83 



In answer to Question i, 194 replies were 

 received in time for tabulation ; of these 79 

 were in favour of the grant being distributed 

 by a specially constituted Board of Trustees ; 

 60 were in favour of its distribution by the 

 Royal Agricultural, Hibernian and Cale- 

 donian Societies ; 33 preferred that the duty 

 should be vested in local and county societies, 

 and 22 offered no opinion. 



Of answers to Question 2, 1 13 were in the 

 affirmative, 44 replied " No," and partial 

 concurrence was expressed by 19 ; a few 

 gentlemen advised subsidising roomy half- 

 bred mares. The body of opinion so col- 

 lected and tabulated was placed in Lord 

 Ribblesdale's hands about the end of April ; 

 but not until August did opportunity occur 

 for him to ask in the House of Lords 

 whether the Government proposed to take 

 any action in the matter. He referred briefly 

 to the fact that the breeders of the Kingdom 

 had been circularised on the subject, but 

 omitted to support his enquiry by any 

 analysis of the very important and valuable 

 mass of expert opinion thus placed at his 

 disposal. 



It is quite probable that during the months 

 which elapsed between receipt of the in- 

 formation we had collected for him and the 



