§ MR. MILNER GIBSONrose to ask leave to bring in a Bill for the collection of several returns of agricultural statistics in England and Wales. By this measure it was proposed to obtain a return from every occupying tenant of pieces of land of not less than from three to five acres, a description of the crops which were sown upon his land. The Bill provided that the return might be annual; but it also provided that in case the Board of Trade, or other authority, should think fit, it would be in their power, if annual returns should appear unnecessary, to order them to be made at longer intervals of time. A dispensing power would be given to the Board of Trade. It was proposed to divide England and Wales into superintendent registrar generals' districts. Each superintendent registrar's district was to be divided into registrars' districts; and it was proposed to obtain in each registrar's district the form of return of which he had spoken. The registrar, or agricultural enumerator, who would be placed in each district, would be bound by his duty to communicate with every farmer, and to procure from each the returns sought for. He would then forward the returns to the superintendent registrar, who would afterwards forward them to the Registrar General in London, who would send them to the Board of Trade, where they would be arranged in form to be laid before Parliament. The Bill was confined in its operations to England and Wales; but if it should appear 1100 desirable that this mode of obtaining returns should be extended to Scotland, it could be done. With regard to Ireland, he would leave the collecting of those returns to the Executive Government. The plan was under consideration by which the Executive Government would be enabled to obtain them. By these means, the whole of the returns of the United Kingdom would be completed. He did not think it would be necessary for him to show how important those returns would be, as the House was not, he believed, inclined to refuse its assent to the introduction of the measure. He would merely observe that it went no further than obtaining from the farmers returns of the quantity of land under cultivation, of the different kinds of crops from which they should endeavour to approximate to the quantity of grain likely to be produced during the year, by estimating the quantities usually produced from the various qualities of soil, taking into account the sort of weather prevailing. They could not pretend to do more than approximate by such means to the probable quantity of wheat, barley, here, and oats in the United Kingdom.
§ MR. HUME, if he did not mistake, believed the whole plan to be wild and useless. Why did they not take example from India, where those agricultural statistical returns were so clearly made out, that every acre of land under tillage in Bengal, and its actual produce within a bushel, were known directly after the harvest was over? But by this Bill they were to have registrars in every parish. They had already machinery of registrars enough. The registrars of births and deaths cost them between 70,000l. and 80,000l. a year; and now they were to have another set of registrars. He would suggest the possibility of their using those already employed. Why could they not have parish returns? But, after all, the measure would be of no value, if its provisions did not extend alike to England, Scotland, and Ireland.
§ MR. HENLEYthought it hardly fair to bring in a Bill for England and Wales before the Executive had prepared a system for Scotland and Ireland. One thing was very certain, that by its provisions they would establish a vast number of enumerators throughout England and Wales; but he did not see that they would, after all, be much nearer to a knowledge of the 1101 actual quantity of produce in the country than before.
§ Leave given.