The Express.
London, England, 1867-01-15 00:00:00

A tonD OP THE SOIL.

The recently published number of the " Royal
Agricultural Society's Journal " contains a most interesting
and well-written prize essay on the " Farming of Leicester-
shire," to some parts of which we shall hereafter draw the
attention of our readers. For the present we refer to an
account given of one of those vast aggregations of land in
the hands of individuals which influence so injuriously
the whole system of land-management in England. The
essavist, in an earlier portion of his paper, states, " That
to the native excellence rather than to any pains bestowed
on their [the pastures] improvement is Leicestershire
indebted for her surpassing fertility, and for the high
rental—prob ioly the highest of any county in the kingdom—
received by her landowners." The Duke of Rutland's
estate extends to " one-sixteenth of the whole county,"
and this account, so far as it goes, is correct, having been
xeived by the writer from the duke's agent. , ' The
estate comprises 39,000 scree, of which about one-half is
strong loam and clay lthepastures of surpassing natural fer-
tilityl, of which the Vale of Bolvoir, on the line, forms the
chief part, about 5,060 acres beyond Leicester being
composed of strong marl and gravel. The remaining half
being about equally between white and red creach '
[soil] upon the coedite and marlstone formations. The farm@
vary from fifty acres to 750 acres • the moregeneral sire is
from two hundred to four hundr'ed acres. the portions in
grass and arable being about equal." Some detail of the
plans of cultivation pursued are then given, about which
there is nothing peculiar.
Here we have an estate producing • clear rental of at
least 80,0001.—more probably. 100,000/.—per annum, com-
prising one-sixteenth of the richest county in England in
the hands of a single man. And be it observed, that it is
only by the laws specially provided for the artificial aggre•
gation of land by means of entails and settlements that
such an unnatural condition of ownership could exist,
fur there arc numerous younger and collateral
branches of the Rutland Manners) family amongst whom
this gigantic mass of property would naturally have been
divided. It may have happened, however, that the poli-
tical influence and power oi the head of the family has
been of great use to the other members in obtaining them
provisions out of the public purse. Of course all the ducal
tenantry hold their farms from year to year. They have
,no formal agreement, but a sort of ukase or memoran-
dum is printed on the backs of the rental receipts given
whenpayments[of rentlare made." This memorandum com-
mences as follows : "Take notice, that the following are the
conditions upon which you rent or hold the land and premises
in your occupation under his Grace the Duke of Rutland."
The provisions are few, simple, and stringent—binding the
tenant to farm in a husbanahke manner, knd to keep the
buildings, fences, gates, posts, drains, &c., in good repair,
not to underlet or break up grass land,—nor to sell hay or
staw. Then, "3. That no trees growing on the premises
will be permitted to be lopped or in anywise injured. 11.
That on your quitting the premises all the manure will be
considered as belonging thereto, and will not be suffered to
be removed therefrom or allowed for. 7. That the game and
right of sporting on such lands is [common English would
have been are '1 reserved to his grace." It is also said the
tenants " are further! protected by a liberal schedule of
allovninces as tenant-right for purchased manure,"
though how such a schedule can co-exist with the 6th condi-
tion, would pu ule tho acumen of legal interpreters of the con-
tract should any litigation arise thereupon. The Rutland
tenants are probably held too well in band ever to dream
of disputing the behest of their lord. As showing the
amount of political influence such a territorial magnate
can wield, by the agency of a subservient tenantry, we
extract the following 185 S there were unler a rental
of r4l. per annum, 759 occupiers ; above Si. and under 10/.,
52 ; lug. anal under 12!., 40 : 12/. and under 151., 49 ; 131.
and under WI.' ; 201.• and under 501., 113 ; 501., 198 ;
Making a total of 1,273 occupiers.—Evonvinist.

We understand that a now political and literary
paper, to be called The Mroairle, will shortly make its
appearance among our weekly contemporaries. Its origin
isdne to persons connected with the late Howe wad Fereige
Review, the principal contributors to which will form
part of its staff. lb politics will be frankly liberal, and its
literary department will include a systematic criticism of
all the leading publications in this country and abroad.
ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INbTITUTION.—His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has signified his in-
tention, through General Eno!lye, to take the chair at the
forthcoming annual meeting of the Royal National Life-
boat Institution, which is expected to take placelabout the
latter part of the ensuing month. The Prince and Prince=
of Wales have always manifested considerable interest
iu the great and national work of the Lifeboat Institution.
On the drat arrival of the princess in her Majesty's yacht,
in Marmite Roads, the lifeboat of the institution on thst
station gave hoe royal highness the earliest welcome to the
shores of England. Again, the Manchester branch of the
institation, ou the representation of the Rev. C. Hewlett
and 31r. Robert Whitworth, received permission from his
royal highness to name one of their nine boats the
Albers Victor, after his eldest son. Since then
that lifeboat has contributed to the saving of
thirty-one shipwrecked persons. The City of Briitol,
through Admiral Tryon, about three years ago pre-
sented to the institution the cost of a lifeboat, and deci led
to name it the Albert Edward, after the Prince of Wales.
The lifeboatwas stationedetPedstow, on the coast of Corn-
wall. Thefollowingwinter,during a fearful midnightstorm,
the Albert Edward was happily the means of saving, under
Providence, seventeen poor fellows from an inevitable
death from the barque Juliet, of Greenock. Her Majesty
the Queen is also a warm friend of the institution, and
sends it every year a subscription of NA Thus this great
and philanthropic society, which last year contributed to
the saving of nearly nine hundred lives from a watery
grave, receives the support and sympathy of all classes of
the community, and is thereby enabled to accomplish sue-
cessfelly and energetically the national work it has un-
dertaken to do on behalf of our shipwrecked sailors.
EXAMINERS OF PRIVATE BILLS.-011Friday next,
the 18th inst., the examination of the petitions on private
bills by the officers of the Hones of Commons will be com-
menced, and continucd, as to the compliance of the stand-
ing orders, until completed. As there are this year only
317 bills, the examination will probably be (concluded
shortly after the commencement of the session on the tab
proximo.
RAILWAY PROJECT"; AND LOCAL Sitis.—Yester-
day was the last to deposit 8 per cent. on railway pro-
jects. and 4 per cent. on other public works, in Chancery,
on 317 undertakings. last year the number was 633.