HL Deb 24 February 1879 vol 243 cc1639-40
LORD COTTESLOE

asked the Lord President of the Council, Whether it is the intention of the Government to include within the provisions of the Dairies, Cowshed, and Milkshops Order, 1879, cowkeepers and dairymen who use the produce of their dairies in the manufacture of butter and cheese for sale, not being sellers or purveyors of milk? The Order in question was generally felt to be unnecessarily stringent, and that it was also expensive to these who were brought within its scope.

THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON

said, he was sorry to hear that there were such objections to the recent Order as those spoken of by the noble Lord. The Order had been issued in accordance with the 34th section of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act of last year. He could, of course, state what were the intentions of the Government in framing that Order; but it would be impossible for him to make an authoritative statement as to the particular cases that might from time to time be brought within the Order. Each case must rest on its merits. He would, however, state very distinctly that the intention was that those who sold butter and cheese and milk should be included within the Order. He did not think that those who sold butter and cheese, but did not sell milk, would come within it, the object being to secure to the public a supply of pure and wholesome milk. The noble Lord appeared to think that the regulation was a stringent and expensive one. He did not see how it could be expensive; for if the noble Lord referred to the 56th section of the Act, he would see that no charge was made by the local authority for anything done under the Act, so that there was no expense whatever to anyone registered under the Order. He did not imagine that the noble Lord would wish that persons who sold milk should be allowed to keep their cowsheds and dairies in an unclean and unwholesome condition. All were aware of the prevalence of typhoid disease in this country, and it was recognized that that disease was much spread by the use of bad milk; and, therefore, he thought the Order must be regarded as one made in the interests of all consumers of milk, both high and low, throughout the country.