§ Sir T. BENNETTasked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the diverse conditions of agricultural labour in various parts of the country, he will cause to be prepared a statement showing the rates of wages in the respective countries of Great Britain, indicating the additional payments in kind, on the lines of a statement prepared by the Department some years ago?
§ Sir R. SANDERSNo precise details are available as to the rates of agricultural wages now being paid in different parts of the country, but the following statement prepared from such information as is at my disposal shows the average weekly cash rates of wages for1628W ordinary agricultural labourers prevailing during last March in each county of England and Wales. A rate per hour is given when wages are usually paid on an hourly basis and no definite number of hours per week is specified. I am unable to say to what extent these rates are supplemented by payment in kind, and considerable investigation would be necessary to obtain particulars on this point. So far as my information goes, payments in kind are not very common except in the North of England and Wales. In some of these counties the wages shown below are subject to an agreed deduction for board and lodging.
With regard to Scotland, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for East Fife (Mr. Millar) on the 15th December last:
1629W
Wage. County. s. d. Bedford 25 0 Berkshire 25 0 Buckingham 27 0 Cambridge and Isle of Ely 0 6 per hour. Cheshire 32 0 Cornwall 30 0 Cumberland 30 0 Derby 28 0 Devon 30 0 Dorset 27 0 Durham 35 0 Essex 0 6½ per hour. Gloucester 25 0 Hampshire 0 6½ per hour. Hereford 27 0 Hertford 0 6½ per hour. Huntingdon 25 0 Kent 27 0 Lancaster: Southern Area 35 0 Northern Area 35 0 Eastern Area 40 0* Leicester: Ashby Bosworth 31 0 Leicester 0 7 per hour. Loughborough 30 0 Market Harborough 28 0 Melton Mowbray 30 0 Lincoln: Holland 0 6¾ per hour. Kesteven and Lindsey 28 0 Middlesex: North 0 7½ per hour. South 0 7½ per hour. * This rate applies to teamsmen and stockmen only.
Wage. County. s. d. Monmouth 30 0 Norfolk 0 6 per hour. Northampton 28 0 Northumberland 32 0 Nottingham 30 0 Oxford 25 0 Peterborough, Soke of 26 0 Rutland 27 0 Salop 30 0 Somerset 27 0 Stafford 30 0 Suffolk 25 0 Surrey 29 2 Sussex 27 0 Warwick 25 0 Wight, Isle of 27 0 Westmorland 30 0 Wilts 27 0 Worcester 0 6½ per hour. Yorkshire: East Riding 30 0 North Riding 30 0 West Riding 30 0 Anglesey 28 0 Brecon 30 0 Cardigan 30 0 Carmarthen 30 0 Carnarvon 30 0 Denbigh 27 0 Flint 27 0 Glamorgan 30 0 Merioneth 28 0 Montgomery 28 0 Pembroke 28 0 Radnor 30 0