention no to do, and
where it it executed after a tenant has given or received
notice to quit, that the landlord's consent in writing was
first obtained. The thirst class of improvements consist
of two kinds only, viz. :-Application to land of puninesst
artificial or other purchased manure, and consumption on :
the holding by cattle, sheep, or pigs, of cake or other
feeding stuff not produced on the holding. The right to
compensation for thia class is limited to two years, or the
taking from the portion of the holding on which the
improvement was executed, a crop of corn, potatoes, hay,
or seed, or any other exhausting crop. The outlay under
this third class, during the last year of the tenancy, must

not be larger than the average of the occupiers outlay,
for like purposes during the melt three proceeding
years of the tenancy, or other less number of years
for which the tenancy has endured. And further, the
sem paid in compensation, is to be cut down by the
valee it the manure which wealsl have been produced by
the c meanniation on Use holding of any hay, straw. roots
or are es crops, 6014 off the holding within the last two
year+ of the tenancy or other leas time; except so far as a
presser return of its Inure to the holding has been male in
respect .4 such produres sold off. The tenant's compensa-
tion ender either of the above classes is liable to reduction,
for any tax's, rates or tithe, rent chargesolue in respect
of the hobling anal which the tenant it liable to pay, or
for rent slue in respeet thereof ; Car the valise of any
bensolt the 1111410ra may have allowed the tenant as the
empalerati m for making ties improvement+, awl for the
costs of the repairs thereof, owl for corn pen tation payable
, to the landlord for waste or breach of any covenant by the
tenants. And by Section la, where there is a lease or
agreement, and the landlord commits a breach of any
covenant contained therein. The tenant teas', in his
claim for compentation, include any compensation to
which he may claim to be entitled an respect of such
breach. The right to compensation is the determination
of a tenancy, with the limitations on one side and the
others being thus established, there remains the precedure
Car settling the amount thereof, and when settled for
enforcing payment, should payment be resisted. This I
fear you will final far from interestina I will therefore
only draw your attention to Section 20 of the Act which
provides for the giving, by the tenant to the land-
lord or hi. agent, of one calendar months notice in
writing, before the determination of his tenancy, of his
intention to claim compensation for unexhaustecl improve-
ments under the Art, sorb notice to contain as full
particulars as he can give, of the improvements for which
he claims compensation; and under the same Section the
landlord may at any time before the tenancy determines,
or within 14 days thereafter, give a counter.notiee in
writing to the tenant of his intention to make a claim
for compensation tinier the Act., and in such uotice he
must specify the particulars in respect of which he claims
compensation. If the parties having thus stated their
respective claims cannot agree on the amount, anal mode,
and tialo of payment, their differences must he sealed by
a reference under the Act. Full privision is made by the
It!rd and following Sections, for the appointment of •
referee or referees.. and in case they do not agree of an
umpire, for appeal. to the County Courts, for the enforce-
ment of the awara when made, and for payment of the
ant, attending the reference. A very important clause of
the Act is Section 51 which relates to notices to quit; it
providea that where half a year's notice, expiring with a
year of tenancy, it by law necessary and suflicient, for the
determination of a tenancy froas ye Sr to year, a year's
notice so expirina shall by virtue of the Art let neceatary
and seallaient for the same, but that nothing in soeh
Ssation, I shall exterel to a case where tho tenant is
&Beatles' bankrupt or has tiled a petition for competition
or an arrangement with his creditors. Unaler this Section
therefore a tenant fr.', • to year, who enters at
toss before the dose ate has to quit instead of the
bus,.efore as formerly, bets therefore secure in his
holding for the first two years, and should his landlord
allow the Michaelmas quarter day to paps without giving
notice, he is practically secure in his tenancy for another
two years, and so on from year to year. Be Suction 52,
landlords in general, al...salute as well as limited. aaptire
a power of the greatest importance. For the anarpose of
improvements they may, in case of tenancies froan year
to year, serve a notice to quit • particsaar part of the
holding without incurring any obligation to resume
no...ease-an of the whole. Such notice to quit must he •
years' notice expiring with a year of tenancy, and must
state the improvement intended, and the tenant is then
entitled to have a reduction of bit rent, in respect of the
part to he given up, settled as in an ordinary claim for
compensation. The improvements in respect of which
thi+ power is given are of eight classes, via—The erection
of tants labourers' cottages or other house,; the allotment
for labourers of land for gardens and other purposes; Use
planting of trees; the opening of mines, quarries, and
clay, sand, or gravel suits; the obtaining of brick, earth,
gravel, or sand; the making of • watercourse or reservoir;
the making of any cowl, tramway, siding, canal or basin,
or any wharf, pier or other work connected therewsth.
