The work of the Agricultural Commission bids fair to be
a monster affair. The terms of the Commission were published on Saturday, and authority is given in it to any " five or more " of the Commission to call before them such persons as they may judge necessary to give evidence, and also to call for such books and documents as may give needful information. Moreover, any five or more may report to the Queen as soon as they please their opinions on the subjects in- quired into. And these bodies of five or more are to have power to continue their inquiry without formal adjourn- ments. Hence it is clear that the Commission is really to do its principal work as a number of Sub-Commissions, for we are told that they have already had a preliminary meeting and broken themselves up into smaller distinct bodies of inquiry ; while Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., and Mr. Pell, M.P., are to proceed to the United States, to inquire into the bearing of American agriculture on the depression here, and will take their departure at the end of next week. Further, Mr. Cross said at Bootle that there are to be a number of Assistant-Commissioners to help the Commission, and to collect information from the continent of Europe. We may expect, then, a number of very divergent reports from the quinary Comrnissionlets into which the larger organisation will break up; and probably no joint report from the whole Commission, or none of any sub- stantial value, at all. We see with pleasure that the Earl of Suffolk and Colonel Kingscote, M.P., the latter of whom is a member of the Commission, warned the Kingscote Agricultural Association yesterday week that no return to Protection was possible, and that all that could be expected from the labours of the Commiesien was a large stock of valuable information,
