Colonel FABERasked the President of the Board of Agriculture why Mr. W .F. Randall, of Andover, who was employed to plough with tractors from March to June, 1917, and was then promised that five Mogal tractors should be sent to him under the new scheme at the end of June, has never received any machines and has not been appointed to plough; and whether Mr. Randall was informed that his work was satisfactory?
§ Sir RICHARD WINFREYMr. Randall was one of three engineers employed under the old tractor scheme in the Andover district, being responsible for only one tractor. When the new scheme came into operation on 1st July there were only sufficient tractors in the district to form two half-units. The duty of keeping these in repair was allocated to two other well-qualified engineers who had been in charge of more machines than Mr. Randall. He was, accordingly, informed that if at any time the Hampshire Agricultural Executive Committee considered that the amount of work in the Andover district justified the sending of another half-unit of five tractors to that area, his claim for appointment as district engineer responsible for repairs and maintenance would be favourably considered so soon as the required number of tractors became available. Under the new scheme608W district engineers have no responsibility for ploughing, which is controlled in Hampshire by the ploughing committees of the county organization.