If the tenant is of opinion that taking such land will be
Prelndicial to him, or if he prefers giving up the entire .
holding, Ise may, within 29 days after receiving the notice
to quit any particular part thereof, serve his landlord
with a notice in writing, to the effect that he accepts the
same se • notice to quit the entire holding, to take effect
at the expiration of the then current year of the tenancy
—and the notice to quit shall have effect accordingly. An
important provision of the act is that relating to
agricultural fixtures, put up by the tenant, and it gives
the property in these awl the right to remove them, sub-
ject to certain instructions, to the tenant. The fiatiare,
however, must not he one for which he would be entitled
to conapenaatism under the act, nor must it have been
&need in pursuance of an obligation in that behalf, nor
to replace seine fixture belonging to the landlord. Before
a tenant is entitled to remove any such fixture, he must
give a months previous notice in writing to his landlord
of his intention so to do, and his landlord may have the
right of purchasing any such fixture at its fair value. If
the landlord does not elict so to do, the tenant, provided
he haat paid all rent due, awl 'satisfied all of there obliga-
tion. to the landlord in respect of his holding, may remove
the aaano—but in ato saline he is not to do any avoidable
damage, iinsl immediately after securing any such fixture,
he must snake good all damage occasioned to any building
or other part of toe holding by such removal. The act it
appears does Hot apply in the case of a steam engine,
previous. to the ereetion of which the consent in writing
of the landlord should he obtained. Such, gentlemen, are
the principal provisions ef the Agricultural Holdings Act,
14r.4 which act, notwithstanding its many aspects, should
I think be welanned by the tenant farmer, as being an
authoritative recognition of a great and vital principle,
WO with which I am sure, every Iran of sense and honour
will agree, awl that it, that thom who lay out their
~,,, ney shoal receive bark its value, awl that the tenant,
in the matter of unexhausted improvements., should he
fully compenaatel for all that he Is;., expended. And
now gentlemen. I will, with the rad( of trespassing too
long upon your time, make a few remarks on the general
tesariug of the act, and that more particularly as it effects
the interests of the tenant fannert. The act, since it was
paisaal on the 13th August last, has been continually
miler disews-ion, anal if tane may jsiage from the many
aebates which have appeared thereon, it seems to
have far more enemies than friensla and this,
chiefly on ace aunt of it. permissive character; hut for my
part I am inclined to be friendaysdispoted towaras it, nor
should I object so much to these oft-abused sections 54
awl 55. The .tct was net require/ as aasinst the bulk of
the landlords in this country, the majority of whom have
lona since, lay special agreement between themselves ansl
their tenants, allowed such Chillia as are secured by the
Act; but to protect the tenant farmer against the grasp-
ing and "leta" landlord. Perhaps you would like to hear
the definition of • "had" landlord? Well, I will give it
you, in the words of one of the hest landlords and largest
holders in this county—l mean Lord Alington. lie says
" heal" landlord—and there are plenty of them going—
is one who in the first place lets his farms by tender, and
that, he abls, is yen low form: secondly, he calls a "bad"
landlord a Man who allows his farm—his tenant's (anus—
to be eaten up by hares and rabbits; and he calls a
landlord a man who, when he has got a goal tenant, and
after that tenant has laid out a large sum of money upon
his farm, takes that opportunity either of raising his rent
Sr turning hint out. Now the Agricultural Roldiags Act
was passed to prevent all this ; and had the Act interfered
with freedom of contract, I am satisflesl that it would
have jeopardised, if not destroyed, that kindly feeling
which has hitherto existed between by far the suajor Dart
of the landlords in this country and their tenantry. Then
again, fleeing that the Act applies Imperatively where
agreements between landlords and tenants are oral or
unwritten, else effect of such a provision will doubtless he
