364 MISCELLANEOUS 



national granaries. As this request met with no success, 

 the Parliamentary Committee reported in April, 1897, that 

 Mr. R. A. Yerburgh, M.P., a member of that Committee, 

 had proposed that a Committee of twelve agriculturists should, 

 be appointed " to inquire and report how far, and in what 

 way, the proposed establishment of national stores of wheat 

 would affect the interests of British farmers." He had re- 

 quested the Parliamentary Committee to nominate six mem- 

 bers of the Council to serve on the Committee, and they had 

 accordingly nominated Mr. B. St. John Ackers, Mr. W. W. 

 Berry, Mr. O. D. Johnson, Mr. Thomas Latham, Mr. Chris, 

 Middleton, and Mr. James Stratton. This report was adopted 

 by the Council.* 



It has been said that, in taking up this question, agricul- 

 turists were actuated by purely selfish motives. Such an 

 accusation cannot in fairness be maintained. It was only 

 natural that, as the chief students of agricultural statistics, 

 they should be the first to realise the growing danger to the 

 country from its increased dependence on foreign food sup- 

 plies. Having these statistics constantly before them, it was 

 inevitable that they should call public attention to facts of 

 which the public appeared to be ignorant. On the other 

 hand, if the danger materialised and war with a naval Power 

 broke out, agriculturists would be in less danger 'of starvation 

 than any other class. The Chambers interested themselves 

 in the scheme of national wheat stores as outlined by Mr. 

 Yerburgh, but had this scheme been adopted by the Govern- 

 ment, agriculturists, as such, would have gained no benefit 

 from it ; they would only have enjoyed the same negative 

 advantages as other sections of the community, viz., a safe- 

 guard against panics caused by a starving population. 



* Recent publications on this question are England's Foundation, 

 by J. Saxon Mills. Published in 1911 by King and Son. To Avoid 

 National Starvation, by Charles Bathurst, M.P. Published in 1912 by 

 Hugh Rees, Ltd. A pamphlet by Mr. C. H. Kenderdine, Food Supply 

 in War Time, published in 1913. A report by a Special Committee on 

 Food Supplies in Time of War appointed by the London Chamber of 

 Commerce. This report was adopted by the London Chamber on 

 18th June, 1914, and contains an appendix by A. H. H. Matthews, 

 who was a member of this Committee. (See Appendix No. 4.). 



