The importance of a survey of the d

The importance of a survey of the distribution of property in 1787 for economic as well as political history is so evident that it is strange that on attempt has been made to undertake it on a large scale. Not even a beginning has been made. It is , therefore, necessary for us to rely for the present upon the general statements of historians who have written more or less at length about the period under consideration; but in the meanwhile it can do no harm to suggest, by way of a preface, the outlines of such a survey and some of the chief sources of information.