The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-07-07

And his face aghAst in deaths dsmayl
O msrciful God take his soul to Thee
In the better land beyond the sea
WHO OWNS GREAT BRITAIN.
WHOLE DISTRICTS IN SCOTLAND DxpoPUIATK,
TO MAKE ROOM FOR GAME PARKS
London June 15-Some years ago. when tn
evils of the land laws and the distribution q
She land in this country were under discussion
John Stuart Mill aud John Blight averret
that less than 80 600 persons owned ali ths
land of Great Beitain and ireland. The nres.
emit Earl of Derby, who is himss slf the owner NJ
% s3a aeres, said he believed there were more
measiy 'ey ooO. and, ct his motion, kind OF
tanning carefully collected returns as to the
ownership of all the land in the kingdom, ex.
cept the metropolitan area of London Tbeaa
returns eho we'd no Iess than I.I73 72I owners
eflsnd, and that s52 43s of these owned lees
than an acre each.
90 lmnense ems areas Of land are lsas.d on terms of
w and s99 years The number of these leases
even OF the latter class, IL simply enormous
strange to say, all leaseholds for more than 80
years year have have been olassed as fsseholds. and Ger
been called freeholds. Thas ls immense num-
oers OF leaseholds have been put down as own.
s,S Srs % ~ sano. & more gross mistske could not
ahip is that the land shall not be under tribute
to any one else: These leases al ways lack this
esensnS OF freehold property, for good round
including houses. no matter if all have been pnt
there at the expense of the tenant, become
nosSius , seiy the property OF the owner Of the
has no legal claim upon them. Msny alms-
houses, asylums, and other charitable or public
corporate bodies have siso been called owners
Of land. This also is manifestly an error
Then, again, most absurdly of ali, each lndi. |
Fidasl owner of Hand has been counted as many t
owns land. Tne Duke of Boooleueh and
QoeensbCry owns land in twelve ooun ties, and
counts twelve owners in the list. The Duke of
Deyonshire Is still more fortunate Many good
would have proved Messrs. Mill and Bright
within the mark when they put the number of
land owners in the kingdom at 80 coo
The great areas of land in this country own.
ca by single individuals are psrslleled in no
other country. Whole towns often pay ground
rent Eh;tsn to one man; ma Rooh6se town in
three mon receive the ground rent from nina | .
Sepths OF the land on which tbe town ie built !
Snemsld mas fully quarter Of q million inha-
oitente. The greater part of the lsuds upon
%nicn It stands belongs to the Duke of Nor
IoIk, ana pays ground rent to his Grace. Such +
.and monopoly is the prevailing rule in town q
ana country every where in the Kingdom Lon. =
Don ts no exception. The vast estates of the II
luxe s or Westminster, the Duke Of Portland. q
Hno Loro H9rtman' in the metropolis, are we'll r
Sireaoy hslf.bnrstinR Golfers. Everywhere b
nero 10 tendency toward the increase of es- | ri
ates, and the small peasant proprietors who h.
lseo 70 be plenty in come parts of the country
re rapidly disappearing.
Parliament does not touch the land question, T
OF peers and oommoners are alike usually
sreat landlords or capitalists themselves. Me-
'rouoe, who Is an advocate of the present sys.
em OF land laws, candidy admits that "the
ne whole area of Great B. tain" so
Frlmogentnre is, of course, very largely to ~ ~
iame ,e for the uDjnst distribution of land &c
treat estates pass undivided and in regular La
esoene from father to son, through many
eneratlons The value of land, especially in d.
no oowpe; is always on the rise, and the in- W
UmeS o. 'nese great landlords are constantly
nnosrs the division of these great estates IT,
ne !ano laws are preposterously intricate and -:
shin of t-ane Sne %o[k Of transferring the own
y indeed. IA English writer, we'll yersed in tb
le land laws of the country says: ar
have known the deed OF settIem ept OF n pl
barrow paper When %sn "Gt near
the and oSaFS to cost over 60
te either the solicitors charges or the cost
The same writer adds: an
No. let nth all this CumbrouS costly and almo.t al
arosy sWF Tss TssS@Ssty @ the title such E
The total area of Eupland and w. or,
odlDg London, is 37,243 8 acres. One msr mr.,
InS me more re- than 1876 397 acres, another moTo "a
a aoS $50 acres, and another more than lO2- AM
acres: Slxty-six persons own An a0graoct,o | Sn S
1.9l1,O76 acres; loo persons own 3 9I7SSI oaI
res %S0 persons own ,425 764 acres. or nSor.
n. Asn Vi England and Wales and 71O Dar- cru
o 1o1 Own one-fourth of all England and WaIes the
SoIyl moderate sized church Would boIS oIi DeI
e ese prinoely lsndIordS. 4U ""lu ali POI
man owps S5s o. SoStand SS Is 10 GAG GA acTes ert
SSS @ @Sores third, 424 900 acres q fourtb i Roi
.sons acre; and fifth, 3O6 900 acres Twelve no
.nt Nv a nearly one-foGrth of Scotland an the
Inty persons have mora than ISo oo0 80. no
=. - SeHenty persons have about Q 400 400 city
sopS SE so2a5 half Of Scotland, and zoo ane
80 s.ss,o no ICES than ui1e-tehshs of the the
N---7t.hAur nowhere n1nn In Ehrf v,1..Ts, o,oV