EIGHTH ORDINARY MEETING. 



57 



experience of to-day has indeed been dearly bought. Still it is- 

 highly satisfactory to learn that the losses are merely trifling. 





Cattle. 



Lost. 



Shkep. 



Lost 





No. 



41 

 54 



P, C. 



No. 



PC. 



The Dominion S.S. Line carried in 

 1882 



6,057 

 7.963 



0-67 

 070 



20,241 

 21,553 



522 

 989 



2-57 

 4 60 



Do., 1883 







Cattle. Sheep. 



Montreal exported in 1876 2,830 2,686 



1883 50,365 102,835 



It was not until the third season that the Liverpool authorities 

 became alive to the importance of this trade. When they did so, 

 with commendable promptitude they erected those handsome and 

 commodious lairages, pens, slaughter-houses, &o, which now expedite 

 the trade and allow of a ship-load of animals being slaughtered 

 .within 24 hours of debarkation. 



In addition to all the vexations, losses, <fec, incurred in the earlier 

 days from the want of sufficient knowledge of the requirements of 

 the trade, as well as having the opposition of the British farmer and 

 cattle dealers to overcome, the provisions of the Contagious Diseases 

 (animals) Acts had to be complied with. The depredations caused 

 in Britain during the past 20 years by numerous diseases are unfor 

 tunately only too well known ; in spite of the most stringent mea- 

 sures, the Government has failed to entirely stamp out these diseases, 

 and valuable herds and animals are still daily lost by their ravages. 



Recent statistics shew that there are in the- United Kingdom 

 32,237,958 sheep and lambs, the loss due to diseases brought on by 

 the recent wet seasons is estimated at 2,889,000, or nine per cent. 

 The Canadian farmer may complain about the severity of the winter, 

 but he has nothing to fear compared to his British brother.* 



To guard against any spread of these diseases strict quarantine laws 

 have been established applicable to all foreign countries, which neces- 

 sitated the cattle being slaughtered within 24 hours of debarkation, 

 and at the port of arrival. It must be a subject of much congratu- 

 lation and pride to us all, that the Dominion of Canada is the only 

 country which has never come under the clauses of the Act, or been 



Dyke — loc. cit. 



