The Earl of Derby asked the Lord Privy Seal (Viscount Halifax) whether it was the intention of Her Majesty's Government to take any steps for ascertaining accurately the number of proprietors of land and houses in the United Kingdom, with the quantity of land owned by each proprietor. He should not trouble the House at any length, because he understood that the suggestion he had ventured to put into his question was acquiesced in, and would be acted upon by the Government. They all knew that out-of-doors there was from time to time a great outcry raised about what was called the "monopoly of land", and, in support of that cry, the wildest and most reckless exaggerations and mis-statements of fact were uttered as to the number of persons who were the actual owners of the soil. It had been said again and again that, according to the Census of 1861, there were in the United Kingdom not more than 30,000 landowners; and though it had been repeatedly shown that this estimate arose from a misreading of the figures contained in the Census returns, the statement was continually reproduced, just as though its accuracy had never been disputed. The real state of the case was at present a matter of conjecture, but he believed, for his own part, that 300,000 would be nearer the truth, than the estimate which fixed the landowners of the United Kingdom at a tenth of that number. He entirely disbelieved the truth of the popular notion that small estates were undergoing a gradual process of absorption in the larger ones. It was true that the class of peasant proprietors formerly to be found in the rural districts was tending to disappear—for the very good reason that such proprietors could, as a general rule, obtain from 40 to 50 years' purchase for their holdings, and thereby vastly increase their incomes. In the place of that class, however, there was rapidly growing up a new class of small owners, who, dwelling in or near towns or railway stations, were able to buy small freeholds. He believed this new class would fully replace, and perhaps more than replace, the diminution in the other class to which he had referred. He apprehended that through the agency of the Local Government Board it would be easy to obtain statistical information, which would be conclusive in regard to this matter. The returns ought to include the name of every owner and the extent of his property in acres. He did not wish to have included in the Return the exact dimensions of very minute holdings; that could be met by giving the aggregate extent of holdings not exceeding an acre each, the number of separate owners being stated, but not the extent of each holding.
The Duke of Richmond thought this was a subject the importance of which could scarcely be over-rated, and trusted that Her Majesty's Government would be able to furnish the Return asked for by his noble friend. This, he thought, might easily be done through the agency of the Local Government Board. A vast amount of ignorance existed in regard to the question, and it was surely time that such ignorance was dispelled by means of documents possessing all the weight of Parliamentary Returns, and whose accuracy could not be disputed. There ought to be no alarm raised by such a Return as was asked for, because the rental need not be inserted in it, although even that was given in Scotland. To show the great errors into which the public might be led, he would mention a fact brought under his notice by the noble Marquess sitting near him (the Marquess of Salisbury). According to the Census of 1861, the number of landed proprietors in Hertfordshire was only 245. The noble Marquess, however, doubted the accuracy of this statement, and after taking the trouble to investigate the matter for himself, he found that the number of landed proprietors in the county of Hertford at that time, according to the rate-book, was 8,833.
Viscount Halifax said that his attention had been called, as had that of his noble friend opposite (the Earl of Derby), to the extraordinary statements made in certain newspapers, and at some public meetings, respecting the wonderfully small number of landed proprietors in this country. The fact was that very few persons were returned in the Census under the designation of "owners of land". He had looked over pages of the Census returns. The owners of land appeared under various designations, " gentlemen, merchants, shopkeepers, farmers, &c." Very few were returned as "landowners".
For statistical purposes, he thought that we ought to know the number of owners of land in the United Kingdom, and there would be no difficulty in obtaining this information. He held in his hand the valuation list of a parish, giving the name of every owner, a description of the land, the estimated area, and the estimated rental. Such returns existed for every parish in England, and from them a return for all England might be compiled. He quite agreed with his noble friend, that it might not be desirable to give the rental, although he might remark that this was done in Scotland.. He had in his hand the valuation roll of the county of Edinburgh, which contained the rental of every owner in that county. He believed that in Scotland no objection had ever been taken to publishing the amount of rental. The Government considered it most desirable that the return should be prepared, and what he proposed to do was to give a nominal list of every owner of land to the extent of one acre or upwards in every county of England, together with the quantity of land which each owner had in the county. In regard to owners of less than one acre, he thought it would be sufficient to state their number in each county, without specifying their names. The same process would be gone through in Scotland and Ireland.
The Marquess of Salisbury urged that the 999 years leaseholds ought to be included in the Returns.
Viscount Halifax said that there would be great difficulty in ascertaining the precise tenure under which property was held. He quite agreed with the noble Marquess that owners of property held for 999 years, and of land under similar tenures, should appear as owners, and he thought it might be done. The valuation lists, however, to which he had referred only gave information as to the ownership of land and the quantity owned. In his opinion the best plan would be to treat as owner the person immediately above the occupying tenant.
The Earl of Feversham suggested that the Returns should give a description of the land, stating whether it was in cultivation, woodland, or moor.
Viscount Halifax remarked that the Government could not undertake to state the description of the land. An attempt to do this would lead to inextricable confusion.