96 THE MINORITY REPORT 



of farmers are opposed to any legislation on agricul- 

 tural wages. The principal grounds for this opposi- 

 tion are — 



(1) That such legislation is unnecessary. 



(2) That the machinery of district Wages Boards 



necessary to fix and put into operation a 

 minimum wage will cause grave disquiet 

 among the agricultural population, promote 

 combinations of labour and disturb the 

 existing relations between masters and 

 men. 



(3) That the farmer would, at certain seasons of 



the year, be at the mercy of a trade union 

 agitation, and suffer heavily by even a 

 short strike. 



(4) That farming is carried on under special 



conditions, particularly as regards weather, 

 that make the regulation of hours of em- 

 ployment impossible, and that such regula- 

 tion is an essential part of minimum-wage 

 legislation. 



(5) That the industry may be unable to provide 



increased wages. 



33. These arguments are entitled to, and have re- 

 ceived from us, careful consideration, but we have 

 arrived at the following conclusions : 



(1) In order to promote the settlement of ex- 

 Service men on the land it is necessary to 

 give them some guarantee that wages wiU 

 not drop below such a minimum standard 

 as wiU enable the industrious man to keep 



