MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



49 



15 October, 1919.] HISSES. ALLISON, JNK., McNicoL, STE\YART, DAVIDSON, MCLAREN. 



[Continued. 



is satisfactory from the point of view of the national 

 interest? As I conceive it, it would be to the national 

 interest to have land which is really most suited to 

 wheat growing wheat, and to have land which is most 

 suited to oate growing oats. Would the ratio between 

 the guaranteed prices fixed by the Corn Product.on 

 Act lead you to that position, or would it give an 

 undue preference to the wheat? I think it is giving 

 an undue preference to wheat. 



14.861. Jj'or Scotland generally? For anywhere. 

 The Government, under the Corn Production Act, are 

 paying on an acreage basis of four quarters of wheat 

 and five quarters of oats, with this condition, that 

 it is only in respect of oats sold. 



14.862. I am not referring at the moment to the 

 present position under the promise of November last, 

 but to these ratios in the Corn Production Act the 

 ratio between 38s. 6d. for a quarter of oats of 312 Ibs. 

 and 60s. for a quarter of wheat of 480 Ibs. On your 

 figures for your particular farm it would appear 

 that that ratio gave an undue preference to wheat, 

 and what I am seeking to find out is whether, in 

 your opinion,, that is true of the country generally 

 or whether it is only produced by the special circum- 

 stances you have alluded to in regard to the quality 

 of your own land? Yes, and climatic conditions. I 

 think, speaking generally, that would apply just to 

 the favoured districts the undue preference to 

 wheat. 



14.863. While you feel dissatisfied with the ratio 

 that obtains under the arrangement for this year by 

 the promise of last November, it is your opinion that 

 the ratio fixed by the Corn Production Act for the 

 first year is satisfactory, and does not give an undue 

 preference to wheat? No, I do not think that it 

 gives an undue preference to wheat if you have 

 suitable oat land, because you would get a higher 

 yield of oats probably per acre in the more favoured 

 and moister districts than we have. I do not think 

 the ratio is very far out between the various types of 

 p:rain. 



14.864. There are just one or two questions I should 

 like to ask Mr. Stewart. I was much interested. 

 MT. Stewart, in what you said about the pressure of 

 the Education Rate. Do many young men leave your 

 districts for the towns to seek industrial employment? 

 (Mr. Stewart) : Yes, occasionally they have done. 



14.865. So that your Education Rate tends to be 

 high, does it not, because you are educating the people 

 for other placos? Yog. 



14.866. You educate the boys, and then they leave 

 you and go to work as men in other industries than 

 agriculture in the towns? Yes. 



14.867. Would the case be met. in your opinion, if 

 a larger proportion of the cost of education was paid 

 out of imperial taxes and a smaller proportion out 

 of rates? Yes, but I think in comparison the rate 

 is charged over the whole county under the now 

 educational system. Previously we were paying for 

 our own parish. And thp difference now is that we 

 are assessed for this vear at something like 1,440, 



, compared with 380 last year for our parish. That 

 means that we are paying now for the education in 

 some of the mining and industrial places. We are 

 paying an undue proportion of the rates. 



14.868. Do you consider it taking the county as the 

 unit a more satisfactory or a less satisfactory method ? 

 It is less satisfactory for us. (Mr McLaren) : It is 

 more satisfactory for other places. 



14.869. I was under the impression it might work 

 the other way? (Mr. Steioart) : No. 



14.870. That in villages you get a larger proportion 

 of children to be educated a larger proportion of 

 youngsters to adults and, therefore, it might be 

 fairer to charge the education to the larger unit, the 

 county, than to the smaller unit, the parish? That 

 is what they have done. Formerly in Scotland we 

 were paying for our own parish. We got the Govern- 

 ment grants and it only cost us 380 for our own 

 parish. Under this new system, as I say, we are 

 called upon to pay 1,440. That is the difference it 

 means to us in a single year, and there is no guaran- 

 tee that that rate may not be considerably increased. 



14.871. Is that simply due to the change in the 

 unit of assessment, or an increased cost of education 

 per child? Partly to both, I expect. 



14.872. 'Supposing the old unit of assessment had 

 remained and the education rate had been charged 

 on the parish and not on the county, the burden on 

 you in your parish would not have been as great 

 as it is now under the new unit? It could not 

 possibly have been half of what we are charged 

 under the new system. 



14.873. Mr. Walker: I want to ask Mr Stewart a 

 question. Have you any figures to show the number 

 of men employed per 100 acres in Fife as against 

 the number in other counties ? I am not sure whether 

 we can give you that or not. 



14.874. Have you any figures? I have not got any 

 returns although I think there will be returns to 

 show that. 



14.875. What number of hours do you work per day 

 in Kitr noiv? On an average a 50-hours week, not 

 including stable time We work 9 hours a day, but 

 we give 42 half holidays in the year or 21 whole 

 days. 



14.876. How long hive you been doing that?-- 

 Since the month of May, when the half-holiday system 

 was introduced ; previous to that it was a 54-hour week 

 except in the winter, when we had not sufficient day- 

 light to work the 9 hours day. 



14.877. How do you reconcile that with your replies 

 to Mr. Batchelor ? I do not understand your question. 



14.878. You remember the replies you gave to Mr. 

 Batchelor, do you not, about the reduction in hours 

 and so on? Yes. 



14.879. You say now that you work a 9-hour day. 

 How do you reconcile that with your reply to Mr. 

 Batchelor? It was the difference between the 10 

 hours-day which was general over Scotland, and if 

 it was reduced to an 8-hours da>, I gave the figures 

 not as applied to our county particularly, but over 

 the greater part of Scotland. 



14.880. I want to ask Mr. McNicol a question with 

 regard to the guarantees. Will you tell me when the 

 resolution you referred to was adopted? (Mr. 

 McNicol) : I withdrew that, and said there never had 

 been a resolution. 



14.881. I beg your pardon, you withdraw that state- 

 ment? Yes. 



(The Witnesses withdrew.) 



26370 



