AGRARIAN POLITICS. 83 



tion, Mr. F. D. Acland read a paper on "Agricultural 

 Organisation, with particular reference to guaranteed 

 minimum prices." After dealing with the principles of 

 agricultural co-operation and the progress of the movement 

 represented by the Agricultural Organisation Society, he 

 said : 



To come at length to the business in hand what the farmer 

 means by the support of the community is guaranteed minimum 

 prices for his produce extending beyond the period of the Corn 

 Production Act, and a revision of the Corn Production Act 

 prices for grain in view of the increased cost of production. He 

 is naturally very sensitive on these points, and very anxious. 

 He wants the Government to commit itself, but the Government 

 is thinking of many things. Also, and I say this with complete 

 conviction, the question does not depend on what any Govern- 

 ment says, but on what the great mass of intelligent men and 

 women in the country think. The farmer has to put his case 

 in a way which will convince them of its justice. That is what 

 matters. The farmer starts on his path of carrying conviction 

 to the urban voter with some things in his favour, some against. 

 In his favour the country has realised that he has worked very- 

 hard at food production under very difficult circumstances, 

 and that if he had not we should have been far hungrier than 

 we have been we might even have lost the war. They realise 

 that without the power of being self-supporting in an emergency 

 we may be in a very tight place if another emergency arises. 

 Our food supply is our weak spot. Also it is realised that gradu- 

 ated minimum prices are not the same as protection. 



All hope for protection for Agriculture by duties is utterly vain. 

 German submarines gave us enough protection in favour of 

 home-grown food to last us a lifetime. There is no chance 

 whatever of our seeing any system which would in any way 

 artificially increase the cost of the food we buy, except for 

 purposes of revenue. But guaranteed minimum prices to home 

 growers are quite compatible with giving every one their food 

 at the world's lowest prices. Under that system the general 

 taxpayer, in return for value received, makes up to the pro- 

 ducer the difference between the price which he can obtain 

 in the open market, and certain prices which are necessary in 

 order that food production may be carried on in the way which 

 the State demands. And if the great mass of town voters who 

 will control Parliament succeeds in placing the great mass of 

 the burden of post-war taxation on the shoulders of those better 

 off than themselves, as seems very likely, they might view the 

 finding of the money to guarantee certain prices to the producer 



