Agricultural Statistics. 
589 
statistics bein» collected under the superintendence of tlie Poor 
Law Board ; " but in another place sajs, " the machinery re- 
sorted to ought, in my opinion, to be considered merely provi- 
sional for the experiment " — having just before made the rather 
significant remaik : " I may add, however, that I have no reason 
to doubt that the course adopted by me, viz., that of employiiuj 
independent assistance in collecting the desired information in this 
Union, was upon the whole successful." Mr. Farnall's opinion 
we have already given in extenso (p. 583). The subsequent com- 
mentary upon it, contained in the following passage, in his evi- 
dence before the Lords* Committee (p. 78), is tlierefore somewhat 
surprising : — 
" 418. Chaikmax. Did you find a general disposition both on the part of 
the landed proprietors and the occupiers to assist you and give you all the in- 
formation you desired ? — I did. 
" 419. Did you find a similar disposition on the part of boards of guardians 
to assist you for that purpose — I obtained some assistance from them. 
" 421. Is it your oi)inion that there might be any improvement made in 
the present mode of collecting agricultural statistics ? — I think the areas of the 
Unions should still be retained as the basis of all operations, because they are 
so very accurately defined When the enumerators have collected 
their schedules, they should be taken to the classifier, who should forward 
them to some central authority, who I think might be called the inspector for 
agricultural statistics, and he should reside in some central county of England, 
where he could command with the greatest facility all parts of the country. 
" 422. You mean that the returns when prc])ared should be transmitted to 
liim instead of to the Poor Law Commissioners ? — Yes, exactly so, and that he 
should be the person instructed to embody all the returns in one report : and 
afterwards he might di'aw up a report of the estimated yield of all grain crops 
and root crops in each Union. 
" 425. Would you not endeavour to obtain some assistance from the Guar- 
dians ? Would you entirely keep them separate from the proposed inquiry ? — 
I see no necessity for the Guardians, because the overseers themselves are full}' 
aware of the quantity of land held by each person, the name, the gross and 
the net rateable value, and that is the first information we require. 
" 428. I see you state in your report, ' In most instances both the landlords 
and tenants rendered effective assistance in the conduct of the inquiry ; but I 
ascribe the satisfactory character of the results principally to the apt and 
nearly complete machinery which the Boards of Guardians and their cflicers 
supplied.' How do you reconcile that with the proposition you are now 
making of discontinuing to avail yoiu'self of the services of the Guardians ? — 
I explained to all the boards of guardians that it was merelj' an experiment. 
I did not give them to understand that for the future they would be called 
upon to carry out this plan in its entirety. I think they quite understood 
that they were to try what they could then do as an experiment, and they 
were perfectly willing to do it upon those terms. 
" 429. Do you think they would object to continue their services ? — I do 
not thinl?; the guardians themselves would object ; I think tliey would willingly 
form a committee for the purpose : but the objection would be to their officei-s 
being emploj'ed, who have already sufficient to do : and I think that giving 
the relieving officer the appointment of enumerator would sometimes form an 
excuse to the relieving officer for the neglect of his proper duty, which is to 
devote all his time to the wants of the poor." 
VOL. XVI. 2 Q 
