§ Order for Second Reading read.
§ MR. ARTHUR ARNOLDsaid, the object of the Bill was to settle an estate of 4,000 acres for a term of 1,000 years, in order that an estate, already heavily encumbered, might be still further encumbered and withheld from sale. Against this he could only make a personal protest, because the House was too ill-informed as to the circumstances 1736 of the case to enable any successful action to be taken. The strict settlement of land which obtained in this country was the bane of agriculture, and was opposed to the productive interests of the country as well as to the health of the people. He hoped the time was not far distant when Bills coming to the House dealing with estates would only be accepted if they conferred greater freedom on land rather than relegating it, as this Bill did, to a still more unprosperous condition. He would have opposed the Bill if there had been any prospect of success in doing so.
§ Bill read a second time, and committed.