242 
Report on the Trade in Animals. 
As a matter of fact, however, I am not aware that complaints 
against the manner in which the Veterinary Inspectors in 
England discharge their duty have been often preferred, and 
I anl not conversant with a single case in which any accusation 
has been substantiated. There is probably more uncertainty 
felt as to the action of the Continental Inspectors, and less 
reliance placed on their skill. For instance, it is not unfre- 
quently stated that measures are taken to get animals from a 
scheduled country passed into England as if they had come 
from an unscheduled country ; thus German sheep are stated to 
be shipped at Hamburg for Antwerp, and sent from Antwerp 
to England as Belgian. Such an oversight on the part of the 
Inspector as would allow any clear cases of attempted fraud to 
pass unrecognised at the Continental or the English port, if 
promptly dealt with by the Home authorities, would probably 
not recur very soon. 
- With regard to inspection in Ireland, all that can be said is 
that, so far as I know, it has never been systematically tried, and, 
therefore, its chances of success or failure are entirely unknown. 
The supervision which I have recommended as supplementary' 
to inspection has for "its object the prevention of contact between 
diseased and healthy animals, and the vigorous destruction of 
disease-germs as soon as possible after they are formed. By 
some such means, properly carried out, I believe that we should 
obtain results as good as by such sweeping measures as the 
slaughter of all imported animals at the port of landing, while 
we should still retain the much-needed Dutch cows and Irish 
stores, and not interfere in any appreciable manner with cattle- 
dealers who are too scrupulous to enrich themselves to the 
extent of a penny by inflicting an injury on the public to 
the extent of a pound. 
The Council of the Society having received the Abstract of 
this Report, as already stated, referred it to the Cattle Plague 
Committee, consisting of the whole Council. After an interval 
of a month it was carefully considered, both by the Committee 
and the Council, and finally the following suggestions were, 
last December, made to the Government in reply to the invi- 
tation of the Vice-President of the Privy Council given the 
previous July : — 
(1.) That a sufficient number of Veterinary Inspectors be 
appointed by the Government at the ports, both in England and 
Ireland, to examine properly every animal previous to shipment 
or landing, as the case may be (pp. 198, 211, &c.) 
(2.) That a return of the animals found affectc;d with any con- 
tagious or infectious disease, with the names of their owners and 
the nature of the disease, shall be furnished, at such intervals as 
