No Minis- 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE GOVERNMENT IN ITS CONNECTION WITH 

 AGRICULTURE. 



THERE is no Minister of Agriculture in Great 

 Britain, and no attempt is made by Government tf r f uj 

 to interfere with the cultivation of the soil, or tur > ancl 



novjovern- 



between the landowners, the tenants, and the 

 labourers. There are no State flocks, or herds, 

 or horse-breeding establishments, nor any State 

 schools of agriculture. In Ireland such schools, 



maintained 



and several experimental farms, were established byGovern- 

 at the cost of the Government, at the time of 

 the potato famine. In the disorganised state in 

 which that country then was, some benefit 

 ensued. But the general principle of our 

 political system is that every trade and business 

 should be self-supporting, subordinate only to 

 the general laws, and controlled by the rule 

 of free competition. The political influence 

 possessed by the landed interests insures for 



