§ MR. PERKS (Lincolnshire, Louth)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he can state when the existing Orders for the muzzling of dogs in the Metropolitan area will be modified or repealed; and if he can state the number of persons who have been summoned under these Orders within the Metropolis, and the return to the revenue arising 165 from fines and costs imposed upon persons so summoned.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. LONG, Liverpool, West Derby)With regard to the withdrawal of the Order to which the hon. Member refers, I cannot add anything to the full statement which I made in reply to the question put to me by my hon. friend the Member for Chelsea on Thursday last. I have been in communication with the Home Office with a view to obtaining the information asked for in the second paragraph of the question, but I find that all that can be stated is that 5,137 persons were proceeded against for offences relating to dogs within the Metropolitan Police District during the year 1897. The returns for the year 1898 are riot yet made up, and no information is available as to the amount of the fines and costs imposed.