§ EARL COWPERwished to put a Question to the Lord President of the Council, of which he had given him private notice—namely, Whether there was any truth in the rumour that a disease called "the Hog Cholera" had broken out in America?
EARL DE GREY AND RIPONreplied that some information had reached the Government on the subject of the Question put by his noble Friend. It related only to one district in America, and he was unable, at the present moment, to say what amount of importance should be attached to it. What the Government had learned about it was this—a letter had been received by his noble Friend the Foreign Secretary from Mr. H. W. Hemans, dated—"British Con- 943 sulate, Buffalo, March 20," of which the following was an extract:—
An infectious disease known as 'hog cholera,' is widely prevalent just now among American swine. This disease was detected in a large drove which reached Buffalo on the 12th instant, in transit for New York. About fifty of the drove were found to be infected, and several had been sold upon the spot before discovery was made. The flesh of the diseased hog is, of course, totally unfit for human food.Whether the disease could properly be described as general in America, he could not say; but he had put himself in communication with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in order that they might obtain fuller and more accurate information on the subject.