The Government has completed its arrangements for the creation of
a Ministry of Agriculture. An Agricultural Com- mittee of Privy Cowncil will be formed, with a Vice-President in charge, who, it is intended, shall always be the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. This officer has no departmental duties, and is to preside over Agriculture, instead of being, as Lord Dufferin said, "maid-of-all-work to the Ministry." The effect of this arrangement will be that the Department will have a Minister to itself, as that of Education has; but he will usually, though not necessarily always, have a seat in the Cabinet. We do not see that the farmers could wish for a better arrangement. There is a responsible Minister, with clerks and offices and the like, whom they can worry to death, with whom Agricultural Chambers can correspond, and upon whom statistics can be poured in a deluge. We do not envy Mr. Dodson his correspondence, but the only defect of the scheme that we see is that it relieves the President in Council too much. Is Lord Carlingford only to " superintend "