ti itiduce landlords awl tenants to come together, to
frame agreements on a liberal basis, and these agreements
again will lead ti the granting of long leases, with liberal
aovenanta, which are so desirable and out much to the
.I,am:we of both landlord 11041 tenant, awl which you
will remember I so strongly advocates, Us this room, in
my parer on the " Different Tenures of Agricultural
Lands, now some seven or eight years since. The tenant
:Inuit have some inducement to lay out his money on the
anal 1101110 guarantee that it will be returned to him
again with reatonatale profit, and this he gets under • long
anal liberal lease. If through the operation of the Act,
long and liberal leases Omuta become the rule and not the
exception, a benefit of • me importance will have
been conferred on the agricultural interest Nor must
we lose sight of the benefit conferred lay sec. Ton land-
lords having only a tel interest in their holdings, and
through them to their tenants; lay this section power is
given to such lanalords to bind their successors to snake
compensation to the rich tenant, who is willing to take
their land and lay out large sums of money in the im-
provement thereof. without looking for an immediate
return. I know that many of my hearers will differ with
me in what I have %lid in defence ot Use Act, but to these
I would say, did you ever sees perfect Act of Parliament?
An,! I would retnind them that it is far easier to pull an
Act to pieces than to reconstnict it. True, the Act has
many defects, but as time goes on these defects will
reveal themselves, and in slue course they can be remedied
in a bill which may be generally approved by the whole
country. You will then look back on the Agricultural
Holdings Act, 1575, as the forerunner of one which will
give to the tenant fanner an absolute security for capital
judiciously laid out by him in the improvement of his
holdings. Awl now, gentlemen, I leave the subject in
your hands, sincerely thanking you for the kind consider-
ation with which you have heard me.
The CHAIRMAN remarked they had had the pleasure
of listening to is very able exposition of the Act from
a lawyer's point of view; he hoped they would also
have the benefit lif hearing a farmer's opinion upon
it.

Mr. CHAPMAN SAUNDCKS remarked the Act was to a
certain extent of a permissive character, and Wal in-
tended am a guide ; and he had no doubt that, although
eventually many rwslifications would be male in it,
they would still have to refer back to it. He con-
gratulated Mr. Pope upon his paper. and thought the
and comments contained therein sensible and to
the point. He had no doubt in the world it would do
a great deal of good an a .art of rtarnlard for tho,e
people who made their own tmatracts but he thought
it was rather framed for had lawlloribi than perhaps
for others. _

...„
Mr. confessed that the more he learnt of
the Act and the more he studied it the less he was
satisfied with it, and he believed that was the general
feeling —(hear, bear). He found in all parts of the
country gentlemen cmtracting themselves out of the
Act. One f their largest landowners a tenant had
assured him since he had been in the room had done
so. The landowners, therefore, it was plain did not
think very highly of it, and with the tenants he knew
it was the exception. He gave the legislature all
credit for having done something ; but the question
MIA what would he the result of what they had done.
With regard to improvements running for 20 years, he
could not help thinking the landlords were asking
their tenants to invest money of which they were
never to see the value. It was dependant upon the
valuers being of the same opinion at the end of :ff/
years as they were at the beginning. Now, it was a
fair supposition that the original valuers might die in
that time and men appointed in their place who would
have very different views. Indessl he looked upoi the
Act as most unreasonable. If it were the duty f any
one to make permanent impnivements it was the duty
,4 the landlonls--lhear, hear). Who would invest his
money upon another man's land for much a length of
tenure as registered by the Act? With regard to
chalking, he could see nothing but what might be
I,rovide.l for by contract between owner and ,iccupier.
