§ CAPTAIN BAGOT (Westmoreland. Kendal)I beg to ask the hon. Member for North Huntingdonshire, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, whether any arrangements have now been arrived at between the Board and the railway companies whereby consignors of agricultural produce within the United Kingdom, either individually or in combination, may be enabled to secure for themselves better terms and facilities for the carriage of their goods.
§ MR. AILWYN FELLOWES (Huntingdonshire. Ramsey)The conferenec 565 between my noble friend and the general managers of the railway companies, of which the hon. Member is already aware, was followed up by a circular letter in which the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries asked for the companies' observations upon certain suggestions and difficulties which had presented themselves. The reply to this letter has only recently been received, and my noble friend proposes that this correspondence shall shortly be presented to both Houses of Parliament. Several companies already offer facilities for the aggregation of consignments of farm produce whereby lower rates may be obtained by the consignors of the individual lots included, and it is to be hoped that the ventilation of the subject resulting from the friendly discussion between the Board and the companies may lead to an extension of these facilities.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLWill the noble Lord communicate with his colleagues in the Cabinet who are railway directors?
§ [No answer was returned.]