7 42 CAUSES OF SPREAD OF FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE. 
common, and Antrim, in all amounting to 905 farms, lands, 
premises, or places. This certainly evinces a state of things 
decidedly opposed to inactivity.” 
Rightly enough also the Gazette adds, “ The rapid spread of 
the foot and mouth disease in the south and west of Ireland is 
certainly not attributable to any negligence of the government, 
or want of activity on the part of the police, or any other officials ; 
hut to the sympathy for offenders against Council Orders pro- 
hibiting the unrestricted movement of infectiously or con- 
tagiously diseased cattle evinced by the magistrates before 
whom they are prosecuted in some localities, many of whom, 
as well as their tenantry, are themselves cattle traders.” 
These extracts will help to give you some idea of the state 
of things here, and I fear that Irish stock owners will 
never recognise the necessity of acting in accordance with 
Council Orders until, as a result of English Privy Council 
interference, seizures of cattle shall have been made at 
the ports of their debarkation in Great Britain in consequence 
of their arrival from Ireland in a diseased state. The 
establishment of portal inspection of cattle about to be sent 
from Ireland would not, in my opinion, cause a readier 
or more extensive compliance with Irish Council Orders, 
except within the Dublin Metropolitan Police District, which 
includes the port of Dublin, and is the only part of Ireland in 
which the magistracy have been found to do their duty with 
respect to cases of cattle disease. 
In other ports, during the years of portal-inspection, the 
magistrates were found to only fine persons in the nominal 
penalty of one shilling for exporting animals to England 
without a certificate of health. In one case thus decided at 
Drogheda it was subsequently ascertained that the men on 
the bench were the principal shareholders in the steam-ships 
in which the animals had been exported, and were also cattle 
traders themselves. Another case in point occurred at 
Ballinasloe as recently as September 10th. The constabulary 
summoned a person to the petty sessions for concealing the 
existence of the foot and mouth disease, instead of reporting 
the outbreak to the police. The offence was clearly proved, 
and although an aggravated one, and unattended by any 
mitigating circumstances, the magistrates only imposed a 
nominal fine of one penny, and one shilling costs. 
Ballinasloe fair, which is the largest stock fair in Ireland, 
and probably in the United Kingdom, will be held on the 
4th proximo. No doubt it will be carefully supervised, but 
it may be doubted whether any good will arise from the 
strictest supervision and detection of disease in a place where 
