206 



(Enclosure). 



Extract from a report of the Committee of the Bonourable th^' 

 Privy Council, approved by His Excellency on the 7th April, 189S. 



The Committee of the Privy Council, have had under consideration 

 a paraphrase of a despatch Secret of March 28, 1898, and a despatch 

 dated March 28, 1898, from Sir Julian Pauncefote, Her Majesty's 

 Ambassador to the United States, intimating that some modification in 

 the recent law prohibiting nursery stock from the United States is- 

 urged by the State Department. of that country, owing to the disas- 

 trous effect on the interests of American dealers whose contracts are to 

 be filled. 



The Minister of Agriculture, to whom the said desp itches were refer- 

 red, states that the very serious depredation caused by the ravages of 

 the San Jose scale in the United States of America, induced Canada, in 

 self protection, to take immediate and extreme measures to prevent the 

 introduction of the pest into the Dominion. 



The Minister further states that 32 of the States of the Union as well 

 as the District of Columbia are now known to be infected with this pest 

 and that so alarmed are the authorities of the different States at the in- 

 crease of this insect, which is acknowledged to be by far the worst enemy 

 of trees which has ever been studied by entomologists, that many of the 

 States are now for this reason actually passing legi^ation as drastic as 

 possible in their circumstances, with the object of preventing the ship- 

 ment of infested stock from State to State. 



The Minister submits that, in the opinion of all entomologists who 

 have studied the subject, inspection is insufficient ; the Dominion ento- 

 mologist claims that thorough inspection is impossible. 



The Minister observes that the following sentence appears in the latest 

 publication on the subject by the United States' Entomologist, Bulletin 

 12, New Series, United States Department of Agriculture, page 25 : 



" The insufficiency of inspection certificates has been insisted upon 

 again and again." 



The Minister further states that the San Jose scale has been found at 

 a few localities in the province of Ontario, in one of the most important 

 fruit growing districts of the Douiinion. 



That the Provincial Government of Ontario recognizing the serious 

 natuie of this pest, has passed legislation with a view to its eradication, 

 which is confidently believed will soon he accomplished if no further in- 

 troduction of the pest from abroad occurs. 



That so important was immediate action for the protection of Cana- 

 da's most important fruit industry, and so numerous were demands from 

 fruit growers, fruit growers' associations, and others in all fruit growing 

 sections of the Dominion, that the members of both Houses of Parlia- 

 ment, upon the introduction of the Bill, suspended the rules of the 

 Houses and passed the Bill at once. 



That this was done with the full knowledge that a number of Cana- 

 dians would suffer in consequence of the sudden prohibition of all nur - 

 fiery stock, they having been agents for the distribution of this stock 

 and in many cases having been paid for it in advance. 



That the results of the Act were referred to on a subsequent date in 

 the Hous« of Commons, and the Members evinced a strong determina- 



