1921.] Embargo on Canadian Cattle. 999 



THE EMBARGO ON THE 

 IMPORTATION OF CANADIAN 

 STORE CATTLE. 



DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER OF 

 AGRICULTURE. 



The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (The Right Hon. 

 The Lord Lee of Fareham, G.B.E., K.C.B.) received on 

 January 12th a deputation from the Joint Parliamentary Com- 

 mittee of the Co-operative Congress with regard to the existing 

 embargo on the importation of Canadian store cattle. The 

 deputation was introduced by Mr. A. V. Alexander, Secretary 

 of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of the Co-operative 

 Congress. 



Mr. May, Joint Parliamentary Committee, in stating the 

 case on behalf of the Co-operative Movement, drew attention 

 to the fact that the movement represented upwards of 4,000,000 

 members. The risk of disease, it was urged, had long since 

 been abandoned as a reason for the maintenance of the embargo ; 

 indeed the clean bill of health of Canadian cattle was 

 unexampled in the history of that or any other country. Even 

 if there had been disease, the embargo was never an effective 

 protection because Canadian cattle by the thousand, and by 

 the million, had in past years been slaughtered at the ports, 

 and the hides, offal and manure distributed throughout the 

 country. As Sir Robert Borden had said, there was much more 

 reason for Canada placing an embargo on cattle from the 

 United Kingdom than there ever was for this country placing 

 an embargo on cattle from Canada. It was admitted that the 

 consumers' demand for fresh-killed meat could, to a certain 

 extent, be met by the landing of fat cattle and their immediate 

 slaughter at the ports, but the consumers were entitled to the 

 further advantage of cattle coming into the country to be 

 " finished " and fed up to the same standard of quality as that 

 of home-grown meat which at present was only available for 

 those who had a long pocket. The recent depletion in the 

 herds of the country, as shown by the returns of the [Ministry 

 of Agriculture, was further testimony to the necessity for 

 removing the embargo. It had been stated that the various 

 interests concerned were not agreed, but such an artificial 

 atmosphere had been created round this subject that the 



