§ SIR JOHN LENGI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has observed that the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, speaking on Friday in the House of Commons at Ottawa, declared that the embargo on the importation of Canadian cattle into the United Kingdom is detrimental to Canadian trade, and a financial injury to the people of the Dominion; that he did not hesitate to declare the embargo an unfriendly act to Canada, and that it 392 shows a lack of consideration for those bonds of Imperial unity which should be as dear to the mother country as to Canada; and whether, as the Canadian Minister added that nothing would appeal more to the Canadian people than if the motherland were to remove the present stigma from Canadian cattle, he will bring these statements under the consideration of the Government with a view to meeting the representations of the Dominion Parliament.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. LYTTELTON,) Warwick and LeamingtonI have seen a telegraphic report of the speech referred to by the hon. Member; but I regret that I can add nothing to the reply which I gave to his Question on this subject on June 7th†.
§ SIR GILBERT PARKER (Gravesend)May I ask whether this embargo was imposed not merely in order to keep out diseased cattle, but also as an acceptable form of protection for the British cattle-breeder?
§ MR. SPEAR (Devonshire, Tavistock)Is it not a fact that before the embargo was imposed we constantly had foot-and-mouth disease and pleuro-pneumonia attacking our cattle?
§ MR. LYTTELTONThat Question should be addressed to the President of the Board of Agriculture.