ould distrain for six years' rent, now he can distrain only for the
rent of one year, and he is required to give the tenant twelve instead
of six months' notice to quit. The tenant is therefore more secure than
formerly in the possession of his farm and in spending money and labor
in making improvements that will render it more productive. Other
changes are proposed, which will give him still more rights, greater
freedom in the management of the farm, and additional encouragement to
adopt the best methods of farming and invest his labor and money in
improvements. Many of the land reformers advocate the adoption of
measures similar to those that have been enacted for Ireland. It has for
some time been one of the declared purposes of the Farmers' Alliance to
secure a system of judicial rents for the tenant farmers of England. An
important conference lately held at Aberdeen and participated in by
representatives of both the English and Scottish Farmers' Alliances
adopted an outline of a land bill for England and Scotland, providing
for the establishment of a land court, fixing fair rents, fuller
compensation for improvements, and the free sale of the tenant's
interests.

The wretched condition of the dwellings of the agricultural laborers in
many parts of the country has attracted much attention, and plans for
bettering their condition have frequently been urged. Lately the
interest in the subject has increased, prominent statesmen on both sides
having espoused the cause. In view of the political power which the
recent extension of the suffrage has given to the agricultural laborers,
there is a general expectation that a measure will shortly be enacted
requiring the owner or occupier of the farm to give each laborer a plot
of ground "of a size that he and his family can cultivate without
impairing his efficiency as a wage-earner," at a rent fixed by
arbitration, and providing for a loan of money by the state for the
erection of a proper dwelling. The provisions of the Irish Land Act and
its amendment relating to laborers' cottages and allotments suggest the
lines along which legislation for the improvement of laborers' dwellings
in England and Scotland is likely to proceed.

Then there is the scheme for nationalizing the land, the state paying
the present owners no compensation, or a very small amount, and assuming
the chief functions now exercised by the landlords. No statesman has yet
ventured to advocate this scheme, b