outeries against the hardship that this could inflict on the farmers. It is extremely unlikely that any hardship will in fact result, but even if it did it could not in any way compare with the hardship that has been suffered by agricultural workers who have been imprisoned by this system ever since feudal times", said Harold Collison, General Secretary of the National Union of Agricultural Workers, at Exeter on Saturday 5th Decemberess,eovece "There is a simple reason why agricultural tied cottages are referred to in the temporary measure which is now before Parliament: it is because only in agriculture do we find that occupants of tied cottages are in fact evicted from their homes sometimes literally onto the road=-side - before they have been able to make suitable alternative arrangements for their home and family.
"Nor is it correct to assume that, because the tied cottage system has its roots in antiguity, it has not been affected by the 1957 Rent Act. Any person who took over the occupancy of a tied cottage after the operation of the 1957 Act has had even less protection than the very limited protection that was afforded to him before that Act became law, The new legislation will ensure © that employers have to go to the County Court before an eviction order can be enforced. This will rule out the present unsavoury practice of farmers going to the High Court to obtain a writ for possession — a procedure which gives the worker even less time to find alternative accomodation, which protects the farmer from the glare of publicity.
"When a case goes to the County Court for a possession order, the judge will now have power, after taking into consideration a number of relevant factors, to delay the operation of that orger for a period of up to 12 months....e.eee0 It is an earnest of the Lahour Government's intentions to carry out its pledge that a possession order would not be made operative against an occupant of an agricultural tied cottage unless suitable alternative accomodation is available. The NUAW looks to the Government to fulfill this pledge when the major legislation goes before the House in a few weeks time and we welcome the words of Dick Crossman in the House last week when he said 'We are going to give security to the agricultural worker in our permanent legislation. Part of our legislation will refer to the agricultural worker and we shall work out a permanent system of security for him as we were pledged to do.'"