"
_Wednesday, February 12th_.--The Lords had a brisk little debate on
agriculture. Lord LINCOLNSHIRE paid many compliments to Lord ERNLE
for what he had accomplished as Mr. PROTHERO, but could not understand
why, having exchanged the green benches for the red, he should have
reversed his old policy, "scrapped" the agricultural committees and
begun to dispose of his tractors. Lord ERNLE, in the measured tones
so suitable to the Upper House, made a good defence of the change. The
chief thing wanted now was to "clean the land," where noxious weeds,
the Bolshevists of the soil, had been spreading with great rapidity.
As for the tractors, the Board thought it a good thing that the
farmers should possess their own, but would retain in its own hands
enough of them to help farmers who could not help themselves--not a
large class, I imagine, with produce at its present prices.
In the Commons an hour was spent in discussing the Government's
now customary motion to take all the time of the House. Up got Mr.
ADAMSON, to denounce it, now the War was over, as sheer Kaiserism. Up
got Sir DONALD MACLEAN to defend it as commonsense, though he induced
Mr. BONAR LAW to limit its duration to the end of March. Colonel
WEDGWOOD pleaded that private Members might still be allowed to bring
in Bills under the Ten Minutes' Rule; but that Parliamentary pundit,
Sir F.
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