Page:Agricultural Holdings Act.djvu/65

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Appendix.
61

have to pay, and perhaps not even have to pay anything, he will not take that care which he otherwise would.

Upon the second principle the tenant lays out the money at his own risk, and if the outlay is injudicious he will be the sufferer; but if the outlay is so judicious that he receives a large sum for compensation, he is fairly entitled to it as an equivalent for his skill and knowledge. The landlord is not injured, for whatever it adds to the yearly value he gets back in increased rent. The charge upon the holding can then be made to determine at the period of the exhaustion of the improvement, thus preventing anything resembling a permanent charge on the land. Assessing the tenant's claim upon this principle will obviate the necessity of an inquiry "as to the sum laid out," which must always be more or less unsatisfactory in its result. If the tenant takes care that the sum expended produces an immediate return of 8 per cent. per annum, it will be found that, no matter when the tenancy be determined, he will not be a loser, as the following tables show.