§ MR. NORWOODsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether the Commercial Treaty between Sweden and this Country contains the "most favoured nation" Clause; and, if so, whether the Government propose to extend to cattle imported from Sweden—being a country free from cattle plague—similar privileges to those which have been granted to cattle imported from Portugal, Spain, and Normandy: whether it would not be in accordance with our Treaty engagements with Prussia, which embrace the "most favoured nation" Clause, that similar privileges should also be granted to cattle imported from Schleswig Holstein, in case such province be found to be entirely free from cattle plague; and, whether any representations have been made to Her Majesty's Government in reference to the importation of cattle from Denmark, and whether the Government declines to remove the existing restrictions on the importation of cattle from Denmark, al- 1285 though that country is and has been entirely free from cattle plague?
LORD STANLEYsaid, in reply, that the commercial treaty between Sweden and this country did contain the "most favoured nation" clause, but stipulations of that kind had not been held to apply, and he did not think it reasonable that they should be considered as applying to restrictions temporarily imposed for sanitary purposes only, and not imposed with a view of giving one country a commercial advantage over another. That also answered the second part of the Question of the hon. Gentleman, which related to our treaty engagements with Prussia. With regard to the third part of the Question, many representations had been addressed to Her Majesty's Government on the subject; but although these representations were addressed to the Foreign Office in the first instance, it rested, not with him, but with the Council Office to consider what restrictions should be imposed for sanitary purposes.
§ MR. MILNER GIBSONsaid, if the restrictions were not necessary for sanitary purposes, he understood the noble Lord to say the "most favoured nation" clause would apply. Therefore, if there was no cattle plague in Sweden and Denmark, those countries had a right to demand that that clause should he carried into effect.
§ MR. MILNER GIBSONsaid, not as argument, but as a matter of fact, he wished to ask, If it was true that if there was no cattle plague in Sweden and Denmark, the "most favoured nation" clause applied?
LORD STANLEYsaid, the right hon. Gentleman put a question on a hypothetical case, which he could not answer on an occasion of this kind, inasmuch as he would have to enter on a longer discussion than the rules of the House would permit him. If the right hon. Gentleman wished to raise the question, he had better bring it on in a form in which it might be debated.
§ MR. NORWOODsaid, he wished to ask, Whether, as Denmark was free from the cattle plague, the Government intend to withdraw the restrictions on the importation of cattle from that country?
§ LORD ROBERT MONTAGUsaid, the question was not as to the landing of cattle, since that was permitted, but as to what was to be done with the cattle after they 1286 were landed. Cattle imported from Spain were allowed to go inland; but there were reasons why the regulations passed respecting cattle from Spain, Portugal, Brittany, and Normandy should not be applied to Denmark. The ships that went to Spain were engaged in the wine trade alone, and did not go to any other country than Spain, so that there was no danger of the cattle contracting any disease on board those ships; but the ships that went to Denmark went also to Revel and the Baltic ports, and cattle might very well contract disease in them. Another reason was that Spain, Portugal, Brittany, and Normandy reared more cattle than they required for their own use, exporting only, but not importing; so that there was no danger of the cattle contracting disease before their embarkation; but in the case of other countries this did not apply. When the hon. Member spoke of cattle being imported from Denmark, he must mean that they were exported from Schleswig and Holstein because the ports were in those provinces, and cattle from Hungary, Podolia, Galicia, Styria, and other districts where the cattle plague was indigenous, were conveyed to the ports of Schleswig and Holstein, and might be brought to this country. For those reasons it would be imprudent to apply the same regulations to the northern ports, where the same security against cattle plague did not exist.
§ MR. NORWOODsaid, he had confined his question to Denmark proper.
§ LORD ROBERT MONTAGUsaid, there was no port of export from Denmark proper.