144  The  Meat  Industry  in  its  Relation  to  Agriculture. 
The  Insurance  of  Animals. 
The  above  considerations  lead  us  to  say  that  there  is  con- 
siderable variety  amongst  the  classes  of  stock  marketed,  and 
for  many  years  there  has  been  constant  warfare  between  the 
organised  meat  purveyors  and  the  farmers,  with  regard  to  the 
liability  for  diseased  animals.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
there  are  three  different  classes  of  people  who  are  concerned 
in  the  meat  supply.  The  first  is  the  farmer,  the  second  the 
meat  purveyor,  and  the  third  the  consumer.  The  farmer  is 
required  to  breed  stock  which  is  free  from  disease,  as,  un- 
doubtedly, the  meat  purveyor  must  look  to  the  farmer  to 
produce  animals  that  are  fit  for  human  food,  and  it  is  on  this 
understanding  that  live  stock  is  marketed  and  purchased. 
Unfortunately,  however,  there  are  many  tuberculous  animals 
in  our  herds,  it  being  stated  that,  amongst  cows,  40  per  cent, 
are  affected  with  tuberculosis,  and,  amongst  bullocks,  20  per 
cent,  are  said  to  be  affected  in  the  same  way,  whereas  something 
like  two  per  cent,  of  the  cows  are  said  to  have  tuberculosis 
of  the  udder.  If  these  figures  are  even  approximately  correct, 
we  are  bound  to  assume  that  they  constitute  a menace  to  the 
welfare  of  the  community.  The  farmer  has  in  the  tuberculin 
test  a means  of  ascertaining  whether  his  cattle  are  affected  or 
not,  and  it  is  further  a question  whether  the  State  should  not 
step  in,  and,  in  the  interests  of  the  community,  systematically 
test  all  the  herds  throughout  the  country,  and  proceed  to 
gradually  eliminate  those  that  are  tuberculous.  No  doubt,  this 
would  be  a heroic  remedy,  as  the  cost  would  be  enormous.  If, 
however,  we  are  to  accept  the  conclusions  of  the  Royal  Com- 
mission, appointed  to  inquire  into  the  tuberculosis  question  in 
1901,  it  is  only  right,  in  the  public  interest,  that  such  cattle 
should  be  discovered  and  slaughtered.  Whether  this  is,  or  is 
not,  a possible  policy,  is  not  material  to  the  question  as  between 
the  farmer  and  the  meat  purveyor.  The  latter,  who  purchases 
farm  live  stock,  has  no  means  of  knowing  whether  the  cattle 
are  affected  with  tuberculosis  or  not  until  they,  are  slaughtered, 
and  it  seems  to  be  only  fair  that,  under  such  conditions,  the 
farmer  should  be  liable  to  indemnify  the  meat  purveyor.  This 
question  has  been  agitated  for  a good  many  years,  and,  mainly 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Meat  Traders’  Associations, 
an  understanding  has  been  established  between  the  farmers 
and  meat  purveyors,  to  mutually  insure  the  animals  offered  at 
the  market ; the  condition  of  insurance  being  that,  in  the  case 
of  bullocks  over  10/.  in  value,  the  farmer  pays  6c/.,  while 
an  equal  amount  is  paid  by  the  meat  purveyor.  In  the  case 
of  cows,  the  insurance  premium  is  2s.  Gd.,  and  for  bulls  it  is  Is. 
per  head.  In  some  markets,  the  recompense  for  cows  which 
are  found  to  be  tuberculous  is  only  two-thirds  of  the  value,  but 
