HL Deb 19 February 1957 vol 201 cc991-3

EARL ST. ALDWYN rose to move, That the Draft Silo Subsidies (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) Scheme, 1957, reported from the Special Orders Committee on the 6th of February, be approved. The noble Earl said: My Lords, I real[...] cannot open this discussion, connected as it is with Agriculture, without a brief reference to the loss which that greatest of our industries has suffered in the death of my noble friend Lord Hudson, to whose efforts during the last war agriculture owes its restoration to the long lost place it once held in the economy of this country. Under his stimulating leadership as Minister, agricultural production was almost as potent a weapon as the actual instruments of destruction in the protection of these islands from the assaults of our enemies. Thanks largely to "Rob" Hudson's initiative and unremitting energy, the nation's debt is deep and acknowledged, and the principle is established that a prosperous and expanding agriculture is perhaps the most necessary of our industries. When he came to this House he had retired from active politics, but those of your Lordships who listened to his speeches cannot have failed to have been impressed, not only by his knowledge of agriculture in all its various aspects but also by his vision of what could be. As a friend he was a severe and uncompromising critic, never hesitating to say what mistakes he thought one had made. But he was equally generous in his praise, if he thought it was deserved; and because of his honest criticism his praise was all the more to be valued. We shall miss him sadly in our deliberations, and agriculture is the poorer by losing a true leader and a great pioneer.

Now, my Lords, if I may turn to this Scheme, it is the first to be made under the Agriculture (Silo Subsidies) Act, 1956, since it received the Royal Assent in December last. Your Lordships will remember that the Act is purely an enabling measure under which Ministers were authorised to make schemes for a silo subsidy. In moving the Second Reading, I explained the main principles of the first Scheme which we proposed to make under the Act, and an outline of the conditions of the Scheme was placed in the Printed Paper Office before the Second Reading debate. The Draft Scheme now before the House fills in this outline and on one or two points adds a few necessary details.

I will not weary your Lordships with a recitation of the detailed provisions of the Scheme, which are, I think, self-explanatory, but there is one point upon which I should perhaps enlarge slightly. Your Lordships will remember that I explained during the Second Reading debate that in order to save time, so that work on silos could start in the autumn and be ready in time for use this coming season, we had already invited farmers to start submitting their projects for silos. No payments, of course, could be made until the Scheme itself had been approved by Parliament, but your Lordships will see, from Clause 3 of the Draft Scheme, that the period during which the Minister may approve works of construction or improvement of silos began on November 19 last year. This was the first working day after the Second Reading of the Bill in another place. This very exceptional arrangement was practicable only because the Bill dealt with a very limited class of building, and because the Government made available to Parliament at the time the Bill was considered a full statement of its proposals. Our last debate on the Bill revealed a gratifying measure of support for the Government's proposals and I have no hesitation in asking your Lordships to approve this Scheme which gives effect to them. I beg to move.

Moved, That the Draft Silo Subsidies (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) Scheme, 1957 reported from the Special Orders Committee on the 6th of February be approved.—(Earl St. Aldwyn.)

THE EARL OF LISTOWEL

My Lords, I rise only to associate noble Lords on these Benches with what the noble Earl opposite has just said about the noble Viscount, Lord Hudson. The sudden decline of his health came, I think, as a great shock to all of us, remembering so vividly, as we did, his robust figure and fine resonant voice in our agricultural debates. The independence and fair-mindedness with which he always stated his view, and the honest criticism to which the noble Earl alluded, were as welcome to us as to members of Her Majesty's Government. We should also like to express cur sympathy with the members of his family, and to say that those of us who knew him have a sense of personal loss, as well as an awareness of the loss that the House has sustained.

On Question, Motion agreed to.