342 AN AGRICULTURAL PARTY 



some definite line of action should be decided upon by those 

 interested without loss of time. 



4. Your Committee have no hesitation in saying that the 

 obvious answer to the question laid before them is by strengthen- 

 ing and consolidating existing agricultural organisations, and by 

 the formation of others in unorganised districts. It is, however, 

 unfortunately the case that the continued efforts of forty years 

 have failed to bring more than a moderate percentage of agri- 

 culturists into line, and this forces your Committee to the con- 

 clusion that more attractive proposals are necessary to bring 

 about the requisite combination than those hitherto laid before 

 the farming community. 



5. The Lincoln resolution given above proposes the formation 

 of a distinct Agricultural Party. Your Committee feel that 

 this is the ideal for which to strive, despite the financial con- 

 sideration such a policy would involve. It must be obvious that 

 with a section of the House of Commons returned as agricultural 

 members by agriculturists, pledged to promote beneficial measures 

 and to resist injurious legislation, and quite independent of the 

 Whips of other sections of the House, agriculture will receive 

 more of its due share of attention than it does now or has ever 

 done in the past. The need of such a section has especially been 

 apparent during the past decade. 



6. One of the chief duties of an Agricultural Party was referred 

 to in the last paragraph as " resistance to injurious legislation. " 

 The necessity of unceasing vigilance in this connection hardly 

 needs demonstration ; but to show that this is not an idle figure 

 of speech the fact may be mentioned that in the years 1869 to 

 1896 inclusive eighty -four separate Acts were passed authorising 

 new or additional local taxation in England and Wales. (Appendix 

 to Report of Local Taxation Commission, C. 8764, 1898, pp. 

 X. XII., 54, 76.) Forty more such Acts were passed between 

 1896 and 1903, and this policy of adding to the local burdens of 

 agriculturists still continues, whichever party happens to be in 

 power. 



7. For many years there have been a Conservative and a 

 Liberal agricultural group in the House of Commons, which 

 have met from time to time and elected chairmen and secretaries ; 

 but their activity as a rule has only become apparent when their 

 respective parties have been in opposition. Such groups might 

 as well be non-existent. 



8. It may be urged that an individual cannot sit in the 

 Imperial Parliament simply as an agricultural member, since 

 wider and more important matters than even British agriculture 

 must claim the attention of Parliament. But there are numerous 

 precedents of members who nominally represent particular 

 divisions, but in reality represent particular interests which may 

 or may not exist in their respective constituencies. Moreover, 

 every parliamentary candidate will always have to give expression 



