THE MEAT WARRANTY CONFLICT 61 



the importation of hay and straw from Holland and Belgium, 

 when it was known that Foot and Mouth Disease was pre- 

 valent in those countries, but the Board took no action in 

 the matter. On 5th February an outbreak of Foot and Mouth 

 Disease occurred at Leith, followed by two others, and these 

 were traced to some Dutch hay. By prompt action the 

 Board succeeded in preventing the disease from spreading. 

 On 4th March, in ^response to an urgent request from the 

 Council, backed up by Mr. Henry. Chaplin and Mr. G. L. 

 Courthope in the House of Commons, the President of the 

 Board issued an Order prohibiting the importation of hay 

 and straw from any countries infected with Foot and Mouth 

 Disease. This did not include packing material, and on 

 31st March the Council demurred to this not being also pro- 

 hibited. 



Considerable agitation was caused among agriculturists 

 by a threat from the Butchers' Associations that they would 

 refuse to purchase any animal for slaughter unless the seller 

 gave a warranty, to hold good for ten days, that the animal 

 was free from disease, and fit for the food of man. Numberless 

 meetings of protest were held by farmers all over the country, 

 and some heated and injudicious statements were made on 

 both sides. At the end of October the President of the Board 

 of Agriculture addressed a letter to the National Meat Traders' 

 Federation suggesting that they should suspend their resolu- 

 tion requiring their members to decline to purchase after 

 2nd November, pending a conference to be held between 

 representatives of their Federation and the Central Chamber 

 of Agriculture. This was agreed to, and the date of the 

 demand for the warranty was postponed until 1st January, 

 1909. 



On 3rd November a report from the Cattle Diseases Com- 

 mittee was adopted which pointed out that : 



" In view of the great difficulty usually experienced in getting 

 any meeting of agriculturists together during the harvest months, 

 it is hard to say which is the more surprising, the large attend- 

 ances that have resulted at these meetings, or the unanimity 

 with which they, quite spontaneously, have decided in the most 

 emphatic way to give no warranty. 



