The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-07-10

Who Owns England, Wales and Scot.
land.


Some years ago, when the evils of the land
laws and distribution of the land in this
country were under discussion, John Stuart
Mill and John Bright averred that less than
80 900 persons owned all the land OF Great
Britain and Ireland. The present earl of
Derby, who is himself the owner of 65,sS4
acres. said he believed there we're more near
ly 900, and at his motion a kind of mod
ern 'Domesday Book was prepared, con-
tanning carefully collected returns as to the
ownership of all the land in the kingdom,
except the metropolitan area of London.
These returns showed 90 less than j, l73, 724
owners of land, and that $50, ABS OF these
owned less than an acre each.
Immense areas of land are leased on terms
of 80 and 500 years The number of these
leases, even of the latter class is simply
enormous. Strange to say, all leaseholds for
more than 80 years have been classed as free
hold, and certain classes of leases for only 80
years, have also been called freeholds. That
is, immense numbers of leasehold have been
put down as owners of land. A more gross
mistake could not well be made. The essen
tial feature of ownership is that the land
shall not be under tribute to any one else.
These leases always lack this element of free
hold property, for good rent is always paid.
More than that, all fixtures, including houses,
no matter if all have been put there at
the expense of the tenant, become alb
solutely the property of the owner Of
tenant has no legal claim upon them. Many
almshouses. asyiums and other charitable or
public corporate bodies have also been
called owners of land. This also is mani
testify an error. Then, again, most absurdly
OF all, each individual owner of land has
been counted as many times as the number
of counties in which he owns land. The
duke of Buccleugh and Queensbury owns
land in twelve counties, and counts twelve
owners in the list. The duke of Devonshire
is still more fortunate, for he counts for just
fourteen owners of land. Many good au-
thorities believe that a Just calculation
would have proved Messrs. Mill and Bright
within the mark when they put the num-
| Der of land owners in the kingdom at 80 600.
The great areas of land in this country
owned by single individuals are paralleled
in no other country. Whole towns often
| pay ground rent to one man. Rochdale, a
town of 10000 inhabitants, has very little
| freehold land, and three men receive ground
/ rent from about nine-tenths of the land on
which the town is built. Sheffield has fully
a quarter of a million inhabitants The
greater part of the lands upon which it
/ stands belongs to the duke of Norfolk, and
| pays ground rent to his grace. Such land
monopoly is the prevailing rule in town and
/ country everywhere in the kingdom. Lon
( don is no exception. The vast estates of the
duke of Westminster, the duke of Portland,
and Lord Portman, in the metropolis, are
\ into their already half-bursting Golfers. Ev-
erywhere there is tendency toward the in
crease of estates, and the small peasant pro-
prietors, who used to be plenty in some
parts of the country are rapidly disappear
/ Ing.
| Parliament does not touch the land ques-
| tion for peers and commOners are alike usu-
! ally greatlandlords or capitalists themselves.
/ Mr.. Froude, who is an advocate of the pres
/ ent system OF land laws, candidly admits
that ''Ihe house of lords does own more than
| third of the whole area of Great Britain"
Prlmogeniture is, of course, very largely
| to blame for the unjust distribution or land.
Great estates pass undivided and in regular
| descent from father TO son, through many
/ generations. The value of the land, espe-
cially in the towns, is always On the rise,
and the incomes of these great landlords are
constantly growing. But primogeniture is
/ not all that binders the division of these
great estates. The land laws are preposter-
/ ously intricate and clumsy, and the work OF
| transferring the ownership of a tract of land
is very serious matter indeed. An English
| writer, well versed in the land laws of the
! country, says
Il have known the deed of settlement of
/ one estate to require many months for its
preparation; to cover nearly barrow load
/ of paper when written out preparatory to
being engrossed on parchment aud to cost
over f40G (or about 2,000) for the convey
ancer's charges alone, without reckoning
either the solicitors charges or the cost of
! the necessary stamps"
The same writer adds:
"And yet, with all this cumbrous, costly
and almost unlntelligible verbosity, the title 3.
of such an estate is scarcely ever free from
| some doubt or question"
The total area of England and Wales not
| including London, is 81, 244, $50 acres. One
man owns more than 1856 397 acres, another
more than 1872 996 acres. and another more
than 102, 7S5 acres. Sixty six persons own
an aggregate OF ,917 076 acres; 100 persons
own 1917, GAL acres; $50 persons own 5,425-
! 764 acres, or nearly a sixth of England and
Wales, and 10 persons own one-fourth OF all
England and Wales. A very moderate sized
church would hold ali the sc princely land
lords.
The total area of Scotland is 1916 694
acres. One man owns 1.35S, 425 acres; a sec
ond owns 43l, 900 acres; third 424, 0acres;
a fourth 373 600 acres. and fifth BOG 600
acres. Twelve persons own nearly one
fourth of Scotland, and 20 persons have
more than 120, 900 acres each. Seventy per-
sons have about 8, 400, 600 acres or about one
half of Scotland, and /, 200 persons own no
less than nine-tenths of the whole of Scot
land. Nowhere else IN the whole kingdom
have the small peasant proprietors suffered
as badly as here. Whole districts have been
almost depopulated to make room for game
parks and where hundreds OF thousand of
sheep used TO feed only deer are kept.
The area of Ireland is 20, 159 67S acres. One
person owns 10. 119 acres; three persons
own more than 100, 600 acres each; fourteen
persons own more than $4,000 acres each;
ninety persons own more than 20 600 acres
each; and 1876 own more than 10000 acres
each. Seven hundred and forty-four per-
sons own 512,72S acres, or nearly half the
entire island.
In the whole united kingdom eight per-
sons own more than 800 600 acres each and
no less than Al persons own more than 1000
acres each. | give the number Of acres held
by few of the largest owners:
Duke of Switzerland 35S 425 acres
Duke of Buccleugh and Queens
4j9 260 acres
Sir James Matheson ............-... 406,070 acres
Earl of Breadalbane. 372729 acres
Earl OF Seafiel 305,S9l acres.
Duke of Rchm0nd.-................... 6iU7 acres
Earl of 257 $50 acres
Alexander Matheson go, 1913 acres
Duke OF AthOl GO