92 GREAT IRITAIX AND IRELAND - AGRICULTURAL EC0N0:MY I.\ GENERAL 



of secular education under Section 5 of the Act. If, when the local Edu- 

 cation Authority- thought it desirable to give such instruction, a satisfactory 

 scheme for the purpose were submitted to His Majesty's Inspector, the 

 Board of Education would be prepared to approve it experimentally. 



War Agricultural Committees. — The last and one of the most difhcult 

 aspects of the labour question was that of women's work. The provision 

 of local work must largely rest in the hands of the War Agricultural Commit- 

 tees and the Women's County Committees. Some of the War Agricultural 

 Committees were as active, zealous and efficient as an3'bod5' could 

 desire ; others were not. There were War Agricultural Committees in the 

 countn,' which did not meet for four or five months during the summer ; and 

 they were committees which did not tinderstand their duty and were not 

 fulfilling their responsibiht}^ to the State. Where committees were weak 

 the}^ must be strengthened : members of them who could not attend must 

 be replaced by others who could and would attend ; new members should 

 be added whenever necessar\', including, wherever possible, farmers of 

 experience and judgement ; women should certainly be co-opted to the War 

 Agricultural Committees, just as these should work in the closest co-oper- 

 ation with the Women's County Committees. 



Women's County Committees. — The Women's Committees had hitherto 

 been closely associated with the Board of Trade. The Board of Agricul- 

 ture had been in conference with the Board of Trade and the conclusion had 

 been reached that it would add to the efficiency both of the men's and of 

 the Women's Committees if the latter were more closely connected with the 

 Board of Agriculture than in the past. 



There was great scope for the Women's County Committees and they 

 had to overcome great difficulties. Women's work was not very easily 

 obtained, and the committees would probably find that one of their first 

 duties was to strengthen the personnel of the Village Registries. The parish 

 was after all the local unit, and it was from the parish that the bulk of the 

 women's work would be drawn. Although much valuable work had been 

 done by importing women from other parts of the country it was on the 

 local women that dependence must be placed, and they must be secured 

 through the parish or the parish registry-, a source of labour which must be 

 supplied through the Women's County Committee. The speaker expressed 

 a hope that the various committees would have the help of officers of the 

 Board of Trade who would be called co-operating officers and work in 

 co-operation with the Board of Agriculture ; and stated that his Board 

 was aproaching the Treasur\^ to secure that the Women's Committees should 

 have proper paj^ment for their clerical and other work. 



Women's Work. — Lord Crawford referred to the prejudice existing 

 among farmers against women's work, and stated that it was natural in 

 \dew of the short period for which, in most parts of the coimtry, they had 

 devoted themselves to farm work. It was not surprising that their effi- 

 ciency, quite apart from physical conditions, should be less than that of 

 trained men. The speaker was however convinced that if, with proper 

 care and training, the women could be given a similar chance to that which 



