ose above him in social station
have no means of assisting him. But why cannot the squire step in
and do all that is wanted? What is there that the landowner is not
expected to do? He is compelled by the law to contribute to the
maintenance of roads by heavy subscriptions, while men of much
larger income, but no real property, ride over them free of cost. He
is expected by public opinion to rebuild all the cottages on his
estate, introducing all the modern improvements, to furnish them
with large plots of garden ground, to supply them with coal during
the winter at nominal cost, to pay three parts of the expense of
erecting schools, and what not. He is expected to extend the
farm-buildings upon the farms, to rebuild the farmsteads, and now to
compensate the tenants for improvements, though he may not
particularly care for them, knowing full well by experience that
improvements are a long time before they pay any interest on the
principal invested. Now we expect him to remove all nuisances in the
village, to supply water, to exercise a wise paternal authority, and
all at his own cost. The whole thing is unreasonable. Many
landowners have succeeded to heavily-burdened estates. The best
estates pay, it must be remembered, but a very small comparative
interest upon their value--in some instances not more than two and a
half per cent. Moreover, almost all landowners do take an interest
in improvements, and are ready to forward them; but can a gentleman
be expected to go round from cottage to cottage performing the
duties of an inspector of nuisances? and, if he did so, would it be
tolerated for an instant? The outcry would be raised of
interference, tyranny, overbearing insolence, intolerable intrusion.
It is undoubtedly the landowner's duty to forward all reasonable
schemes of improvement; but if the inhabitants are utterly
indifferent to progress of any kind, it is not his duty to issue an
autocratical ukase. Let the inhabitants combine, in however loose
and informal a manner, and the landowner will always be ready to
assist them with purse and moral support.

Granting, then, that there is at present no such local authority,
and that it is desirable--what are the objects which would come
within its sphere of operation? In an article which had the honour
of appearing in a former number of this magazine,[2] the writer
pointed out that the extension of the allotment system was only
delayed because there was no body or autho