§ MR. MORE (Shropshire, Ludlow)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Government have any official knowledge of the histories of counties about to be compiled, or in course of compilation, said to be under Her Gracious Majesty's ap- 154 proval, to mark the close of the present century; if he is aware that accounts of counties were compiled 100 years ago by the old Board of Agriculture; and whether he will recommend that these accounts of counties, compiled at the end of the last century, should be reprinted?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR, Manchester, E.)I have no official knowledge of the histories to which my honourable Friend refers, but I understand that, under very favourable auspices, there is such a history being prepared. I also believe that it will embody—as indeed it must embody—the information contained in the series of county histories compiled 100 years ago. These county histories were issued by the then local Board of Agriculture, but the Board of Agriculture was not a Government de-partment; it was an association subsidised by the Government, but not under Government control. I am further informed that they can be obtained without any great difficulty by those who are interested in the subject. In these circumstances it would be hardly desirable or possible to expend public money on the republication of these very interesting documents.