428 
EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
prove the identity of the <e lung disease ” in America with 
that of our own country. 
Importers whose interests were threatened by the discovery 
of the existence of disease were, not unnaturally, anxious 
for further inquiry ; accordingly they sought the advice of the 
three principals of the Scotch colleges* Professors McCall, 
Walley, and Williams, all of whom arrived at Liverpool 
about the same time, and inspected the living cattle which 
had been detained by the inspector, and made post-mortem 
examinations of those which were slaughtered. Professors 
McCall and Walley agreed that the disease was pleuro¬ 
pneumonia. Professor Williams, we understood, dissented 
from their views, but we did not gather to what extent; and 
it was not without surprise that we read in the Times of 
May 18th the following account in the Parliamentary 
intelligence : 
“ Mr. Mundella asked the Vice-President of the Council, 
if he was aware that Professor W. W. Williams, of the 
Edinburgh Veterinary College, had written a letter to Dr. 
Laidlaw, veterinary pathologist, of Albany, New York, de¬ 
nying in the most emphatic terms that pleuro-pneumonia 
has existed in any cattle hitherto imported from the United 
States. 
“ Whether his attention had been called to a letter of Pro¬ 
fessor Williams’, dated 29th March, in which the following 
passage occurs :— 
“ e Since first arrival of ‘ Ontario ’ with cattle others have 
arrived at Liverpool, and I have examined the lungs, said 
by Privy Council inspectors to have pleuro-pneumonia, and 
satisfied all who have seen them that no pleuro-pneumonia 
has arrived here from America; indeed, everybody is sur¬ 
prised that such a gross mistake should have been made. 
The last lot—seven in number—examined by me had bron¬ 
chitis, with collapse of the lung, but not a trace of pleurisy 
nor of pneumonia, yet they were declared by the authorities 
in London to have typical pneumonia. I have the specimens 
most carefully preserved, and am ready to show them to the 
whole world if necessary.’ ” 
The Vice President, in reply, read a memorandum 
