ABSTRACT
Land is obviously a primary necessity for industrial production, of which it is traditionally reckoned as one of the three "agents." This chapter deals with the extraction of minerals and considers the use of land for manufacturing and housing purposes. In the West of Scotland the leasing of mineral rights seems to have been more prevalent from an early date, as in the cases of the Bairds, the Dixons, and the Dunlops. In the course of the century, control commonly passes into the hands of joint-stock companies; the landlords either sell out, retaining only the right to royalties, or become shareholders and perhaps directors, in name or in actuality. A County Assessor explained to the Royalties Commission that under the Scottish Land Valuation Act in the case of mining leases under thirty-one years' duration, the rent was the criterion; over that limit the lessee was considered as proprietor, and assessed on the rateable values of the minerals.
