§ SIR JOSEPH BAILEYasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Whether, having in view the efficient manner in which the local authorities have performed their duties under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, and especially to the fact that the authorities of the county of Hereford have been specially eulogized in a recent Privy Council Circular, it is the intention of the Government in any way to curtail the powers of the said local authorities?
§ MR. DODSONI am sensible of the efficient manner in which many local authorities, that of Herefordshire among the number, have exercised the powers referred to in the Circular, and other powers intrusted to them. I am generally desirous of leaving the administration of these matters, as far as possible, in the hands of local authorities. The Privy Council, however, are bound to intervene from time to time to prevent conflict between the regulations of local authorities, and to meet emergencies or changes of circumstances. I cannot, therefore, give such an undertaking as an answer to the Question would imply.