Re regarded it generally as moat unfair to the occupier.
Let them compare it with the tenant right in existence
in this county with the Stun-tenant right and he
believed they would agree with him it was an illusion
and a snare, awl that it would be found so if a man
entered' into it without first consulting • solicitor. The
system adopted in some parts of the county, he thought,
infinitely better—a V.v., years' notice, give and take,
and the Sturt-tenant right With regard to tenazt.
right, he believed it was to their positive advantage to
keep up the cultivation of the land in every way if
they were compensated for it on leaving; and he be.
lieved the incoming tenant would better by having to
pay :10 per cent. for it if it had been puliciously laid
out. lie believed with Mr. Pope that it might become
A valuable Act if it was made general, but that it
would never be; it was virtually a dead letter. To
the legal gentlemen it might prove a great boon
laughter) -hut for the benefit of the lamUord and
tenant it was valueless.
Mr. t. W. House looked at the Act from two
p0int...14 view. The first —the principle to which it
tended ; and the second, its value as applied. In the
61.4 place he cmisidered there were three interests in
the land to be consulted —the owner, the occupier, and
those who, to a great extent, had to depend upon it for
their daily food. The public, as be understood the Act.

it did not in any way interfere with—the last named
of the three • and he did not think there would arias
in the country any desire on the part of the public to
interfere with the land as long am food waa introduced
at a reasonable c.,st. The act, therefore, became a
matter between the owner and the occupier, Now he
believed as it afforded facilities, for owners or
uccupiere to contract themselves lout of it it WM
Intended only to apply to cases where, from oversight,
parties might have neglected to make proper a
meats for themselves; and in that way he considered
It would be very useful. No one could be long
acquainted with agriculture without becoming ac-
quainted with cases of great injustice which had arisen
from the le at h of some good and well-known landlord,
in whom n his tenants had put their trust, and upon
whose land they had continued to lay out large mums ,
of money with the full conviction that they were
perfectly safe in so doing; but, too often was the
result in many came, that the property passed into
other hands, and the new owner looked at matters in
a very different light Where they came to the
practical application of tha Act it reminded him some-
what of the fable of the mountain and the mouse ' • for,
after being talked about a great deal, and having been
made a great stir about in the country, it had turned
out a Bill very email in proportion to the require-
ments of the occupiers of the country. Gool landlords
did not want it; and bad landlords would not have
it !—(cheers)--and then but a very limited number are
left who could come between the two and be affected
by it. At the IMMO time he believed there were many
portions of it which would tend to form • just agree-
ment between landlord and tenant; and men not
acquainted with the law might in haste contract them-
selves out of it; but, when it became better known
and had been modified it would form • basis of a
measure that which would ultimately regulate nearly
the whole of the tenantcies of the country. It would
be a grand thing if all tenantcies could be brought to
an universal basis, and probably this Act was a step
in that direction. The tenant had now some protec-
tion which custom gave him, and he believed the
result this legislation wonld he, that he would he
benefited in the end. A great portion of it he did not
believe WOW(' work, for much depended upon the views
taken by the valuers Very great powers are left in
their hands, and after a few cases had heen decided,
landlord,, and tenants would be enabled to judge
whether the Act affected their intereste or not. At
the same time he believed they would allow the
Act to be the foundation of legislation in the right
direction.
_ _

Mr. R. N. HOWARD considered the measure in
question one of the most silly and childish which they
could well have had presented to them. He could not
imagine how 600 and odd men could meet together
and attempt to pass as an Act that which if they paid
a barrister 20 guineas for would have been an
equivalently well done in the shape of a lease. It.
thought it both an limit to the landowner and the
tenant, treating them as if they did not know what
they ought to do. It was not I minded on any English
principle; it could dlo no good in any shape or form,
but, on the contrary, was insulting to everybody
whom it attempted to effect—(applause).
After some discussion Mr. Tope replied to the
various observations which had been made, and a vote
of thanks to that gentleman, proposed by Mr. C.
Saunders and Mr. R. N. lloward, concluded the
business of the meeting.