The Express.
London, England, 1848-06-01 00:00:00

BAD BALL ESTATIII.--111 reply to 11111111KOWIllipliCatiOTIN,
I have only to state that there is not in England soil of a
finer description, a more healthy situation, or delightful
spot than the orate above named, and I beg to &pure those
parties who are inclined to purchase, that if I was not con-
vinced of the capability of two acres of its soil supporting a
man with an aver age family, and repaying him the pur-
chase money in leer than five years, I would not undertake
the office of auctioneer. Many persona ask me to state the
price at which the land will be sold ; but t►at I cannot un-
dertake to do. Suffice it to say, that in the immediate
neighbourhood land of an inferior quality lets at a rent
varying from 221 to 301. per acre.
This " Red Hall estate" is, as we gathered from an
advettisement in the same paper, a property which
souse gentleman patriotically proposes to dispose of
by auction, in two, three, and five-acre lots, under Mr.
(Yetis NOR'S auspices, upon the assumed rental of 51
an acre Mr. O'Cos NOR is to be the auctioneer, and
his land scheme is to form the model. This putting
up land in small lots, to be let by auction to the
highest bidder, is the system which in Ireland pro-
duced such terrible evils. But mark the propositions
on which Mr. O'CoNNOtt founds his invitation to pur-
chasers; he is " convinced of the capability of two
acres of its soil supporting a man with an average
family, and repaying him the purchase money in less
than five years." How the " national bailiff"
has convinced himself of this, would puzzle
any one who has ever had any practical
acquaintance with the management of land, had not
the oracular communication informed the " numerous
applicants " that, " in the immediate neighbourhood
land of an inferior quality lets at a rent varying from
221. to 301. per acre." Here then we have the origin
of Mr. O'Cosnotes conviction; for, if land worth 301.
a year can be had at a rent of 51., representing 1001.
per acre, a very prudent and frugal man might possi-
bly, in five years, pay off his purchase money. But
does any sane man in England, who knows anything
of land, believe that there is the slightest foundation
for Mr. O'Coission's conviction beyond the vagaries of
his own imagination ? Where, and wider what circum-
stances, is land let at " from 221. to 301. per acre ?" It
any such there be, the rent must :be in a great
measure derived from large outlays of capital. Ihe
highest priced land with which we are acquainted is
that used for market gardening near London, and
other great towns, and that does not reach 104 per
acre. Yet such land has for } ears and years bet nso
highly manured and cultivated, that it has attained a
most exuberant fertility, which is only kept up by
yearly outlays of capital upon it, amounting to three
or four times the rent.
But how is a man going upon ordinary land, no
matter how good soever its natural quality may be,
with a capital of 71. 104. an acre, to attain market
garden cultivation ? How can he hope in all reason
to pay even the rent of 41. or .51. per acre, which is
the interest upon the cost of his location, to say
nothing of a surplus towards the redemption of the
capital?
Even in the vi ry paper from which we take the
above golden promise we meet with indications of the
beginning of the end of these over-rented allotment
tenants ; there, after lists of subscriptions to the
" land fund," the " Bank," and so forth, we meet with
these items:—" Subscriptions for lasses at O'Connor-
erne, 4s. 6d.," and " subscriptions for manure at
O'Cunnorville, 7s. 10d. ;" and again, "To purchase
seeds, gift, 4n. 6d.; loan, 11."
O'Connorville is the settlement, near Itickmans-
worth, in Hertfordshire, on which :35 families were
located last year; according to Mr. O'Coss.at's plan, it
is the earliest practical exhibition of it, and some of his
critics say that it has received an undue share of
attention as a show place and sort of rural decoy;
but here we find there are " losses" and urgent
need for " manure and seed," which require to
be supplied by subscription. This is the reproduction
of the Irish system in an English county. And no one
elan doubt that Mr. O'Ctstsoa's allotment tenants
will ere long become periodical objects of local
charity.
On the Hertfordshire allotment, rightly or wrongly
alleged to be the pet settlement, there were last yecr
the most hopeless indications of poverty ; there was
only one cow, and not a dozen pigs amongst the 33
alluttees : few of them had any means of purchasing
manure, and most of them were unaccustomed to
cultivate the land. There was no market for
their produce, and it was quite obvious that they
could only exist by becoming potato eaters and sell-
ing all the corn they could grow to pay tneir rent. It
cannot be too strongly impressed upon our artisan
population that all such representations of profit from
cultivating land as are put forth by Mr. O'Co..:Nott
and his followers are wild, and possibly not altogether
disinterested, delusions.