HORSE BREEDING [EXPENSES]. (Hansard, 1 May 1918)

§ Mr. KING
Profiting by the admirable advice recently given to me by the right hon. Baronet (Sir F. Banbury), I beg to move, at the end of the Resolution, to add the words "provided that the total amount payable shall not exceed £10,000 in any one financial year."
I do not need to repeat the remarks I made just now, but I must point out that here we have a Resolution for an absolutely unnamed sum, an unlimited amount. This is a small Bill. There are very few horses in the country. You cannot do much in expenditure on breeding now, because nobody can afford to keep horses. If one has not got a horse, one cannot afford to buy a horse. Therefore the scope of this Bill must be limited, and in these days when economy is so necessary I want to know of the sum the Board of Agriculture put on these questions. Have they any idea how much they are going to spend? Have they got from the Treasury permission to spend up to any limited amount? I really think we ought to have an answer to this question, and it is in that spirit and desiring not to hinder but to clarify the views and make more definite the plans of the Board of Agriculture that I beg to move this Amendment.

§ Mr. WATT
I desire to say a word in support of this Amendment put by my hon. Friend the Member for Somerset. I 1671 think it is right, when the House is passing this Financial Resolution, that a limit should be put upon it, and I think £10,000 is sufficient for this particular object. Then I would like to ask the right hon. Gentleman as to the administration of this fund. He is aware that the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries has no jurisdiction in regard to Scotland, and I would like to know whether Scotland is not to have the benefit of this Bill dealing with stallions, and, if so, how is it to be administered? The office of the right hon. Gentleman cannot administer it in Scotland, and provision ought to be made for the Local Government Board in Scotland] to have some share of it.

§ Sir R. WINFREY
There is a provision in this Bill to apply it to Scotland and to Ireland. I may say that £10,000 would be quite sufficient, and I accept the Amendment.

§ Mr. WATT
That does not overcome my difficulty. This money is being given to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and they have no jurisdiction in Scotland, and therefore Scotland will have no share of this money if it is passed by the Committee, if it is given to the Board which has jurisdiction only in England. I ask the right hon. Gentleman how Scotland is to get its share. Is it proposed that the Board of Agriculture will hand it over to Scotland and allow them to administer it? If so, what is the figure that is to be handed to Scotland because she ought to get her fair share? And what is the figure to be handed to Ireland? Whether Scot land is to have a fair share or not, it is right that the figure should be limited by this Committee, and, in my view, £10,000 is enough to spend on this scheme in war-time.

§ Mr. KING
I would like to say how gratefully I acknowledge the way in which my proposal has been met. My only regret is that I have not put it at £5,000. As I understand I can do that on the Report stage, I will not trouble the hon. Member to capitulate any further this evening. I have always admired the hon. Member, who is one of the best members of the Government, and I do so still more to-night, and express the hope that he and others will be equally prompt and graceful in their capitulations.