cx 
Monthly Council, July 30, 1890. 
funds. It comes into operation 
on the 1st September next, and it 
is needless to point out that the 
success of the measure will greatly 
depend upon the cordial co-opera- 
tion of the owners and breeders of 
stock, and of persons connected 
with the cattle trade throughout 
the country. 
Pleuro-pneumonia can be ar- 
rested without difficulty when it is 
discovered; but in many cases its 
existence is easily concealed, and 
it is essential for the proper per- 
formance of their duties that the 
Board of Agriculture should receive 
in every case, as soon as it is 
known, prompt and certain infor- 
mation of the existence of the 
disease. 
The high position of the Eoyal 
Agricultural Society of England, 
comprising amongst its members 
so many of the leading agricultur- 
ists of the kingdom, enables it to 
exercise an influence in agricul- 
tural circles which is second to that 
of no institution in the country. 
I am directed to express the 
hope that in the execution of the 
task which is before them, the 
Board may receive your cordial 
support, and I am to say that for 
any assistance which your Society 
can render by the exercise of its 
influence in securing for the Board 
the earliest intimation of outbreaks 
of disease, the "resident will feel 
that he is greatly indebted. 
I am, My Lord, 
Your Lordship's obedient servant, 
(Signed) C. Harry Tennant, 
for Secretary. 
The President, 
Eoyal Agricultural Society of England, 
] 2, Hanover Square, W. 
Sir Jacob Wilson said it would be 
in^their recollection that at the meet- 
ing of the Council held in November 
last a representation was made to the 
Government as to the great desira- 
bility of pushing forward legislation 
as soon as possible with regard to 
pleuro-pneumonia, in order to esta- 
blish the principle of central in place 
of local action. As they were aware, 
legislation was not a very rapid pro- 
cess at the present time ; but it was 
gratifying to find that at last, by 
the assistance of both sides of the 
House, the Government Bill had 
passed all its stages and, having now 
received the assent of Her Majesty, 
had become an Act of Parliament. 
At the deputation which waited upon 
the Minister of Agriculture in Febru- 
ary last, they strongly urged that it 
was most important to get this 
measure passed in time for effect to 
be given to it before the cattle went 
out of the yards, when the dealing 
with the disease was comparatively 
easy. That unfortunately could not 
be done, and the result — which was 
fully anticipated and confidently ex- 
pected on the part of those most 
interested — was, that as soon as the 
movement began to take place in 
order to carry out the general economy 
of the farm at that particular time 
of year, the disease had spread far 
and wide. That was the cause of 
the increase of prevalence of the 
disease referred to in the report 
which Sir John Thorold had just read. 
This movement of cattle might be 
regarded as the general cause of the 
dissemination and spreading of dis- 
ease. The special cause, however, 
was the fraudulent concealment of 
the existence of disease, not only on 
the part of owners of stock in the 
country, but more particularly — he 
was sorry to say — on the part of those 
who acted as the medium between 
the sellers and the purchasers. In 
support of this he need only point to 
what had taken place in the dairies 
of Edinburgh, and in the counties of 
Chester and Lancaster, to show how 
very widespread this dissemination of 
disease had been. What the remedy 
of this was to be he was not prepared 
to say, but his own opinion was 
that it rested very muqh with the 
magistracy of the country. The fines 
they had hitherto inflicted showed 
that they were not alive to the re- 
sponsibility resting upon them, and 
the paltry nominal fines which had 
been imposed had no sort of deterrent 
effect upon the persons to whom he 
referred. 
There was another point which 
very much required their atten- 
tion, viz., the establishment -of a 
system of registration on the part 
of those whose business it was to sell 
cattle throughout the country, so 
