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ring the Chairman's remarks, or even the preliminary remarks who, I presume, moved some motion, so that I am rather in the ve stand at present. Then, again, I am not a member of a Govern- Therefore I cannot commit Agent-General for a Government.

to any particular definite scheme or definite agreement. on this very glad to gather all the information I can

ubject, and forward it to the Government, who, I have no It their experts out there, because I am not an expert on this that I have no doubt they will send a reply dealing with the matter, ghted if it is favourable.

VEN: The question is this, that an additional expenditure will arred in the expansion of the work and the researches of this Com- / involve something like £1,000 a year. If the Australian Colonies benefit of these researches, and if the Committee disseminate the n, are they willing to bear their share of that expenditure? MER: The figure I mentioned was £500 a year.

VEN: I only put it at £1,000 to be safe.

MER: Just so. The tendency of all these things is to rather

VEN: I did not want to understate it. I will say from £500 to

MER: That is about what it will really amount to.

VEN: We want something that will give us information about the rpillar and the potato blight. Tasmania wants that particularly, e suffered considerably from it. It will be worth ten times that re can get the information.

MER: I think Mr. Lefroy could give us some extraordinary infor › damage caused in India by insect pests amounting to millions a gigantic.

ON MOORE (Agent-General for Western Australia): Although he same capacity as my colleague who has just preceded me, I do not e any hesitation in committing my Government to the small expendi- e incurred in transmitting this very valuable information.

As a

is a subject in which I have taken a considerable amount of interest. ve recognised the necessity for co-operation with various parts of the he British Empire, in dealing with the question of pests; and so far en I first was Minister of Agriculture, we entered into arrangements to secure the services of Mr. Compare, who was successful in securing ious portions of the world which have rendered very great service

rn Australia. I can only say for my own part that I welcome the has been made, and feel sure that the information that will be trans- irious parts of the British Dominions will be of the very greatest ce has been made to the Irish blight. That is a question which is a ɔne in Australia at the present time. I may say that the regulations importation of potato seed into the Commonwealth at the present allow us to import sced from England. I had instructions to obtain I potatoes, but I was not able to comply with the conditions under admitted to Australia. Western Australia is practically free from it we are anxious to obtain every information about it. At the same t want to take up the attitude, as has been pointed out by Mr. rohibiting, when by some proper system of inspection or treatment e allowed to land. As far as we are concerned the measures adopted stralia to deal with insect pests inimical to plant life are really o branches, namely, prevention of entry and the internal field work. question of entry is a very sore point, very often, between the various as the codlin moth is concerned, we, in Western Australia, are free have had to tackle a question which was also referred to by Mr. ely, the question of destroying orchards. Five years ago we took very s, which received a certain amount of very hostile criticism. We e trees in Western Australia that showed any sign of codlin moth, that to-day we have no sign of codlin moth in the State at all. So that young State, but one which we hope will be big with possibilities in