Politics and the Land 



later. I will only add on this point that I 

 think the drafting of Bills is most necessary 

 if taken in conjunction with other steps ; it is 

 the best way of bringing any question forward 

 in a concrete form, and it is a method that 

 the Central Chamber has not used enough in 

 the past. 



I now turn to the second argument. It may 

 be only c matter of opinion, but it is a very 

 general opinion that this desire on the part of 

 so-called agricultural Members is more imagin- 

 ary than real, and has proved most insufficient 

 in the past ; and it must be said that if this 

 burning desire does exist among these members 

 they have very thoroughly concealed it. Had 

 they shown it there would have been no such 

 proposals as are now made. It is said that the 

 reason why members have not been so active 

 in the required direction as they might have 

 been is because agriculturists themselves are 

 not organised in a way to express their opinions. 

 This is true to some extent, but for many years 

 there has been an organisation (in the Cham- 

 bers of Agriculture) which has been able to 

 voice the needs of that industry. We will ex- 

 amine such facts as are available to discover 

 how this desire to serve agriculture has been ex- 

 hibited ; we shall see at the same time the 

 use that members have made of the organisa- 

 tion that was at their disposal. 



311 



