§ DR. CLARK (Caithness)asked the Secretary for Scotland, If in view of the probability of future legislation regarding the tenure of land and the condition of agriculture, he will appoint a Committee or Commission to inquire into the condition of the farm servants or agricultural labourers of Scotland, as to their system of service, hours of labour, the extent to which the bothy system is still carried on, and the moral and physical results of that system?
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR) (Manchester, E.)So far as I am aware, there is no immediate prospect of any legislation of the character indicated by the Question of the hon. Member; and, looking to the very able and exhaustive Reports of the last Royal Commission, on agricultural employment, I see no reason to institute any further inquiries, which could not, in my opinion, be confined to Scotland. The fourth Report of the Commission, published in 1870, deals exclusively with Scotland, and refers especially to the bothy system.