The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1873-10-14 00:00:00

BROADWINSOIL

ACIIIICOLV3IttL ileutll7.—Tort Leonel meeting was
held no Tuohy, under the presidsony of Mr. Robert
Damen. lloroloaiter. Pole, for roots were strutted as
fellows :-5 test general root crop, Mr. W. li.
Gunele Omura. Bonet ak; 2 entrees, beet common
turnips, Mr. John Leathell, Stabs Abbot; £3. best 4
rens mang,l, Ide J Loathed, Ots be Abbot;
',mood hot ditto, hie John Wright, ; 3
guinea', beat aorse swedes, Mr. .1 den Wright, Child
1,.r, The neldnx was welt ocutotof for. Mr.
Damen made capital chairman, and it was a 131,14
mico,ctul nee Prig. In submitting the toast of the
ev. nice " Prosperity to the lkoadwlndaor, Burstook,
and Stoke Abbott Agricultural li,ciety." the Chairman
commenood • practical speech by referring to Mut
importerou of progressing instead of retrograding in
agriculture. Ile expressed a fear that If they looked at
the stotlatioe of the past few years they would find that
England was not progressing in this respect to the
extant genteelly supposed. The untleman supporting
Lim on his left (Prebendary Milan) hod int invited that
tb., Lucent farmers were exeeedingly well off. That
might le, BO In BOMB parts of the °wintry but tb•
r. mark did not apply generally, for their condition was
no: so iluerishing, especially with regard to the arable
lent Within the pest few yore the Importations of
foreign oorn into this country had been gradually in.
creole* ; so great had been this Immune that now every
ether man was fed open for Igo corn, and the Importa.
then. of wheat during the next year would probably b•
from 12 to 13 mdlon 'Touter", while the home produce
would not be more than ulna or ten million quartent
Tie...l.feet' were not, ho theeght, very flattering to the
national vanity. Be untended that it was the duty
of all olesses to try to remedy in some way that stale
of things, if possible. To duct still in agriculture was,
he submitted, as In other things, to go losek. There
should be no ',Loading still, but, on the contrary, pro.
gression—(heer, hear). It might be said that the
importation' being so lug* the people would be very
much benefited, insantlieh WI they would got corn
obesper. But that was not the ease, in prod of which
be mentioned that whereas forty years ago wheat wee
only forty shillings per clutter, it was at present above
60e. He feared the Inereased pries' would not um-
peewits them for the Impend quantity rown.—(bear,
hear). He thought this had been (ho use for some time
pee', and that there was now every realm why the
landowners, couplers, and labourers should combine
together in order to effect a remedy. Concurring with
• friend on his right, he did not believe that anything
would be done in the ships of leOalatfoo. They at all
events knew that of late nothing had been done In this
reepoct. Looking bask over the 28 or 30 years which
had elapsed does the repeal of the Corn Lawn, they
found that agriculture had been almost entirely ignored
by the legislature of the eountry—not a single memoirs
of note had been pulsed for the benefit of the agricultural
iutereet. Asking for theorem:el of the Malt Tax, the
colculturlets, it would be remembered, were laughed at,
though told by Sir R. Peel that all the tresqusitties would
he done away with if they only tot tree trade in oorn.
Then they epplied for a fair and Jun imposition of the
Inca.! taxes, end on this gulled that able member of the
Pont, of Commons, Sir Mersey Lopes, obi/feted •
msjaity of 100 outlast the Government. But the
question WS/ afterwards shelved, Government promising
to bring forwerd • manna Mien they did tntrodues
• measure, representing the fringe of lual taxation,
and • most miserable adobe It wee—every supporter of
the Government was ashamed of it, Inasmuch as it
afforded no practise' relief whatever—(hey, leer).
There seas the Ain concerning the destruotion of mall
bird.; with that, however, he was not intimately
seqoainted, for he must confess he lead not the petioles
to read it—(laughter). Then there was the question
of the game laws, OD which, oiler the ounnittee had
debated dude' two sessious of Parliament, &report was
presented. But, with all due deference, he could not
help thinking that the mountain bad only brought
forth • moue. It seemed to be nothing bitter than
that. The skairreen of the committee. Mr. Ward
Hunt, who lied evidently • strong tiDge of game about
1 ine, premien' to bring In • Bill on the subject next
Berton ; and it WY greatly to be hoped that the matter
would be kept before the people, blouse ef all gnos-
tic's@ it wu one which ought to be fairly met—(hear,
hear). With regard to landowner., he thought they
had great duties to perform. For many years there
had prevailed in this country great competition for load,
but gam were now somewhat °lmaged in that reepeet.
