M.— AGRICULTURE 257 



others find their yearnings still unsatisfied, and are eager to kiss, or to see 

 others kissing, almost any new rod. There are, indeed, probably few of 

 us who could not mention some objectionable thing that other people 

 ought not to be allowed to do. But here we are considering not the common 

 burdens that have been laid upon all citizens, but only those special ones 

 that have been imposed upon the agriculturist as such. I am not going to 

 trouble you with a catalogue of Acts of Parliament, nor need I refer to 

 the various compulsive or restrictive measures of war-time. It will be 

 sufficient to mention some of the existing laws in my first category that 

 come most readily to mind. 



The farmer is bound to furnish to the Government annual statistical 

 returns of his crops and live stock. For many years the returns were 

 made voluntarily, but since 1925 they have been compulsory. The filling 

 up of forms is one of life's minor worries, but no one could say that the 

 compilation of accurate agricultural statistics is not essential for the proper 

 understanding of many of the major agricultural questions with which 

 the Government and the farmers themselves have to deal . 



The Contagious Diseases of Animals Acts, administered for the whole 

 of Great Britain by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, may at 

 times interfere seriously with the activities of the farmer as a stock- 

 owner, but without them he would undoubtedly be exposed to vastly 

 greater and possibly catastrophic losses. Similarly, the Destructive 

 Insects and Pests Acts may occasionally hamper him as a crop grower, 

 but on the other hand they afford him protection with which he would 

 not willingly dispense. These two laws are in fact more protective than 

 restrictive, and I have never heard any one suggest that they should be 

 repealed. 



As a breeder of horses and cattle, the farmer must conform to the 

 requirements of the Horse Breeding Act and the Licensing of Bulls Act, 

 which are designed to prevent the use of inferior sires. Here again 

 agricultural opinion is, in general, entirely on the side of the law ; repre- 

 sentations have, in fact, been received from responsible quarters that the 

 principle should be extended to pig-breeding. 



A statutory system of prescribing and enforcing the payment of mini- 

 mum wages to agricultural workers has been operative in England since 

 1924, and Parliament has recently passed an Act introducing a similar 

 system into Scotland, where at the time of the passing of the English Act, 

 and for several years after, the workers themselves, as well as the farmers, 

 were opposed to having such legislation. Here perhaps we come to a 

 subject not quite free from controversy. But if it be accepted that with- 

 out such legislation there is a danger that the pay of the worker might fall 

 below the amount necessary to maintain him and his family in a reasonable 

 degree of comfort, there are few who would deny its justice. Criticism of 

 the law has been based not, I think, on this ground, but rather on the ground 

 that certain other steps should be taken to enable the farmer, in his 

 economic difficulties of recent years, to pay a satisfactory wage. The 

 criticism, so to speak, has been consequential rather than direct ; there 

 has been little opposition to the fundamental principle embodied in the 

 Acts. 



