256 



Council of Agriculture for England. 



[June, 



Allotments Bill. — Mr. J. Forbes moved : — 



" That this Council welcomes the introduction of a Bill to amend the 

 Allotment Laws and gives its support to any measures which ate designed 

 to make land more easily available for allotments and to improve the 

 security of tenure of occupiers of allotments." 

 He said that there were to-day as many as 1,330,000 allotment holders in 

 England and Wales, and the great bulk of them were in industrial and urban 

 areas. The Bill was the result of the recommendations of a Departmental 

 Committee and he urged the Council to give it all possible support. 



Mr, George Nicholls (Soke of Peterborough) seconded the motion, and 

 said that the way in which allotment holders had been holding on to their 

 land since the departure of war conditions had been a great surprise to many 

 who had been in touch with the work over a long series of years. Lord 

 Bledisloe also spoke in favour of the motion, which was then put to the 

 meeting and carried. 



Destruction of Rabbits. — Mr. Donaldson moved : — 



" That this Council regrets the delay of the Minister of Agriculture in 

 introducing a Bill to provide for the destruction of rabbits, as requested 

 by this Council, and is further of the opinion that, as this body may be 

 taken to be entitled to speak for County Agricultural Committees, which 

 would in fact administer the Act, any objection on the score of adminis- 

 trative difficulties cannot be regarded as warranting the non-introduction 

 of the measure." 



He said that the rabbit pest was becoming a great nuisanee to agriculture, and 

 that the legislation asked for should be pressed on by the Ministry notwith- 

 standing objection from the County Councils Association. That Association 

 did not represent agriculture, and therefore should not prevail. 



Lord Bledisloe seconded the resolution, pointing out that there was no 

 opposition whatever from landlords in regard to this question. Mr. Christopher 

 Tumor also supported the resolution. 



The Minister said that it was not fair to say that the Bill had been turned 

 down by the County Councils Association. The need for economy at the 

 present time is imperative, and he desired to have the concurrence of the 

 Association as the expense would have to be borne by the County Councils. 

 The Association had a meeting on 24th May, and he hoped, alter their 

 reply, to be in a position to push the matter forward. Lord Straclue said on 

 behalf of the County Councils Association that they were not hostile to the 

 proposal but only anxious as lo the cost of the measure. The motion was 

 then put to the meeting and carried. 



Reports.— The Council received the Report of the Sub-Committee to 

 consider the question of providing further credit faeilities for fanners, the 

 Half-yearly Report (No. 3) of the proceedings of the Agricultural Advisory 

 Committee (printed at p. 257), and the Memorandum which the Ministry had 

 prepared containing their proposals to make the Annual Agricultural Returns 

 compulsory. In moving the reception of the first-named Report, Mr. G. G. 

 Rea (Northumberland) said thai the report was not by any means so far- 

 reaching as the Sub-Committee would have liked to make it. They were 

 guided by two important principles, the first to get something done quickly, 

 and the second to avoid heavy expenditure. The recommendations in the 

 report followed those principles. 



