THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 247 



This Committee presented their report on 3rd November, 

 1874, in which they expressed the following opinions : 



That the duties of a separate and consolidated Agricultural 

 Department of the Government should embrace all matters 

 specially affecting agriculture, now dealt with by various Govern- 

 ment offices, and that they should specially include : 



(a) All supervision connected with the importation, transit, 

 traffic, and diseases of live stock. 



(6) All supervision necessary for arterial land drainage and in 

 connection with commissions of sewers and embankments. 



(c) The duties now discharged by the Copyhold, Tithe, and 

 Enclosure Commission. 



(d) The collection, tabulation, and publication of agricultural 

 statistics and corn returns. 



Your Committee consider that a separate Department charged 

 with these duties should be presided over by a Parliamentary 

 Secretary. 



Your Committee met representatives (Mr. Sampson Lloyd, 

 M.P., Chairman, Mr. H. W. Ripley, M.P., Mr. Moore, of Ply- 

 mouth, and Mr. Hawkes, of Birmingham) of the Chambers of 

 Commerce, and as a result of that conference are of opinion that 

 the combined interests of agriculture and commerce would be 

 materially advanced by the creation of a new Ministry embracing 

 two separate and distinct Departments, each presided over by 

 a Parliamentary Secretary, and each possessing separate and 

 permanent official staffs, the one Department dealing exclusively 

 with agricultural and the other with commercial matters. In 

 such a case the duties now belonging to the Board of Trade might 

 conveniently devolve on the new commercial Department. 



This report was unanimously adopted by the Council on 

 4th December, 1874, and Mr. Storer, M.P., was "requested 

 to concert with the Chairman of the Association of Chambers 

 of Commerce with a view to bringing the question before 

 Parliament at an early date." 



In the discussion on the motion to adopt this report Sir 

 George Jenkinson, M.P., who became Chairman of the 

 Chamber in 1878, voiced an opinion which has probably since 

 found an echo in the minds of many. He said that he 



" was not sure whether it was advantageous to any interest to 

 have a new Minister appointed specially to look after it. It 

 sometimes happened that a good friend was spoiled by making 

 him a Minister, and this was the burden of a couplet which he 

 had lately noticed : 



' As bees, on flowers alighting, cease to hum, 

 So, once in office, farmers' friends are dumb.' 



