APPENDIX II 



A NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL POLICY 



Lord Milner, after expressing a hope that we may see 

 the formation of a National Party in the interests of 

 Agriculture, said : 



" But if a National Party is out of the question, there 

 is nevertheless urgent need for a National Policy, by 

 which I mean a body of political doctrine having some 

 basis of principle, some inner unity, which will take 

 account of all the great needs of our national life, 

 internal and external, and propound an orderly and 

 coherent plan for dealing with them as a whole. 



" If such a National Policy is destined to see the light 

 of day, it is certain that it will assign a foremost place 

 in its programme to the fostering of Agriculture. Alike 

 by its economic, its social and its moral effect, the 

 neglect of Agriculture, the loss of a ' land tradition ' has 

 exercised a depressing influence on our national life and 

 is, to a great extent, responsible for the confusion of 

 thought and waste of effort, the lack of clear and simple 

 ideals which clog the efforts of social reformers. We 

 have got to get back to the old conception of the para- 

 mount importance of production and productive 

 capacity no merely material ideal, though it lies at 



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