Sir A. Griffith-Boscawen, the new Minister of Agriculture, told the
House of Commons on Tuesday that his department had cut down expenditure. They would buy no more land for farm settlements, they would close the rural industries branch and proceed cautiously with new farming institutes, and they would reduce grants to agricultural colleges and poultry insti- tutes. About 12,000 ex-Service men had been settled on the land ; 6,000 more would be given land this year or next ; 12,000 would remain to be provided for. In all 410,000 acres would be needed for the purpose. The loss on the scheme was estimated to be 40 per cent. of the capital expended. The Ministry was investing a further sum of £155,000 in the beet-sugar factory at &lam, Nottinghamshire, which would be at work this season. Sir A. Griffith-Boscawen referred with pride to the rapid growth of co-operative cheese societies, instigated by the itinerant Instructors sent out by county councils. He said that the guaranteed prices for wheat and oats had checked the farmer's tendency to lay down land to grass. The Ministry was criticized for the rapid rise in its salary list, but the country stands to gain if, with a larger and better qualified staff, the Ministry can really stimulate the development of agriculture in this country.
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