§ MR. W. FIELD (Dublin, St. Patrick)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether another outbreak of pleuro-pneumonia contagiosa has occurred recently in London; whether this further outbreak, and the result of investigations, have satisfied the authorities that the disease was local and not imported; and whether Ireland has had a clean bill of health for live stock (excepting swine fever) for a much longer period than Great Britain?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. WALTER LONG,) Liverpool, West DerbyIt is, I regret to say, the case that another outbreak of pleuro-pneumonia has occurred in London. So far as our inquiries have as yet proceeded, we have no reason to think that the disease was imported. It is the case that no outbreak of pleuro-pneumonia has been reported in Ireland for a much longer period than in Great Britain.
§ DR. FARQUHARSON (Aberdeen, W.)if this disease is not imported, is it the opinion of the scientific advisers of the right hon. Gentleman that the disease can occasionally spring up spontaneously?
§ MR. LONGThe hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well that the opinion of our expert advisers is that the disease cannot have a spontaneous origin. But it may be lying dormant for a long time.