REPORT ON PLEURO-PNEUMOXIA. 295 



compulsory slaughter, and the National Society of Scotland, he 

 believed, for the first time were now recommending it. Past 

 experience had led the advocates of compulsory slaughter to 

 suppose that it would effectually stamp out the disease if carried 

 out universally. It had not succeeded at present, because only 

 the more energetic authorities had put into operation the full 

 powei*s which they possessed in this direction. The disease was 

 such a subtle one that it was impossible to eradicate it efficiently 

 by any other means than killing all the animals which had con- 

 tracted the disease, and also all those animals which had come 

 in contact with the infected cattle. It had been fully proved 

 that an animal might have a pleuro lesion in its lung which 

 could not be detected except upon a post-mortem examina- 

 tion. The dairpnen were opposed to the slaughter, but surely 

 it was inconceivable that the interests of the whole stock of the 

 country and its owners should be made to suffer in order to avoid 

 loss or inconvenience to a few dairymen. In the opinion of 

 many, the compulsory slaughter would prove the cheapest in 

 the end. 



Mr Paterson said that in Lanarkshire they had killed cattle 

 worth £18,000; they had got £8000 for the carcasses, and had 

 assessed the county at £10,000. Credit should be given to the 

 county for having blotted out the whole pleuro-pneumonia cases 

 within its limits. With the exception of two cases, in which 

 they had adopted inoculation, they had killed every animal; but 

 they did not know what further suffering was in store for them, 

 because pleuro-pneumonia was in their immediate neighbour- 

 hood. In Lanarkshire, for every unhealthy beast they had killed 

 fifteen healthy ones, and they asked the Government to put very 

 strongly in force their existing powers and clear the whole of 

 Scotland from the disease. 



Lord Cranbrook. — The great difficulty appears to be that, 

 unless Ireland is included, the peremptory order for Scotland 

 would become inoperative, because the importation from Ireland 

 is so very large that it is almost impossible, if there is disease in 

 Ireland, that it should not be communicated to the countries to 

 which they export cattle. 



Mr Paterson said that was so. The cattle were sent from 

 Dublin to Glasgow ; they were sometimes sold at Glasgow, but 

 were often sent on to Edinburgh, and sometimes sent back to 

 Glasgow to be sold again. Lanarkshire was between two fires, 

 having Glasgow on the one hand and Edinburgh on the other. 



Mr Stirling said he had now to present a resolution passed 

 unanimously by the Highland Society, to the effect that a 

 thorough investigation should be instituted into the nature of 

 pleuro-pneumonia, and requesting the Government either to 

 undertake such an investigation, or to provide a sum in aid to 



