MR. CARTERasked the Vice President of the Council, Whether, seeing that the Orders at present in force respecting the importation of Foreign Cattle are seriously affecting the supply of meat to the northern and midland towns, he is in a position so to modify these Orders as to give the necessary relief?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERsaid, in reply, that the Question enabled him to explain the nature of an Order in Council which would appear in The Gazette that night. Though fully aware of the great disadvantage to the food trade of the country arising from restrictions on the importation of cattle, the Government were not slow to impose them, when necessary. They had also felt it to be their duty to watch for any change of circumstances from time to time, so as to be ready to relax the restrictions at the very first moment it might be in their power to do so, and they now felt themselves able to relax the restrictions in two respects. In the first place, in consequence of the cattle plague following the French and German Armies, first into Germany, and then into France, and spreading to Belgium, they had thought it desirable to put the importation of German cattle under greater restrictions than before the war; but now, as they found that, owing to the admirable administrative ability of the Germans, the cattle plague had been got rid of in Germany, the cattle coming from that country were put in the same position as before the war, and on arriving in the port of London would be able to go to the Islington market. The Government, however, found it impossible to withdraw the restrictions with regard to importations from France and Belgium. Another relaxation of some importance had been made. Holland had been taken out of the scheduled countries and put in the same position as Norway and Sweden, and cattle from Holland would be allowed to come in without restriction. In Holland no case of cattle plague had occurred for the last three years; and, in addition to that, since the 1st of January this year a law had been in force prohibiting the importation of cattle into Holland. Consequently, Holland was not only safe in itself, but preserved from danger by not allowing those cattle to be imported which were especially feared from the Steppes countries, where the cattle plague prevailed. But, notwithstanding this, they had not thought it right to remove the restriction upon cattle from Holland until they were also assured by the Dutch Government that no change would be made in their restrictions without previously informing Her Majesty's Government.