71 
Army. They were not prepared to recom- 
mend the formation of Government breeding 
studs on the Continental plan, deeming it 
better that the military authorities should 
continue to buy as private customers. They 
did not recommend any check on the use 
of unsound stallions, though admitting this 
to be a great evil; to restrain owners of 
unsound sires from offering their services 
for hire would, they thought, be construed 
as interference with individual liberty ; but, 
if practicable, they would have prizes given 
at agricultural shows to sound stallions which 
covered mares at a low fee. 
They also recommended (and this was the 
only one of their recommendations adopted 
by the House of Commons) the abolition of 
taxes on horses which operated as a deterrent 
to farmers who would otherwise pay more 
attention to breeding. The evidence given 
before them showed that there appeared to 
be no scarcity of Thoroughbreds: high- 
class hunters had increased in price and 
more in proportion than other horses, but 
those who could afford to pay could 
generally find what they required. There 
was a general decrease in the number of 
horses in England; the evidence pointed 
to a great scarcity of agricultural horses, 
