§ MR. S. SMITH (Flintshire)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the condition in which large numbers of cattle have recently been landed at Liverpool by steamers arriving from Ireland, and that owing to the injuries which the cattle had received there was considerable delay in getting them removed from the landing stage, while large numbers were uufit to be moved and had to be slaughtered there; whether he is aware that many of them had their legs broken and others were gored to death; and whether he will consider the expediency of framing more stringent Regulations for the conveyance of cattle from Ireland?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. H. GARDNER,) Saffron WaldenI have caused special inquiry to be made into the distressing circumstances to which my hon. Friend refers, and the Reports which I have received go to show that they were due to the exceptionally heavy weather we have recently experienced, and that their occurrence would not have been prevented by any more stringent Regulations than those at present in force. The matter will continue to engage my attention, and if there is any reason to suppose that the vessels or their fittings were defective I shall, of course, communicate with the owners and the Local Authority.