The Royal Commission on the Depressed Condition of the Agricultural Interests was appointed by
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
's
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
government in 1879 in response to the
depression in British agriculture. It was chaired by the
Duke of Richmond
Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor dynasty, Tudor and House of Stuart, Stuart families.
The current dukedom of Richmond was ...
and is sometimes called the Richmond Commission. It submitted its final report in 1882.
After the particularly bad harvest of 1879, the Conservative MP and landlord
Henry Chaplin
Henry Chaplin, 1st Viscount Chaplin (22 December 1840 – 29 May 1923) was a British landowner, racehorse owner and Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 until 1916 when he was raised to the peerage.
Backgrou ...
requested that a royal commission be appointed. Its Final Report noted the disadvantages that farmers suffered, including burdens such as tithes, local rates, the increasing cost of farm labour, rising rents and railway rates that favoured imports. It recommended a shift in the local tax burden from real property to the consolidated fund and argued for a government department for agriculture.
[Fletcher, p. 427.] The government eventually set up a
Board of Agriculture in 1889, with Chaplin its first President.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Commission on the Depressed Condition of the Agricultural Interests (1879-1882)
British Royal Commissions