Clause 30. — (Agricultural lands and heritages.)

Part of Orders of the Day — Local Government (Scotland) Bill. – in the House of Commons at on 20 February 1929.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Sir Robert Horne Sir Robert Horne , Glasgow Hillhead

I will confine myself to the Amendment to the proposed Amendment and deal simply with the question of the owner. The hon. Member for Bridgeton put forward a view, which is entirely fantastic, with regard to the real facts of Scottish landowning. No doubt in times past there was a good deal of stealing of property. My hon. Friend seems to think that the Border family of the Elliots were not wise in taking only movable goods in the shape of cattle instead of large tracts of property. Anybody who knows anything about the conditions of things nowadays will acclaim the far-sightedness of the Elliots, because in fact that movable property has turned out in the end to be a far greater advantage to them than large tracts of Scottish territory would have been. What has been the history of the owning of Scottish land? In whatever way these properties may have been acquired originally—on which there may be many opinions—there is no question that, taking agricultural property, the amounts derived from it at the present day do not represent anything at all in the shape of rent for the land itself; and the dividends, if I may so put it in a business sense, do not amount to more than 3 per cent. upon the cash capital which has been spent upon the buildings, drainage, and fencing of the territory which is let to the tenant farmers. No revenue is being obtained from the land, and it is an error for my hon. Friend to say that we have burdened this country with some capitalist incubus and feudalistic tradition. The only burden from which we suffer is lack of a return on capital which has been spent on the land of Scotland by the people who have owned it. Are they not entitled to something upon their capital?

I hear with wonder and amazement the attacks which are made upon those who have spent capital on the land. Instead of being treated as benefactors, they are treated as pariahs who ought never to be recognised in any decent society. I cast my mind back to that annus mirabilis when the Labour party was in office in 1924. The main feature of that year was the advent of the Russian delegation. What did that Russian delegation want? [HON. MEMBERS: "Order!"] I am perfectly in order—