§ SIR EDWARD STRACHEY (Somersetshire, S.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he will arrange that the local inspector shall have power to call in a local veterinary surgeon in all cases where the symptoms of swine fever are not so clear as to leave no room for doubt; and if he will give directions that the premises should be declared free of swine fever with the least possible delay if it has been ascertained that the declaration of the existence of swine fever was groundless.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE(Mr. HANBURY,) PrestonThe Board in all such cases direct by telegram the attendance of one of their veterinary inspectors or of a specially selected veterinary surgeon, who are under the control of the Board, and have more experience of the disease and are more independent of purely local influences than might always be the case if the local veterinary surgeon was called in. It is not, and never has been, the practice of the Board to continue the restrictions alter the veterinary officers are satisfied that swine fever does not exist, and that the restrictions can be withdrawn, with reasonable safety. But, 13 when dealing with a disease possessed of such peculiar characteristics, it is often necessary to allow a considerable interval to elapse before finally accepting the negative evidence which alone can be available in such cases that swine fever is non-existent.