§ MR. BARCLAYI beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he proposes to take steps to verify the statement recently made by the Agricultural Department of the United States that pleuro-pneumonia no longer exists in that country, with the 1179 view of determining whether cattle may now be freely imported from the United States?
§ MR. CHAPLINI am not aware of any statement made by the Agricultural Department of the United States that pleuro-pneumonia no longer exists in that country, in any public document or otherwise. The hon. Member was good enough to send me a communication on the 10th of this month from the Agricultural Department of the United States addressed to himself, in which it is stated "that pleuro-pneumonia is not known to exist in the United States at the present time," which is a very different matter. I have not thought it necessary to endeavour to verify the statement, seeing that within a comparatively short time animals undoubtedly suffering from that disease, within the knowledge of the Board of Agriculture, have been landed at Liverpool from the United States.