Agriculture and Agriculturists 



337 



driven, and increased by confinement on 

 board ships, where the animals breathe a 

 vitiated atmosphere which poisons their 

 blood ; while their exhalations poison the air 

 it is discharged into, also the blood of other 

 animals breathing it. Therefore, in my 

 humble opinion, all imported catde should 

 be slaughtered on arrival at our ports. 

 Better regulations should be made in cattle 

 ships, so as to prevent overcrowding of the 

 animals, who should be well supplied with 

 water and hay, and carefully tended on their 

 passage, when they would be landed in a 

 far better condition than they now are. 

 During the last fifteen years I have exported 

 thorough-bred and cart stallions, bulls, cows, 

 and sheep, either to Australia, New Zealand, 

 ■or the Cape. The animals exported were 

 always housed on deck, and generally arrived 

 at their destination in good condition. One 

 bull which I purchased in the neighbourhood 

 of Preston for ^40, was exhibited at 

 Adelaide ten days after arriving there — -took 

 the first prize, and was sold for 240 guineas 

 — thus proving that condition can be re- 

 gained during even a long voyage. 



THE CULTIVATION OF WASTE LAND : CHAM- 

 BERS OF AGRICULTURE. 



The idea that the waste lands of the king- 

 dom would, if brought into cultivation, 

 obviate the necessity for importing foreign 

 cattle and sheep is simply absurd. Much 

 benefit, however, would arise were such 

 iands brought into cultivation, and I am an 

 advocate, and always have been, for bringing 

 them into cultivation, but, judging from the 

 actions of our Government, it would seem 

 that they are not. For the last three years 

 Government has stayed all inclosure pro- 

 ceedings, and this year brought in a bill 

 which, fortunately, has not become law, pro- 

 viding that in future at least one-tenth of all 

 lands to be inclosed should be set apart, and 

 either given to the public or appropriated to 

 public use. Now very much of the most 

 accessible and naturally productive waste 

 lands of the kingdom have already been in- 

 closed ; the cost to reclaim and cultivate 

 those remaining waste would be so great 



VOL. IX. 



that, if one-tenth be given to strangers, I 

 very much question whether they would 

 repay the expense of inclosing and cultivation. 

 If Government would assist our colonists, 

 and throw a greater amount of parental care 

 over our colonies than they do, the millions 

 of acres of waste lands which stretch them- 

 selves out both far and v/ide, soliciting man, 

 as it were, to develope their latent fertility, 

 would rapidly become cultivated lands, and 

 supply us with enormous quantities of ani- 

 mals and grain. The next question to which 

 I will allude is the importance of the agri- 

 cultural community aiding by every means in 

 their power their representatives in Parlia- 

 ment to obtain a more equitable adjustment 

 of taxation of land and house property. You 

 will, doubtless, remember that during the 

 recent parliamentary session Sir Massey 

 Lopes obtained a majority of hundred mem- 

 bers of the House of Commons, who by their 

 votes, agreed with him that a re-adjustment 

 of the taxation of land and house property 

 ought to be made, and Mr Gladstone has 

 promised to consider the question in the 

 next session of Parliament. Let us hope he 

 will act in good faith, although I have but 

 small faith in his actings with landed 

 interests, recollecting how he has acted with 

 the land of Ireland. It is necessary, there- 

 fore, that we should strengthen the hands of 

 Sir Massey Lopes and those members of 

 Parliament who are acting in concert with 

 him, and I will tell you how I consider this 

 may be done. It is well known that the 

 establishing of Chambers of Commerce have 

 largely benefited manufacturers and others 

 engaged in commercial pursuits, and that 

 within the last few years about sixty asso- 

 ciated Chambers of Agriculture have been 

 established in various parts of the kingdom. 

 This year one has been established in the 

 southern portion of this large county, and the 

 Earl of Derby is president of it. These 

 associated chambers act together in this way. 

 There is a Central Chamber in London, and 

 when any important subject is to be dis- 

 cussed, deputations from other Chambers 

 meet the London Chamber, and discuss the 

 questions for consideration. I recommend 



