§ MR. CALLANasked Mr. Attorney General for Ireland, Whether his attention has been called to the statements of the Right honourable the Recorder of Dublin, on Saturday last, in reserving judgment in the case of Lyons against the Guardians of the North Dublin Union for the recovery of the price of milch cows, which have been slaughtered by order of the cattle Inspectors of the defendants, under the provisions of the Contagious Diseases Animals Act, who said—
It was a monstrous thing that this Act of Parliament, which deals with the rights of owners of cattle in this Country, where the cattle trade is the staple production of the rural portion of the Country, and which gives hoards of guardians the power of summarily destroying the property of these people, for very good reasons, and which provides that under these circumstances the owners are to receive statutory compensation, is wholly silent as to the tribunal which is to decide these matters in case of a dispute. A greater omission from an Act of Parliament could scarcely be conceived, and the sooner the attention of the authorities are drawn to this the better;and, whether, in view of this statement, he proposes to introduce a Bill to rectify this important omission, by naming "the tribunal which is to decide the amount of compensation in case of a dispute?"
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. GIBSON)Sir, my attention has been called by the Question to the case referred to by the hon. Member. As I do not know the circumstances under 666 which the case was brought before the Recorder, and is now actually pending before him, I can, of course, offer no opinion upon it. With regard to the second part of the Question, I have no intention of bringing in any amending Bill, as the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act was carefully framed, and has been found to work well, and provides ample powers—which have been acted on—for making Orders in Council, from time to time, for the purposes of the Act, including the mode of ascertainment of the value of animals slaughtered by order of the local authority.
§ MR. CALLANMay I ask the right hon. and learned Gentleman, whether the Act names the tribunal which is to decide the amount of compensation?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. GIBSON)If the hon. Gentleman will refer to the 32nd section, he will see that it applies to the machinery by which Orders in Council may be made on all the subjects likely to arise.