MR. HEADLAMsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether Her Majesty's Government will take any steps to remove the obstacles that now impede the importation of Foreign Sheep and Cattle? Since he gave Notice of the Question an important change had been made in the regulations affecting the importation of foreign sheep. He would therefore ask the right hon. Gentleman who replied to state precisely the effect of the change, and whether foreign sheep were to be brought into a separate market? The new Order did not affect foreign cattle, and the obstacles to which he alluded were still in existence as regarded them and their reception at separate markets.
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERsaid, he could state exactly the effect of the existing regulations with respect to the importation of sheep. The Order in Council which had just been issued revoked an Order in Council which was issued on the 20th of August last year, and the Order of revocation would take effect from Friday next. Consequently, the importation of sheep would be placed in the same position as it was before the Order of August last. The effect of that 155 Order was that unless sheep arrived in the same vessel as foreign cattle they might be landed at any port where the landing of sheep was now permitted, that was generally at ports of entry; and, if upon examination they were found to be healthy, they might be removed or sold without restriction; but if they were imported in the same vessel with foreign cattle, they were subjected to the same regulations as those which affected foreign cattle. The Order of last August was issued in consequence of the Government being informed that the sheep-pox was at that time raging in Holstein, in Schleswig, and partly in Holland—countries from which we were in the habit of importing sheep. The Government were now informed, that sheep-pox was confined within comparatively small bounds in North Germany, had probably disappeared in Holland, and did not exist in any other country from which we usually imported sheep. It was believed to exist to some extent in Italy and Russia; but that was comparatively unimportant, as our imports from those countries were very small. Since the 12th of October, 1868, no case of smallpox had been detected in any foreign sheep coming into this country; and taking that fact into consideration, and also the fact that in Northern Germany the Government regulations were very stringent, and a complete cordon was drawn round the infected districts, and further that the import of sheep into this country had been very much diminished during the operation of these Orders, the Government felt that the restriction could hardly be maintained any longer. From the 1st of September, 1867, up to the second week of February, 175,421 sheep were imported, and from the 1st of September, 1868, to the present date the number imported was only 97,927; and we knew that simultaneously with this reduction of imports the price of mutton had been rising. The Government was satisfied that the danger now was small compared with what it was when the restriction was imposed, and they therefore thought it right to take it off. With regard to the importation of foreign cattle the Government had now had an opportunity of looking at the Bill brought in by the noble Lord opposite (Lord Robert Montagu), because, although it had only just been printed, it was almost a verbatim copy of a Bill 156 which, the present Government found in the office. The Government did not feel that they could altogether adopt the arrangements of that Bill, and it was their intention to bring forward a Bill of their own, believing, as they did, that legislation upon the subject was still necessary, and believing also that it was desirable that that legislation should affect animals that might be suffering not merely from the rinderpest, but from other contagious diseases. This was the opinion of many gentlemen connected with the agricultural interests; and the Bill of the Government should be laid on the table before the date fixed for the second reading of the Bill of the noble Lord.