FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



chief of the Veterinary Department of the Privy 

 Council and afterwards of the Board of Agriculture, 

 the one man whose courage did more than any- 

 thing else to stem the calamitous tide. When 

 called in to advise the Government, he said : 

 " Give me a free hand and I can stamp it out." 

 His remedy was " Slaughter, slaughter, slaughter ! " 

 He was given full licence to carry out his specific, 

 and he fulfilled his undertaking. He was one of 

 the most imperturbable of men, the very personi- 

 fication of that coolness and confidence which even 

 an earthquake would never disturb. He had a 

 wonderful store of worldly wisdom, rendered all 

 the more effective when drawn upon by a vein 

 of the dryest of dry humour and an impassiveness 

 of countenance which even the Sphinx might 

 envy. He was for many years, and until his death, 

 the Bath and West Society's veterinary inspector, 

 so that I had full opportunity of knowing and 

 appreciating his striking characteristics. He was 

 the apostle of prohibition of live imports from 

 foreign countries, and the legislation which has 

 followed upon the representations of himself and 

 other practical authorities has been of incalculable 

 benefit to this country. Cattle plague, foot-and- 

 mouth disease, pleuro-pneumonia, rabies, etc., 

 could never have been practically stamped out 

 and kept out in any other way. How well the 

 battle of prohibition was fought in Parliament 

 and the country by such men as Clare Sewell 

 Read, Tom Duckham, and Albert Pell all of 

 whom I had the pleasure of knowing, for we 

 foregathered at the Farmers' Club and elsewhere 

 will never be forgotten by those who realized 



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