§ SIR BALDWYN LEIGHTONasked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether, with reference to his answer last Session on the question of a Minister of a State Department of Agriculture, and in view of the Vote passed on the subject by the House of Commons in 1879, any steps have yet been taken to arrange how those interests may be more directly represented in the Government?
MR. GLADSTONESir, I hope it will not be supposed that it is from any want of appreciation or exertion on our part that we have not made any progress on this subject. It would not be possible for us to do so without reference to the probability of getting Parliament to assent to the proposition. There is this difficulty attending all Votes of the kind. When a Vote of this kind is submitted to the House, the House votes upon it on the merits of the particular proposition in question, and not with reference to its comparative merits in regard to other questions. But, of course, it is the duty of the Government to take into consideration the comparative urgency of questions that are pressed upon their attention; and I am bound to say that we have not been able to give such attention to the subject, or to arrive at any such plan as would justify me in holding out any sanguine expectation with respect to it.