271 
Contagious Diseases of Live Stock. 
of landlord, farmer, and labourer. Mr. Clay undertook the 
arduous duties of honorary secretary pro tem., and sent a circular 
letter, accompanied by the objects in view, to farmers’ clubs, 
agricultural societies, and numerous agriculturists. A large 
number of favourable replies having been received, a meeting was 
advertised to be held on May 23 at the Salisbury Hotel, and it 
resulted in the unanimous resolve to form a Central Chamber. 
Each person present paid his pound, and Mr. Pell was unani- 
mously elected President. Several affiliated chambers were 
quickly formed, and the first general meeting was held on 
December 12, 1866. 
Naturally, the first work of the Chamber was to press for 
legislation for the future guarding of the flocks and herds of 
the nation against the importation of foreign diseases, and to 
so regulate the internal cattle traffic as to minimise the risk of 
spreading diseases such as had for so many years inflicted serious 
losses throughout the country. This was the state of affairs 
at the close of 1866. 
The circumstance that the stamping out of cattle plague was 
so nearly coincident with the extermination of the other diseases 
brought many converts to the principle of including foot-and- 
mouth disease within the scope of legislation, and for extending 
the same regulations to Ireland as to England. 
As a safeguard against the importation of foreign contagious 
diseases the Chambers pressed for waterside markets with 
abattoirs attached, for the sale and slaughter of the imported 
animals from diseased countries. The necessity of having a 
Minister of Agriculture was seriously felt and earnestly set forth, 
and on April 26, 1883, the Prime Minister, in reply to my question, 
announced it to be Her Majesty’s pleasure to appoint a Board 
of Agriculture. Valuable as that concession was, it by no means 
met what was considered to be an urgent necessity, viz., a 
Minister of Agriculture. The correctness of these views has 
been exemplified during the last and present Parliaments by the 
manner in which the last and present Ministers of Agriculture 
have discharged the duties attached to the office. 
Although the diseases, which had proved so disastrous for 
more than a quarter of a century, were so nearly exterminated 
under the cattle-plague regulations, the re-admission of European 
cattle was soon followed by the re-introduction of the diseases 
referred to. So rapidly, indeed, did foot-and-mouth disease 
spread throughout Great Britain, that in 1870 there were 82 
counties infected, and the returns showed 457,564 animals 
diseased, whilst in 1871 there were 92 counties infected and 
691,560 animals diseased. Large as these numbers were, 
