THE AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION IN ENGLAND.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5447, 30 July 1879, Page 3

THE AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION IN ENGLAND.

The Hodse df Commons; on July 4th, agreed to a motion made by ]\ftr Henry Chaplin (Conservative) for the appointment of a Royal Commission to enquire into the causes of the . agricultural depression in England, and how far they were created or were remediable by legislation. The motion caused a debate, in which it was agreed on all sides that one great causß of the depression was American competition. Mr Chaplin in his opening speech said he regarded Free Trade as a question definitely settled, but he could not shut his eyes to the failure of many predictions of the advocates of Free Trade. He did not propose a remedy now, but only asked for inquiry. He pointed out that the future fate of British agriculture was dependent on the cost of production in America. If the cost of importation fell below the cost of production in England, ruin to British agriculture was not far distant. The Liberals, led by Messrs Brassey and Duff, blamed the British land system and Game Law 3 for the trade depression. Mr Knight warned the landowners that the competition of the United States would go on increasing, and that the only way of meeting it was to get rid of the mischievous legislation regulating the tenure and transfer of land. Messrs M'Ewen and Bentinclc advocated protective measures, but the Marquis of Hartington and the Ministry declared that no cause had been shown for such measures, which certainly would never be sanctioned. The Marquis of Hartington attributed the depression primarily to the bad season.