ABSTRACT

The 'squatter' is to be met with in various forms, originating in widely different circumstances. The earliest instances were afforded by tribesmen whose land had been granted to other occupants, and who clung on to their former possessions with the permission of the new owners. A commoner instance is that of the employee on a farm who has brought his family with him and settled on a small piece of land granted to him by the owner; primarily a regular wage-earner, he may become a part-time worker. It seems clear that when circumstances are such that the evolution of a class of landless wage-earners is inevitable, the situation must be faced and provision prepared for the relief of possible unemployment and the care of those no longer able to work. The village community cultivating its own land affords a solution of the problem of the disposal of the aged or incapacitated worker.