702 
PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE. 
In reply to Mr. Peel, 
Mr. Forster stated that since replying to the member for 
Norfolk in the early part of the day he had ascertained that of the 
three cargoes which came in from Hamburg with cattle plague, in 
two of them at least the cattle plague was found amongst German 
cattle, and, so far as he could discover, there were no Russian cattle 
in the same ships. He was obliged to come to the conclusion, 
therefore, that cattle plague must exist at Hamburg, and under the 
circumstances the Government had to consider whether they would 
allow the order to remain in force which allowed Schleswig-Holstein 
cattle to come in without being slaughtered at the port of landing. 
With cattle plague at Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein could not be 
considered safe, and therefore it had been most reluctantly thought 
necessary to cancel the order, and also to schedule sheep from 
Germany, obliging them to be slaughtered at the port of landing. 
The position of Schleswig-Holstein, therefore, would be what it was 
a month or two ago, and all German cattle and sheep would have to 
be slaughtered at the port of landing. Hitherto the practice had 
been to prohibit the import of cattle from ports where the disease 
existed, but he hoped measures would be taken by Germany for 
speedily stamping out the disease, so that there would be no 
necessity for taking a course which would be a great inconvenience 
to the trade. He must, however, observe that restrictions upon the 
trade did not affect the price of meat so much as the existence of 
cattle plague. (Hear, hear.) 
Thursday, August 1st. 
In reply to Mr. Macfie, 
Mr. Forster said that on the 24th of July last the Inspector 
at Leith telegraphed to the Veterinary Department of the 
Privy Council that diseased carcases of cattle had been taken 
twenty miles out to sea and sunk, to which the reply was that such 
carcases should be buried. There had been some mistake in the 
matter, and carcases had been washed ashore, but there was 
reason to suppose that they were not those of diseased cattle, 
but some healthy cattle which had been washed overboard ; but 
if they were diseased, no blame was to be attributed to the local 
authorities of Leith. 
Saturday, August Zrd. 
Col. Barttelot asked the Vice-President of the Council what 
steps he had taken, or was taking, to prevent the spread of 
the cattle plague. He remarked that very great excitement 
prevailed in the country because several cases of the disease had 
occurred at Newcastle, Leith, Hull, and Hartlepool. 
Mr. Forster could only repeat the answer he had given to the 
House a few days ago. The interest in the subject was, however, 
so great that he could not be at all surprised that the question had 
been put to him again. The seventh cargo of diseased animals had 
arrived at our ports. Two of them had arrived at Deptford, one at 
Hull, one at Leith, two at Newcastle, and one at Hartlepool. Four 
