§ MR. BOLANDI beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether he is aware that the instructions issued by the Department of Agriculture with respect to bee-keeping do not deal with the compulsory destruction of stocks infected with the disease of foul brood; and, if so, whether, in view of the fact that the honey produced in Ireland during the last year, for which statistics are available was 27 per cent. less than the preceding year the Department will favourably consider further representations with regard to the stamping out of this disease.
§ THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. ATKINSON, Londonderry, N.)There is no power of compulsory destruction in the scheme. The county instructors appointed under the scheme have not, so far, experienced any difficulty in inducing owners to consent to the destruction of infected stocks when advised that such a course is necessary. The Department are advised that the wet season of 1903 sufficiently accounts for a reduction in the yield of honey in Ireland. The Department are prepared to give careful consideration to any further representations that may be made to them in regard to the disease in question.