no THE FUTURE 



our land is to employ the number of people it 

 should, the area of arable will have to be largely 

 increased. Again, I have shown that arable land 

 yields more food for human being than grass land : 

 this is the second argument in favour of increasing 

 the area of arable land. 



Piecemeal legislation will be disastrous ; for the 

 danger is that while it benefits one branch of an 

 industry it may do harm to other branches. Piece- 

 meal legislation spells artificial encouragement for 

 this or that branch of an industry, and everything 

 artificial is evil. The only sound course to follow 

 is to create conditions favourable to agriculture as 

 a whole and then to leave that industry to develop 

 naturally and along its own lines. 



What then is needed ? 



First : there must be a Royal Commission to 

 conduct an agricultural stocktaking and to examine 

 the possibilities of home production. 



Secondly : the Government must follow the ex- 

 ample of the Governments in other civilised countries 

 and adopt a complete and comprehensive Land Policy. 



Thirdly : there must be the full organisation of 

 the agricultural industry. This would come under 

 two heads : 



{a) The Official — the reorganisation of the adminis- 

 trative side under the Board of Agriculture. 



(6) The Unofficial— the full development of a 

 system of voluntary organisation. 



Fourthly : a larger proportion of the rising 

 generation must be induced to go in for a career on 

 the land, and also as large a number as possible 

 of our ex-Service men must be induced to settle 

 on the land. I have already pointed out that the 

 total white agricultural population of our Empire 



