83 
In answer to Question 1, 194 replies were 
received in time for tabulation; of these 79 
were in favour of the grant being distributed 
by a specially constituted Board of Trustees ; 
60 were in favour of its distribution by the 
Royal Agricultural, Hibernian and Cale- 
donian Societies ; 33 preferred that the duty 
should be vested in local and county societies, 
and 22 offered no opinion. 
Of answers to Question 2, 113 were in the 
affirmative, 44 replied ‘‘No,” and _ partial 
concurrence was expressed by 19; a few 
gentlemen advised subsidising roomy half- 
bred mares. The body of opinion so col- 
lected and tabulated was placed in Lord 
Ribblesdale’s hands about the end of April ; 
but not until August did opportunity occur 
for him to ask in the House of Lords 
whether the Government proposed to take 
any action inthe matter. He referred briefly 
to the fact that the breeders of the Kingdom 
had been circularised on the subject, but 
omitted to support his enquiry by any 
analysis of the very important and valuable 
mass of expert opinion thus placed at his 
disposal. 
It is quite probable that during the months 
which elapsed between receipt of the in- 
formation we had collected for him and the 
