FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AGAIN 29 



At its April meeting the Council strongly protested against 

 this proposal ; a very influential deputation representing 

 agriculturists in all parts of the kingdom waited on the Lord 

 President to emphasise this protest, and a large meeting was 

 held at Prince's Hall the same evening to demonstrate the 

 complete agreement of the whole agricultural interest on this 

 point. The Government acquiescing in these expressions of 

 popular opinion, passed the Bill substantially as it left the. 

 House of Lords, and it received the' Royal Assent on 19th May. 



During the year the Council had more than one debate on 

 internal regulations concerning animals' diseases. At the 

 June meeting of the Council a Report from the Cattle Diseases 

 Committee was adopted, setting out the practice of local 

 authorities in reference to the movement of animals, the 

 isolation resorted to in case of outbreaks, and other details 

 of administration. The Report also recommended the 

 slaughter of all animals with full compensation when, an out- 

 break of contagious disease occurred. Judging from the 

 tone of the reports and the correspondence that passed, it is 

 evident that a much more friendly feeling existed at this 

 period between the Chamber and the Privy Council than had 

 been the case in earlier years. The passing of the Act of this 

 year was another great step towards the complete adoption 

 of the policy which the Chamber had been advocating for 

 nearly twenty years. 



The number of outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease this 

 year dropped to 949, in 1885 there were 30, and in 1886 there 

 was only one. In a paper read by Mr. Thomas Duckham, 

 M.P., before the Farmers' Club in November, 1883, he quoted 

 the following figures from official sources : " During 1881, 

 172 cargoes of diseased animals were imported, and of these 

 143 cargoes were suffering from Foot and Mouth Disease ; 

 in 1882, 95 cargoes of diseased animals were landed, and of 

 these 66 had Foot and Mouth Disease ; during the first six 

 months of 1883 there were 94 cargoes landed affected with 

 Foot and Mouth Disease." Taking these figures, together 

 with the outbreaks of this disease during the early 'eighties, 

 and comparing them with the number of outbreaks since 1884, 



