MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



39 



17 September, 1919.] 



MR. H. ARMOUR and MR. G. G. MERCER. 



[Continued. 



TWELFTH DAY. 



WEDNESDAY, I?TH SEPTEMBER, 1919. 



PRESENT : 

 SIB WILLIAM BARCLAY PEAT (Chairman). 



DB. C. M. DOUGLAS, C.B. M. T. HENDERSON. 



MB. G. G. REA, C.B.E. MB. T. PROSSER JONES. 



MB. HENRY OVERMAN, O.B.E. MB. E. W. LANGFORD. 



Ma. A. W. ASHBY. MB. R. V. LENNARD. 



MB. A. BATCHELOR. MB. GEORGE NICHOLLS. 



MB. H. S. CAUTLEY, K.C., M.P. MB. E. H. PARKER. 



MB. J. F. DUNCAN. MB. R. R. ROBBINS. 



MB. W. EDWARDS. Ma. W. R. SMITH, M.P. 



MB. J. M. HENDERSON. MB. R. B. WALKER. 

 MB. F. E. GREEN. 



MB. H. ABMOUB and MB. G. G. MEBCKB, representing the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture, called and 



examined. 



10.088. Chairman: You gentlemen are representa- 

 tives of the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture? (Mr. 

 Armour) : Yes. 



10.089. You have sent in to us a precis of your 

 evidence which is described as a statement of your 

 evidence-in-chief ? Yea. 



10.090. May I put that in without reading it; it 

 has been circulated to the members of the Commission ': 

 Yes. 



10.091. The Secretaries have just received from you 

 three statements with regard to the cost of growing 

 potatoes in different counties of Scotland.* Those, un- 

 fortunately, have not been circulated to the members 

 of the Commission because they did not arrive within 

 the necessary time to do so. The Commission have 

 made a rule that evidence-in-chief should be in their 

 hands for five days so that they may have an oppor- 

 tunity of considering it before they proceed to cross- 

 examine the witnesses. You will see how difficult, if 

 not impossible, it is for the members of the Com- 

 mission to grasp the figures in such a way as to make 

 an effective cross-examination upon them. A dis- 

 cussion as to whether these three statements should be 

 considered as evidence to-day has occupied the Com- 

 mission for a considerable time this morning, and 

 ultimately the Commission determined that they 

 should be received, and that any Commissioner who 

 desires to question the witnesses with regard to those 

 three statement!!, and also, of course, with regard to 

 the evidence-in-chief which has been circulated accord- 

 ing to instructions, should be at liberty to do so. 

 On the other hand, in case the examination into those 

 three statements is not exhaustive, and -it cannot 

 possibly be exhaustive through their having only 

 arrived within such a time as not to enable the 

 Commission to cons der them, that then the witnesses 

 may be recalled if it should be found necessary by the 

 Commission to recall them for further questions to be 

 put to them with reference to those three statements. 

 I was requested by the Commission to express their 

 views to you and their regret that the statements 



See Appendix No. in. 



had not been received by the Commissioners in time 

 to give them full consideration before your attendance 

 here?^-(ifr. Mercer): I think we might explain that 

 we were really pressed to give evidence more parti- 

 cularly as regards cereals, and therefore our report on 

 the cereal matter was prepared and sent forward to 

 you in good time. The matter of potatoes we were 

 not asked so definitely about, and we had very little 

 time to prepare the statements indeed, the whole 

 matter has been gone into rather hurriedly unfor- 

 tunately but our secretary having got together these 

 statements which you received this morning, thought 

 it desirable to send them on to you. I have a copy 

 of them here also, but we are not anxious to deal 

 with them to-day if you are not. We would rather 

 take up this matter at some later time if that suits 

 the convenience of the Commission. 



10,092. I have no doubt the Commission will take 

 into consideration what you have said, but of course 

 I cannot stop any member asking you questions on 

 the potato statements? Certainly not. 



Evidence-in-chief handed in by tfie witnesses. 



(1) The Chamber directors appointed separate Com- 

 mittees to prepare evidence on the costs of production 

 of (1) cereals, (2^ potatoes, and (3) milk. 



(2) My evidence mainly relates to the cost of pro- 

 duction of cereals. 



(3) I have prepared a statement of the actual cost 

 per acre of carrying on my farm of Niddry Mains, 

 Winchburgh, in the County of Linlithgow, in the 

 years 1913 and 1918. 



(4) I have then made up an estimate of the cost per 

 acre of growing cereals wheat, barley and oats. 

 The statement shows in detail how I have done so. 

 It might be argued that in view of the greater cost 

 of working the green crop and of the benefit accruing 

 to succeeding grain crops, the cost of working the 

 cereal crop should be placed at a lower figure, but, 

 on the other hrnd, the proportionally smaller cost of 

 working the Lay crop goes some way to equalise. I 



explain n>y views as to this. 



4 



