SCOTTISH LAND COURT.—Class III. (Hansard, 9 August 1916)

§ Sir G. YOUNGER

I do not intend to detain the House on this Vote, and really I would much rather say nothing about it, but as it has been proposed I would like to state that the operations of the Land Court remain as obscure to me as ever, and that neither I nor anyone else has the slightest idea of the principles on which they are acting. They have not, so far as I know, made any attempt to enlighten us on any of the points which have been more than once raised in this House. For example, on the question of the reduction of rents, in the first few years of the operation of this particular Act, rents were reduced by various percentages. At present agriculture has enormously advanced in prosperity, and farmers are making huge profits. I know a farm, the rent of which is £300, and the management of which is run by the farmer himself, yet the rent which he is paying is no more, though his profits have greatly increased, and I think he secured a net profit of £750 in one year. 1140 When hay is £7 a ton and barley 55s., and other produce is at high prices, agriculture must be very flourishing indeed. But the rents still remain the same, and the old terms continue in face of all that. I only mention these things in order to show the inexplicable state of these matters. Why so few arrangements are made by agreement in Scotland, and why so much in the way of dispute is referred to arbitration, entirely arises, I fear, from the fact that during the whole course of the administration of the Land Act in Scotland the Land Court has so acted as to depreciate public confidence. [An HON. MEMBER: "No!"] I will say depreciated the confidence of the landlords, with the result that all these questions which arise go to arbitration instead of the parties making their own settlement.