§ 56. Mr. FORRESTasked the Prime Minister whether he will institute an inquiry, Departmental or otherwise, into the effect on farming generally produced by the operation, on the one hand, of the National Wages Board and, on the other, by the falling prices, with the object, in particular, of averting the threatened agricultural depression and ensuring smoother working relations between those connected with the land?
§ Colonel Sir R. SANDERS (Lord of the Treasury)I have been asked to reply to this question. It is not considered that any useful purpose would be served by an inquiry of the kind suggested in my hon. Friend's question. I would remind him that two inquiries into agricultural matters have been held quite recently, namely, by Lord Selborne's Reconstruction Committee and by the Royal Commission on Agriculture in 1919, and that as a result of their recommendations the Agriculture Act was passed last Session with the object, inter alia, of providing security against loss in the event of a serious fall in the prices of wheat and oats. The present position is being closely watched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.