ch I have proposed to apply to maize and
buck-wheat. But what shall be the intermediate state of the law during
the continuance of these three years?" Sir Robert Peel then explained the
duties on wheat, oats, and barley, which will be found in a subsequent
page; after which, he stated that the arrangement of them would
be accompanied by other provisions, calculated, if not to give
compensation, at least to advance the interests of the agriculturists.
"Take," he said, "some of the burdens on land, and see whether they
are not capable of alleviation, not by their transfer to others, but
by introducing reforms into their administration. Take that admitted
grievance, the highway-rates. As railways advance, the parish highways
will become of increased importance. There are 16,000 local authorities
that have charge of these highways. There is a nominal surveyor to each
parish--a surveyor who knows nothing about rates. Such a division of
authority makes lax expenditure and bad management. An existing act
of parliament authorizes the union of parishes for the management of
highways; but the act is permissory--the union must be voluntary; and
in very few cases has advantage been taken of the statute. I propose
to make what is now voluntary, compulsory. Taking the scale of the
poor-law, there will be 600 district authorities, instead of 16,000."
Further aid would be given to agriculture in loans of public money for
improvement of estates, to persons applying for assistance; the public
to be secured against ultimate loss. The loans were to be made by the
exchequer-bill commissioners, and the administration of the measure
entrusted to the newly-appointed inclosure-commissioners; the
preliminary expenses to be borne by the applicant for aid. An annual
repayment by instalments was to be secured as a rent-charge, having
priority over other charges; but the commissioners would have the
discretion left to them of allowing objections made by parties already
having a charge on the land. This alteration, Sir Robert said, he
believed would lay the foundation for great agricultural improvement
throughout the country. He further proposed to relieve the counties of
the whole expense of prisoners, and place it upon the consolidated
fund: the charges of that fund to be subject to periodical review in the
house. The estimated cost of that change was L64,900. In England
half the expense of the prosecutions, in Scotland all, is paid by the
treasury: