§ MR. BLACK (Banffshire)On behalf of the hon. and gallant Member for St. Andrews Burghs, I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, seeing that the average price of British wheat was 5s. 4d. per quarter, barley 4s. 6d. per quarter, and oats 2s. 6d. per quarter higher on July 1st, 1905, than on July 1st, 1904, he proposes to institute any inquiry as to why the rate of wages of agricultural labourers has not increased during the same period.
§ * THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. AILWYN FELLOWES,) Huntingdonshire, RamseyI do not know on what information the latter part of the Question of the hon. Member is based, but in any case it is certain that the wages of agricultural labourers depend upon many other considerations than the fluctuations in the prices of wheat, barley, and oats. Information as to the amount of those wages is collected periodically by the Board of Trade and published in the Labour Gazette and otherwise, and I do not think that any further inquiry on the subject could with advantage be instituted.