Mr. Lloyd- George said it had been urged that it
would have been fairer to inquire into the land question by means
of a Select Committee or Royal Commission. There was a reason why no useful purpose would have been served by any inquiry of that kind, for the evidence given would have been that of the landowner, land agent, and large farmer, while the small farmer and the agricultural labourer would have been afraid to give independent evidence. Mr. Roy& had instituted an inquiry of his own, but had imitated slavishly the methods of the so-called secret Land Inquiry. The main facts stated by the Land Inquiry had never been challenged. Unionists were daily approaching a practical acceptance of its case. The Budget of 1909 had been followed by an increase in the wages of agricultural labourers, a rise in the price of land, and a diminution of unemployment, par- ticularly in the building trade. There had been a reduction in the number of cottages built, but this was due to the additional cost of borrowed money and material. Mr. Samuel at the Local Government Board and Mr. Burns at the Board of Trade were about to institute inquiries bearing on the question. The amendment was defeated by 301 votes to 213.
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