ROYAL COMMISSION ON AGRICULTURK. 



1919.] 



HKNHY RRW, K.C.B." 



[Continued. 



. 451. Might I afck you what your personal views are 

 with regard to the guarantees given to the farmers 

 so fr as the cereal crops aro concerned? In what 

 way? 



452. Do you favour those guarantees? I think that 

 if tho State- agrees that it is necessary to support 

 agriculture in tho national interest, that some system 

 of State support must obviously bo devised ; and -<> 

 far as I am concerned, I cannot think of a better 

 nystem than that wh:ch is embodied in the principle 

 of the Corn Production Act. Of course, it is entirely 

 a controversial matter as to whether that is or is not 

 the best method of supporting and maintaining agri- 

 < ulture above the level to which it might fall under 

 ordinary economic conditions. 



458. Without admitting that farming is nn- 

 it ;in. r.ithe, has any other system been considered, 

 to your knowledge.' Sevorul ayt>u-in.t musi n. 

 t>arily have been considered. As wo all know, for a 

 great many years systems of tariffs and bounties have 

 been considered as possible means of maintaining 

 agriculture. 



454. At the time the Corn Production Bill was being 

 framed, were those other considerations taken into 

 account P Was consideration given to any other 

 method at that time? As I have already said, that 

 is really not within my knowledge. 



455. Mr. Rabbins : You referred to the agricultural 

 output of Great Britain. Have you information at 

 your Department that would enable you to bring these 

 tables to date? Yes, we did collect a further return, 

 which was interrupted, and it may be now at this 

 date hardly worth while completing that return. 

 What I should hope to do would be to make a fresh' 

 return as soon as possible. 



456. It .would not be possible without a great deal 

 of trouble to go through Table I. up to date, which 

 gave the acreage under each group of holdings, also 

 showing tho portion under arable and that under 

 grass? Yes, that could be done without difficulty. 

 But might I suggest to the Commission that in the 

 first section of the report to which I have drawn 

 their attention, on the wages and conditions of em- 

 ployment in agriculture, will be found a survey of 

 farming which I submit gives fairly up-to-dato in- 

 formation, and an analysis of available figures, which 

 would probably answer any question in that parti- 

 cular direction that you would want to put. 



457. It had escaped my notice that it was in here, 

 although' I did not know it, as a matter of fact? I 

 would rather, if I may, draw the attention of the 

 Commission to that particular section, and also to 

 the information given with regard to the labour 

 employed in different types of farming, size of hold- 

 ings, and under conditions of different districts. I 

 am particularly referring to Section 1 and pages 7 

 and 9. It gives some rather elaborate tables of per- 

 sons engaged and employed in agriculture per 

 thousand acres and per holding, and also deals to 

 some extent with the amount of labour per aero and 

 per holding on farms of different types. 



4o8. Haw you seen the Food Journal for July 

 9th, in which there is a table showing the percentages 

 of home and imported supplies of the principal food- 

 stuffs? What I wanted to know was, whether the 

 figures given as to tho percentages of home food 

 supplies are based on information given by your 

 staff? Yes. 



Mr. 1'nrkcr: Can you tell us whether there is 

 any information available at the Board with regard 

 to the amount of capital employed in tho agricultural 

 industry:- No. tin-re is no direct information. 



460. There is no data at all on that head? No. 

 Estimates have been made, of course; but they are 

 only estimated ha*od on a certain amount of data 

 with regard to the average capital per acre. 



461. Do you Icnow whether it is considered that tin- 

 farming industry i in need of further lapital 

 generally? Yo*;'l think it has always been argued 

 with a good deal of fon e that farming, generally 

 opoaking, has boon under-ciipit.iliM-d. 



Have tho Board any information with rogard 

 to thp probable range of world prices for it-reals in 



the next few years? Is there any information avail- 

 able as to wha't world prices aro likely to be? I think 

 we have access to all the information that it is 

 possible to have on that point; but in the nature of 

 things it is entirely speculative. 



463. Do you consider that security of tenure, 

 coupled with some guaranteed security with regard 

 to prices, would attract more capital to the land I- 

 Yes, I should say so. 



464. Mr. yirhollt: I only wanted to ask in this 

 connection, from your knowledge, whether much tin- 

 larger proportion 'of labour is employed where tln-rt> 

 is less cereals and more land under other kinds of 

 cultivation, such as potatoes and those particular 

 crops? Broadly speaking. 1 think it can be shown 

 that the more intensive the cultivation of the soil, the 

 more labour. 



465. And the least employed in tho dairying areas? 

 Probably the purely rearing areas or cattle- 

 breeding areas would come out lowest in the scale of 

 labour employed. 



466. I am referring now to per acre? Yes. 



407. Mr. Lennard: Can you tell us with regard to 

 the annual returns of the produce of certain crops, 

 returns which I understand are summarised in the 

 agricultural statistics published, whether Uiey are 

 calculated from samples or are based on actual totals? 

 No; they are collected through our staff of crop 

 reporters. We have about 351) crop ie|M>ru>rs, to each 

 of whom is allotted a definite area, and who give* us 

 a return of his estimate of the crops of each parish 

 within his area. That estimate is obtained by per- 

 sonal observation and inquiries of farmers, threshing- 

 machine owners, and so forth, by the best inean^ he 

 can. There is no attempt to collect samples directly ; 

 and, in fact, if there were, I think the result would 

 probably have been more inaccurate. 



468. Do you think there is any danger of these 

 figures giving undue weight to production on the 

 better-managed farms, because the crop reporter 

 would naturally come first into touch with the more 

 prominent farmers? There may possibly be a slight 

 tendency in that direction; but, then, of course, tin- 

 better farms are generally tin- larger, and there)' 



they ought to have a rather heavier weight. 



469. Can you tell us more particularly what infor- 

 mation you have as to statistics of agriculture in the 

 British Empire and in tho foreign countries ; espe- 

 cially have you any information as to recent agri- 

 cultural developments which would give us any better 

 light upon tho probable development of foreign, or 

 rather, extra-Brjtish, supplies? So far as the British 

 Empire is concerned, the statistics aro now fairly 

 good. Wo, of course, are directly in touch with tho 

 statistical officers of the various Dominions; and wo 

 also have all the publications of tho International 

 Agricultural Institute, which has developed its statis- 

 tical service to a very marked degree. So far as 

 foreign statistics aro concerned, of course, obviously 

 of lato they have had a good many gaps ; but as soon 

 as things become normal again we shall have, I 

 think, full information of such statistics as are col- 

 lected. They are very partial, of course, as you 

 know. In different countries and in some of the 

 most important countries tho service is clearly as yet 

 quite defective; and so far as one or two very impor- 

 tant countries, such as Russia, for example, at. 

 corned, which, of course, was a very important 

 country from the supply point of view, there have 

 (ecu practically no statistics worth having during the 

 war. 



470. Would it be possible for tho Board to supply 

 US with figures, say for ten years In-fore the war. 

 showing the movements in tin- bulk of export* from 

 various foreign countries, and the move nts in tin- 

 bulk of import-- recohi-d l>y this country from those 



Ming countries, by wliich we could trace the 

 development of tin- exporting capacity of various 

 countries? Yes. That could ho done. The import. 

 and export figures are. of cour-o. the most reliable, 

 so far as world's supplies are concerned, and tin- 

 best guide to future prosp.-cts. Just before the war 



