§ COLONEL SIR HOWARD VINCENT (Sheffield, Central)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture if he can state what has been the loss in the series of Atlantic gales between 1st November 1898 and 28th February 1899 of live cattle coming to this country from British North America, the United States, Central and South America; and if, having regard to the fact that the immediate slaughter of cattle is insisted upon on landing in Great Britain, he can, with a view to the avoidance of suffering, do what is possible to urge that the animals shall be killed prior to embarkation, having in view also the great economy of space, labour, and money in the shipment of dead meat?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. W. H. LONG, Liverpool, West Derby)2,072 cattle, out of a total shipment of 140,710, or 1½ per cent., were lost in course of transit across the Atlantic during the four months from November 1898 to February last. I have no means of influencing the conversion of this trade into a purely dead meat trade—a matter which is obviously, governed by economic considerations over which I have no control—but we shall continue to do everything we can to improve the conditions under which it is carried on.