STATE HYGIENE 565 



and mouth disease, pleuro-pneumonia or swine fever, all of 

 which are plagues in which compensation has been given. 

 It has never assumed proportions of national importance, 

 and the question of compensation has to be considered from 

 this aspect. On the other hand the existence of the disease 

 is a menace to the horse-owning community, who have a 

 right to seek protection and demand the eradication of the 

 disease. 



Compensation may be regarded in two lights, first as an 

 honest attempt to help the owner, especially the small 

 owner, out of his difficulties, and secondly, as a reward for 

 not concealing disease. It is only in the former light that 

 we shall consider the question, and the important point is 

 What claim has a horse owner on the public purse when 

 he gets glanders in his stud? Personally speaking we 

 think he has very little. If he keeps horses for pleasure 

 he can afford the loss by disease, but practically we know 

 this is not the class of horse that suffers from glanders, it 

 is almost essentially a disease of the working and not the 

 pleasure horse. This being so, no man keeps a horse 

 unless he is making money by so doing, and it is a reason- 

 able thing to think if the horse is a source of profit the 

 owner might, like a prudent man, insure himself against 

 disease, and not have to appeal to the public for help when 

 in difficulties. We are naturally an improvident race, and 

 improvidence is only another name for selfishness ; it is 

 doubtful how far this selfishness should be compensated for 

 by assistance from the public purse. 



At present an owner does or does not get compensation or 

 glanders, depending on the caprice of the local authorities ; 

 some may be liberal and allow five pounds a head, others 

 give the price of a dead horse, others nothing whatever. 

 This is one of the many disadvantages of permissive 

 legislation. 



The amount of compensation fixed by law is ' such sum 

 as the local authority think expedient,' being a minimum 

 of two pounds and never to exceed one-fourth the value of 

 the animal in health. All compensation can be avoided by 



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