§ Mr. STANIERasked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he can give any figures showing the number of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany in 1911, and how many animals died or were slaughtered on account of the disease?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe total number of fresh outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany in 1911 cannot be given as the official statistics have not yet been issued. The number of animals that died or were 1449W slaughtered on account of the disease is not known. The following table shows the number of places (Gehofte) infected? with foot-and-mouth disease in Germany at the middle and end of each month in the year 1911:—
January 15 … … 5,117 January 31 … … 5,082 February 15 … … 5,994 February 28 … … 8,513 March 15 … … 9,433 March 31 … … 10,153 April 15 … … 11,917 April 30 … … 12,505 May 15 … … 12,394 May 31 … … 13,493 June 15 … … 16,504 June 30 … … 20,793 July 15 … … 25,406 July 31 … … 31,926 August 15 … … 37,737 August 31 … … 38,250 September 15 … … 37,180 September 30 … … 35,297 October 15 … … 34,463 October 31 … … 33,707 November 15 … … 30,444 November 30 … … 22,676 December 15 … … 15,456 December 31 … … 10,791
§ Mr. GILHOOLYasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, on any occasion when the Irish Agricultural Department declared an exclusion of animals from Great Britain or England, the Law Officers of the Crown were consulted as to the legality of such Order under the Diseases of Animals Acts; whether the Acts confine exclusion to a prescribed area or place; what is the Section giving power to the Department, either in England or Ireland, to declare the sister island as a whole infected; whether, if such a declaration be false in fact, the Order is challengeable; whether the power to make Orders prohibiting the landing of cattle from any specific country outside the United Kingdom and prohibit the landing of such cattle, save under certain conditions, has -been extended to native cattle in either island, and, if so, by what Act; and whether Article 22 of the Foreign Animals Order, 1910, applies to British or Irish cattle?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI am unable to answer the first part of the question, which should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Vice-President of the Irish Department. With regard to the remaining parts of the question, I1450W would point out that the Board have not declared Ireland to be infected with foot-and-mouth disease, but have made Orders prohibiting and, subsequently, regulating the admission of Irish animals into Great Britain, and they have no reason to think that those Orders could be successfully challenged. Article 22 of the Foreign Animals Order, 1910, applied to all animals other than foreign animals, but its application to Irish cattle has to some extent been modified by the Orders referred to above.
§ Mr. BUTCHERasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer out of what fund is the compensation for cattle slaughtered in Ireland in consequence of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease paid; what is the expenditure already incurred under this head up to the present date; and, if the Government of Ireland Bill becomes Law, out of what fund will such expenditure be met, and whether out of the pockets of the Irish taxpayers or otherwise?
§ Mr. T. W. RUSSELLCompensation is payable out of the Cattle Pleuro-Pneumonia Account of the Cattle Diseases Fund under the Diseases of Animals Act, 1894, and that fund consists partly of contributions from local rates and partly of monies provided by Parliament. When the Government of Ireland Bill becomes law, the existing system of providing compensation will continue unless and until the Irish Parliament think fit to alter it, subject, of course, to the modification that the Irish Parliament will as regards the provision of money be substituted for the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The amount of the expenditure already incurred under this head in connection with the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak is £15,847.
§ Mr. CHAPLINasked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he will lay upon the Table of the House the Orders recently issued by his Department relating to foot-and-mouth disease, and the admission of Irish store cattle into Great Britain?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI have laid upon the Table of the House the Animals (Landing from Ireland) Amendment Order of 1912 (No. 12), dated 4th October, 1912, which I understand to be the Order to which the right hon. Gentleman refers, and I have arranged for copies to be circulated to Members with the Votes.