Mr. Vaneasked the Minister of Agriculture how far he has taken the known political opinions of persons into consideration before he has made appointments to county agricultural executive committees.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsBy the provisions of the Agricultural Act, seven of the members of each committee have to be selected from lists submitted by the farmers', farm workers' and landowners' organisations, which are free to include whom they choose. As regards the other five, I have tried to secure the appointment of persons with qualifications or experience likely to be of particular value to the committees in their work, having regard also to the necessity for obtaining a proper balance between the different interests, to geographical considerations and other such factors. All members have been selected because they appeared to be the best persons available in the light of these considerations and without regard to their political opinions, of which I am, in most cases, unaware.