§ MR. SEYMOUR ORMSBY-GORE (Lincolnshire, Gainsborough)To ask the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the cases of typhoid fever caused by oysters reared in insanitary beds, he will consider the advisability of appointing an inspector of oyster beds.
§ (Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) The question of preventing the spread of typhoid fever is primarily one for the sanitary authorities, and I do not think that the appointment of a special inspector of oyster beds by the Board of Trade is necessary. I may, however, mention that the Board of Trade are considering with the Local Government Board whether in particular cases joint action might not be taken by the local sanitary and fishery authorities with a view of preventing the discharge of sewage in the neighbourhood of oyster beds, or where that is impossible of inducing the owners to move the oysters to another site.