BASIS OF COMPENSATION 193 



Bt. (Chairman of the Central Chamber), Mr. B. St. J. Ackers, 

 Mr. Bowen-Jones, Mr. C. B. Davies, Mr. T. Davies, Mr. T. A. 

 Dickson, Dr. Bernard Dyer, Mr. H. Trustram Eve, Mr. W. 

 Frankish, Mr. S. Kidner, Mr. Thomas Latham, Mr. E. J. 

 Lloyd, Mr. Christopher Middleton, Mr. C. Harris Stratton, 

 and Mr. Clare Sewell Read. This Committee elected Mr. 

 Christopher Middleton as their Chairman. They presented 

 their report to the Council and it was sent down to local 

 Chambers. After a long discussion on 31st March, 1903, it 

 was adopted unanimously, and a vote of thanks was accorded 

 to Mr. Middleton for the exceptional trouble he had taken 

 in drafting the report. 



The Committee reported that they invited every known 

 Valuers' Association to give evidence before the Committee, as 

 well as many agriculturists, scientists, representative farmers, 

 land agents, and valuers. They considered a number of scales 

 in use by local associations, and they presented these in tabular 

 form as an appendix. These scales, as well as others which the 

 Committee were not allowed to publish, showed a great divergence 

 of allowances, not merely for artificial manures, but even for 

 cakes, corn, and other feeding stuffs. 



Some of these scales appear to have been framed on the scale 

 contained in the report adopted by the Council in June, 1884, 

 which allowances were almost? all calculated on some proportion 

 of the cost of the feeding stuff in accordance with the provisions 

 of the permissive Act of 1875. 



On the other hand, some of these scales, more recently adopted, 

 recognise the principle laid down in the Act of 1883, and re- 

 affirmed in 1900 (a principle adopted by the Newcastle Farmers' 

 Club and one or two other Chambers of Agriculture as far back 

 as 1884), that the compensation shall be such sum as fairly 

 represents the value of an improvement to an incoming tenant, 

 and accordingly they take as the basis of compensation, not the 

 cost of a feeding-stuff, but its residual manurial value based on 

 Lawes' and Gilbert's tables. 



Of the total number of witnesses not more than two definitely 

 expressed themselves in favour of cost being the basis of com- 

 pensation. Several witnesses who in practice adopted a cost 

 basis admitted that it was not one they could defend, and 

 expressed themselves ready to adopt one more in accordance with 

 the Acts, 1883-1900, provided an equitable scale of compensation 

 was formulated. All the other witnesses emphatically declared in 

 favour of the unexhausted value of feeding stuffs being based 

 on their residual manurial value. 



On this most vital point of their inquiry, which the Committee 

 regard as the crux of the whole question, they unanimously endorse 



O 



