The Outbreak of Cattle- Plague. 
215 
He wished to suggest to the Council that, although under these? 
circumstances the alarm may be false, it is far better to give it 
than that ignorance of the existence of the disease should con- 
tinue for a moment, lie trusted that farmers would be cautious 
not to get manure from the metropolitan district. Some manure 
from Limehouse had, he had ascertained, been sent to the 
neighbourhood of Barking Creek, but the manure had been 
found, and steps had been taken that it should not be removed, 
and that it should be so dealt with as to provide against any 
danger arising from it. He proposed still to go on with the 
system which had been inaugurated, and to give every informa- 
tion possible to the public through the local authorities. 
According to the existing law all animals from scheduled 
countries are now slaughtered at the port of landing, but the 
existence of cattle-plague at Limehouse proved that this is not 
sufficient to prevent the escape of disease from the defined part 
of the port. He had obtained from the master of the ' Castor ' 
the certificate of the Government Inspector, dated January 12th, 
certifying that the particular animals which arrived here in- 
fected with cattle-plague were free from disease when inspected, 
although at that very moment some of them must have been 
dying of rinderpest. One of them actually died on the passage, 
and twenty-seven out of the remaining thirty-nine died at 
Deptford before the slaughtermen could do their work. He had 
ascertained that some animals from the same man's stables, at 
Hamburg, including some sheep, had been landed at Hull, but 
as foot-and-mouth disease had broken out amongst the sheep, 
they were all slaughtered, as well as the cattle ; and all but two 
of the cattle sold that day in the English cattle-market had 
likewise been slaughtered in Hull. Those two went to the 
neighbourhood of Wakefield, but no trace of disease had been 
ascertained to exist in that neighbourhood, notwithstanding 
most careful inquiries. 
The ship that brought the diseased animals to Deptford, went 
from there to the wharf belonging to her owners. Afterwards, 
when the cattle-plague had been discovered, the Veterinary De- 
partment caused the vessel to be disinfected under the inspection 
of one of their own officers. The Department had no power to 
prevent the ship from being immediately used again for the 
carrying of cattle, but the owners had voluntarily guaranteed 
not to use it for that purpose for another month. One difficulty, 
no doubt, is that a ship, after landing an infected cargo, may 
go to another wharf, and the infection may be distributed by 
means of the manure of the animals as well as by the passengers 
and crew. 
The Government had already prohibited the importation of 