He know that at the present moment there Were soon)"
of farm to let, some of witioh bad been on band for
many months. Notwithstanding this, hp observed that
In this neighbourhood farms were still to be let by
toLder —of which he clisapproved—in Dorset, Hants.
and Sussex, there were • great number of fatuts--erabla
land—still vaunt—(tmer, hear). Tberefore it was •
°pottiest whether there was not something to be done.
With regard to the excessive preservation of game,
some noblemen and gentlemen indulged In it at the
present limo to an extent which we' really too had.
He crould ride over land, not ten miles from that place,
which don not produce half the quantity of cora it did
25 years ago in consequence of the exensive prow:na-
tion of ground gone --rabbits and bares. If • noble-
man cr gentleman would let land, and then deprive the
tenant of his crops, he (Mr. Deaseo) 'sully dared trust
himself to express his feeling on that subj-cot; he
thought this shoed be oond,tonsd by every good meg
in the eouatry—(hear, hear). But he felt afraid he was
treepueleg to, long on their time—"No, co," and
applanee). Speaking before another society, sometime
ago. he dwelt on the question of primogeniture. He fell
at the present moment strongly In favour of that mIMILITO.
Of course everything had its abuse. ; but he did think
that letting land in pretty large isms was conducive to
the unmet well-being of the 'sentry. An einieent
el ,rgyman told him that he WU going • little too far to
this matter, and suggested that if land acoumnisted in
forgo quantities men could not look after it themselves.
He (Mr. Denten) agreed with him that such might be
the can. ln the )sesr 1821 the population of England
end Wales was only 12,000,000, of whom 4,000,000 were
sopported by agriculture. Going on 50 years out of
22,000,000 lees than 3,000,000 were thus supported, and
there waa len employment for men, in some respects,
in oonsequenoe of the introduction of machinery into
the country. For instance, thrashing matchless bad &t-
-wee.) the flail., To work with the latter would now
be thought a degzedatioD, wherein formerly it was con-
sidered a privilege. On another omission— proceeded
M. Barren—he had expressed his Opinion, upon the
labour question, which must be uppermost iu every
men's mind, and for the introduction of which at the
present moment he needed not to apologia.. It vitally
affected, lanilorl, tenant, sad labourer. He advocrited
some amelioration. Having made all the !MINS possible
for the labourer, showing he had been deluded by men
who ought to have known better, he had urged that the
English labourer's greet ambition was to become
poonued of • bit of land. Thousands were found going
acmes the Atlentle for that pumas, and he could not
help thinking that a bit of lend appropriated to the
labourer near his own home would tend more than any.
thing else to satisfy him, Lord Shaftesbury in his
;olden" to the working claims of Weymouth had referred
t, men who, lowing bad their wades doubled, speak
three deys a week in drinking and steeping while their
wives and children starved. But he (Mr. Damen) was
sure the farm labourers would not thus disgraces them.
selee.,nor would they have the means of doing so—
(hear, beer). Ho knew there were diffiettities in the way
of carrying out his scheme. But in some parts of the
county land was not of so mush value—it should be let
at agriciefers/ ethic and as near the homes of the
Isbounn as pos, Ibis. He thought they deserved some
consideration at the present time; they had sobered
down and were sorry for what had occurred. Reverting
to the qoestloo of retrogression In agriculture in this
country, he Galled attention to a point which he had
overlooked. Let them, he said, Lisle take into ooniderso
lion the enormous imp-orations. Atoording to the
, coatts.i.tics of last year, we paid for imported corn
£87,000 OCO, and reckoning that raised In this eountry,
and the meat and vegetables, the food °mourned was
over £3OO 000,000 worth a year, or about £lO per head,
at a low computation, of the population. And all the
prevenient from that immense amount of food-
-000,000 worth daily—was for the most part being
tusked Into the seal Be thought that with Boob •
'yeti= as this the soil of flogiand would be sure to
become poor, and, if anything °mild bp doe to avert
snob a oeteatrophe, ell educes should jein in forwarding
the elleet—(hear, bear). He rtforned no the Rev. 13`.
Monle's dry earth spiteen, seggecning that Government
or somebody else should move to the /BMW. From the
Guamo island some £200,000 worth of manure Per
annum for the [mat 35 years had been imported, and
now the island was stripped, and no further auumult-
tattoo wendi take plus there for many years to come.
W. had had also imported old bones from other mots,
and these had become exhausted; something than
should surely be done In the metier. Mr. Dames, eon-
eluded, amid spplanse.