§ 49. Sir A. SINCLAIRasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what schemes of reclamation have been carried out in Scotland since 1912; what is the total area thus reclaimed; and whether he has formed any estimate of the amount of waste land capable of being reclaimed for productive use in Scotland?
§ Major ELLIOTThe information which my right hon. Friend has been able to obtain shows that the following reclamation work has been carried out:—
The area covered by these schemes is about 760 acres. The answer to the third part of the question is in the negative. Certain surveys have been undertaken by or at the instance of the Board of Agriculture and with the assistance of the Development Commission, but as it appears that, generally speaking, schemes of land reclamation under present conditions are not economic, the cost of a comprehensive survey must be regarded as unjustifiable in present circumstances.
- (1) The Board of Agriculture has been experimenting on moss land at Midlocharwoods, Dumfriesshire, with the object of testing methods of converting moss into land suitable for agricultural purposes.
- (2) The Forth Conservancy Board are proceeding with the reclamation of portions of foreshore mudflats at Kinneil on the Firth of Forth.
- (3) Land has been reclaimed by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Distress Committees and the Glasgow District Board of Control.
§ Mr. THURTLECan the hon. and gallant Member say to what extent the value of the land of Scottish landlords has been enhanced by this expenditure of public money?
§ Major ELLIOTThe schemes are not economic at all. There is a loss on them.
§ Mr. THURTLEIn spite of the fact that there is a loss, is it not the fact that the landlords of Scotland have benefited considerably from them?
§ Major ELLIOTI cannot conceive that the landlords of Scotland can have benefited considerably by schemes which only cover 760 acres.
§ Mr. SHEPHERDWill the information gained by these experiments be published?
§ Major ELLIOTYes.