122 



Parliamentary Publications. 



The Annual Local Taxation Returns (Scotland) for the Year 

 1895-96. \H.C. 167.] Price is, 9^. 



This is the Sixteenth Annual Volume of Returns under the 

 Local Taxation Returns (Scotland) Act, 1881. The revenue 

 in 1895-96 of the various authorities amounted to 9, 166,447, 

 and an additional sum of ^1,897,144 was received from loans. 

 Of the former sum ;£3,995,373, or 43*6 per cent, of the total 

 revenue was derived from Assessment. The average rates 

 per £ of assessment during the years 1895-96 — ascertained by 

 dividing the total amount of all assessments collected by the 

 gross valuation of the country — and the average rates per 

 head of estimated population were 3s. 2 •3d. and 19s. i*9d. 

 respectively ; and the average rates per £ of assessment for 

 Urban, Rural, and Parochial Authorities were 2s. 5d., 

 IS. o-4d., and is. 3'5d. respectively. 



The total expenditure of the various local authorities not 

 defrayed out of loans in 1895-96 was ;£'9,3i4,587 ; and the 

 expenditure met out of borrowed money amounted to 

 ;^2,o54,995. The main items of expenditure were £i^^i\fioo 

 for education, ;6 674,8 2 5 for roads and bridges, ^18,384 for 

 valuation of lands and heritages, 17,521 under the Diseases 

 of Animals Act, £^^2^1 under the Weights and Measures Act, 

 ;^24,399 for slaughter-houses, and ^18,423 for markets. 



Ireland. — Return in pursuance of the provisions of the 50M 

 section of the Diseases of Animals Act, iSg4y for the year 

 ended the ^\st Decefnber, 1897. [C— -8820]. Price ii^d. 



This report states that no outbreak of any contagious cattle 

 disease falling within the Orders in ^^Council under the 

 Diseases of Animals Act occurred in Ireland during the year 

 1897. The number of outbreaks of swine-fever confirmed 

 after official examination during the past year was 421. 

 In connection with the 421 confirmed outbreaks 4,132 swine 

 were slaughtered, and in 930 cases the lesions of swine-fever 

 were revealed on post-mortem examination ; 616 swine were 

 also slaughtered as suspected, but on post-mortem examina- 

 tion lesions of disease were not found. Forty-eight cases of 



