BEE PEST (IRELAND) BILL. (Hansard, 29 July 1908)

§ *THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE
My Lords, on the Motion to go into Committee I desire to say one word on the subject of this Bill. I believe it was read a second time under circumstances which rendered discussion difficult or impossible, and I do not think the House has heard very much as to the reasons which have induced His Majesty's Government to take the Bill up. It undoubtedly contains some extremely drastic and inquisitorial provisions. I was very much struck by an observation which fell from Lord Willoughby de Broke, who, in the course of his speech earlier to-day, said many sagacious things, to the effect that it is no use passing a law unless you can see your way to make people obey it. The law embodied in this Bill is certainly one which it will not be very easy to enforce. Beekeeping has increased enormously in Ireland. You hardly see a single cottage in the poorer parts of the country where there are not beehives, and the owners of these hives will be subject to the legislation contained in this Bill. Now what does the Bill do? It compels every owner of bees whose bees show symptoms of this disease to notify the fact, and if he fails to notify it he is liable to a severe penalty. Then inspectors are to be appointed who are to have power to enter at all reasonable times any premises where bees are kept, and anyone obstructing an inspector is liable to penalties. In the next clause the department or the local authority may order the destruction, not only of the bees supposed to be infected, but of all articles and appliances used in connection with bee-keeping which are infected with the disease or suspected of being infected; and there, again, a penalty is imposed for failure to comply with the clause. Finally, there is power taken to proclaim a whole area in which this bee disease 1394 is found to exist, and within that area the department may cause the whole of the bees, as well as the articles and appliances used in connection with beekeeping, to be destroyed. These are very strenuous powers, and I find at the end of the Bill that they can be delegated by the county council to a local authority. What I wish to know is whether His Majesty's Government have satisfied themselves by taking the advice of practical people that this is a kind of legislation which there is any prospect of successfully enforcing. Has there been any inquiry? Have the county councils been consulted? If not, I should like to know why there is so much hurry to force the Bill through Parliament, when, of course, there would be ample time for considering it at our leisure after the summer adjournment.

THE EARL OF MAYO
My Lords, I should like to say a few words with regard to the remarks of the noble Marquess. Other places besides Ireland have suffered from this bee pest. I am told by a noble Lord near me that every bee in the Isle of Wight last season was killed by this disease, known as foul brood. The Bill is required in order to encourage and promote the cottage industry of bee-keeping in Ireland. I cannot agree with the noble Marquess that this Bill is too drastic in its effect. The noble Marquess quoted the expression of opinion of Lord Willoughby de Broke, that it was no good having a law unless it could be enforced; but I must point out that there are provided in this Bill penalities for not declaring the existence of this pest in particular hives. Where there are penalties surely the law can be enforced. I can assure your Lordships that the Bill is really wanted in Ireland.

LORD DENMAN
My Lords, I hope I shall be able to show the noble Marquess that, although the provisions of this Bill appear at first sight to be of rather a drastic character, yet they are not really so. The Bill, as the noble Earl opposite has just said, is urgently needed to stamp out, and to stamp out as soon as possible, this disease. The noble Marquess asked if the local authorities had been consulted. The answer 1395 to that is that we are promoting this Bill at the request of the local authorities in Ireland. I believe that nearly all the local authorities and the Council of Agriculture as well as the bee-keepers of Ireland have asked the Irish Department of Agriculture to introduce a measure of this kind. Our desire is to meet, as far as possible, the wishes of these local authorities and of the people interested in the success of bee-keeping. The disease with which the Bill deals has spread rapidly and caused very great loss. Experts are agreed that the only way to cope with the pest is by destroying the infected bees and also the appliances. That is what this Bill seeks to do; and compensation is to be paid to the owner of any bees or appliances destroyed to the extent of half their value. This compensation will be paid out of the funds of the Agricultural Committee of each county. These funds consist of a small rate, generally of 1d. in the £, and a larger sum in the shape of a contribution from the Department of Agriculture. The Department will bear a large proportion of the cost of administering the Act, for not only will they supply a considerable part of the funds but they will also provide the cost of inspectors and other people necessary to carry out its provisions. The Department of Agriculture recognise the urgency of this matter. I do not know whether the noble Marquess will consider that I have answered satisfactorily the points he raised. The noble Earl opposite, Lord Donoughmore, has some Amendments on the Paper which would considerably enlarge the scope of the Bill, and with the great majority of which I am unable to agree. I hope that, although the Bill has been brought up at a late period in the session, noble Lords opposite will not resist the passing of it into law before the adjournment.

§ *THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE
I am much obliged to the noble Lord for his explanation. If I had been in possession of the information he has given to the House I should not have troubled him.

LORD DENMAN
said he would accept the Amendment if the noble Earl would delete the word "isolation." He had taken legal advice on the point, and had been told that there would be some difficulty in the matter of isolating a bee.