§ Mr. PATRICK O'BRIENasked the President of the Board of Agriculture, adverting to the statement of the then Duke of Richmond and Gordon, as responsible Minister introducing as a Bill the Diseases of Animals Act, 1878 (Hansard, Vol. 237, third S., pp. 1496–7), that the intent of the said Bill, of which, in all relevant details, the Act of 1894 is purely a re-enactment, was, as regards Ireland, to deal with Ireland exactly as with other parts of the United Kingdom, its trade to be equally free, subject to extending to Ireland the provisions re infected areas contained in the previous Act of 1869, which did not extend to Ireland, whether he will cause specially close inquiries to be made among the officials and retired officials concerned with the said Acts and search in the Departmental records with a view to ascertaining the exact circumstances under which the first official act of the Board or of the English or Scottish Privy Council discriminating, contrary to the intention of the framers of the Act of 1878, as explained as aforesaid, against animals from Ireland, other than from an infected area, as such, came to me made, whether without special consideration of the question of intra or ultra vires or in consultation on such question with the British and Irish Law officers, or, if not, under what legal guidance; and 1254W to state whether there is any English, Scottish, or Irish High Court decision within the knowledge of the Board upholding the power either of the Board or of British local authorities to discriminate against animals from Ireland, other than from an infected area, as such; and, if so, to give the dates and references of such decisions?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANWith regard to the first part of the question I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer to his question on this subject on the 1st July. I have no reason to think that the inquiries which he suggests would produce any useful results, and even if the information asked for were obtained it would have no bearing upon the question of the validity of the Orders. With regard to the latter part of the question the Board have no record of any such decision.