§ MR. J. LLOYD MORGAN (Carmarthen, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture (1) whether he has received many Resolutions from County Councils in England and Wales protesting against having to pay out of Local Taxation Account a portion of the expenses incurred in the measures taken for the purpose of stamping out disease amongst stock; (2) whether the Government intend during the coming financial year to ask Parliament to vote a further sum of money out of Imperial taxes for the above purpose; and (3) whether that sum will be sufficient to entirely relieve local authorities in future from any burdens on the local taxation?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTUREThe reply to the first and second inquiry is in the affirmative. With regard to the third I would say that although I should hope that the reduction in our drafts upon the Local Taxation Accounts, which has been so substantial during the past two years, may still further proceed, I can scarcely anticipate that we shall be able to dispense with such drafts altogether in the year 1898–99. The Exchequer contributions will be the maximum amounts which can be granted consistently with the limitation imposed by law.