the Government were perfectly cognizant | tary of State was applied to in this diffiof these matters or they were not. Now, culty, and he wrote very politely to the I think they cannot plead ignorance, for mayors of those boroughs, calling attention many reasons which I will not weary your to the fact, and the mayors replied-no Lordships by repeating. They have been doubt with equal politeness-declining to already referred to by my noble Friend. make any alteration. That is a state of Professor Simonds, in his evidence before things which, if the Government had acted the Royal Commission, stated that he made properly, never could have arisen. What his visit to Galicia in 1857 in consequence was the next Order? The Privy Council of information which had reached the Go- empowered the magistrates in quarter sesvernment from Consuls abroad, especially sions to put a stop to cattle traffic. In at Lubeck, of the spread of the cattle other words, they would not incur the disease at Luxembourg, and of its steady odium, if odium there were, of doing it advance towards those Continental ports themselves. They shrank from the refrom whence we were importing cattle. sponsibility which belonged to them as the This was in 1857. I would venture to call Executive, and placed that responsibility the attention of your Lordships to the opi- on the magistrates of the county. nion of Professor Simonds, after having Lords, I will not trespass longer on your satisfied himself that this disease that broke time with reference to this subject; but out in England was identical with that in having felt great interest in it, I was unGalicia. He sayswilling to be altogether silent. There is one other topic introduced into Her Majesty's Speech on a subject in which I was more or less mixed up, and on which I wish to make a few observations. allude to the paragraph in which we read "In July, 1857, I ascertained that the disease had appeared in England, and the result was the present Order of the Privy Council." He was then asked what was the effect of the first Order in Council, and I call the noble Earl's particular attention to this, for at first I really thought it was a misprint-he was asked what was the effect of the first Order in Council; and his The Government have been urged throughout to take the responsibility upon themselves. It is a responsibility that belongs to the Executive of this country; it is what they have no right to shirk. But what was the course which the Government took? In the first place, they issued an Order in Council empowering magistrates in petty sessions to stop traffic in cattle at markets and fairs in their petty sessional division; and what is the result? The magistrates in petty sessions did stop the traffic in cattle at markets and fairs, but in no two petty sessional divisions had the same orders been issued. Nay, I know an instance where the magistrates in petty sessions in the county put a stop to all fairs and markets in their petty sessional division; but the mayors of two boroughs in the same division declined to do so. And we had this state of things, which was very inconvenient, to say the least-that the county markets were closed by order of the petty sessions, while the markets in the towns were open by order of the mayors. The Secre My I "A Bill will be submitted to you founded on the Report of the Royal Commission on the subject of Capital Punishment, which I have directed to be laid before you." I think I am speaking the sentiments of the majority of my brother Commissioners when I express our very great annoyance that the Report of that Commission, before it was signed by the Commissioners, and before it had been presented to Her Majesty, should have appeared in the columns of The Morning Star. I consider that to be a breach of confidence towards the Members of the Commission, and a gross want of respect to the Sovereign on the Throne. LORD FEVERSHAM said: I desire to make a few observations on the cattle disease, because I also am dissatisfied with the paragraphs of the Speech which refer to that subject, and it is my intention to propose an Amendment to the Address on that point. Your Lordships are well aware of the circumstances attending this unparalleled and destructive malady. It first appeared in the month of June in the metropolis, then it extended to the suburbs of London, and last it became diffused through many of the counties, until it stalked unchecked through the length and breadth of the vallies, and has climbed unsubdued to the summit of the hills, and there are few places in the kingdom which have wholly the justices in petty sessions power and escaped its ravages. "Parva metu primò, mox sese attollit in auras, Ingrediturque solo, et caput inter nubila condit." The question your Lordships have now to consider is whether the course taken by Her Majesty's Government has been such as to meet the magnitude of the evil and the exigencies of the case. Was it adequate to the occasion? Public opinion has answered this question in the negative. Great dissatisfaction has been engendered; the action of the Government has been regarded with general disappointment and disapprobation; and distrust has taken the place of confidence and assurance. It cannot be said that Her Majesty's Ministers have been taken by surprise, for there were sufficient indications from other quarters of the great importance of the subject, and of the peril with which it is attended. Your Lordships have been told that the Government had acted in one respect with great vigour. But it is well known that the Government at first refused to comply with the memorial from Irish landowners and farmers that the importation of cattle into Ireland should be stopped. The memorialists were told that there were insuperable obstacles in the way of granting this request. But when the representatives of the Irish people took up the question and forwarded a strong remonstrance to the Government on the subject, these insuperable difficulties were at once overcome; the importation of cattle into Ireland was prohibited; and the country had, in consequence, enjoyed complete immunity from the ravages of the disease. What was the course taken with respect to the disease by the French Government? On the 5th of September the French Minister for Agriculture addressed a letter to the Emperor, recommending the most stringent measures to prevent the importation of the disease into the ports of France, that the introduction of foreign cattle from the sea coast and from the northern and eastern frontiers should be prohibited. The Emperor of the French at once acted on those suggestions. The Belgian Government pursued an analagous course, and the consequence was-as it had been in Ireland-that those two countries had to a large extent escaped the ravages of the plague. Would that the Government of this country had acted with the same energy and decision. Her Majesty's Government, in the first instance, gave Lord Feversham authority to take certain steps to stop markets and fairs and appoint inspectors. Nine out of ten of these inspectors, however, had never seen the disease; yet they had the power of destroying every animal they suspected, although they were often unable to distinguish the true rinderpest from pleuro-pneumonia or other inflammatory disorders to which cattle are liable. After the disease had raged for three months the Government determined to appoint a Royal Commission. It contained among its members men of great eminence and talent, of practical knowledge and scientific research, who devoted a large portion of their time and labour to the investigation of the subject, collected some important facts, and on the 31st of October issued a Report, but in consequence of not being unanimous, probably, their recommendations were set at naught. The time of year had now arrived when the principal agricultural societies of the country are accustomed to hold their meetings in London. The Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England took the whole matter into consideration, they drew up most important resolutions, and a deputation in December last waited upon the noble Earl the President of the Council and the Secretary of State for the Home Department. They made recommendations which were endorsed by other agricultural bodies, but which the Government declined to adopt. At length a great change came over the Government, and they transferred the powers conferred upon the justices in petty sessions to the justices in quarter sessions. This change of plan clothed the question with fresh difficulties, ambiguities, and perplexities. It made confusion worse confounded, for the various quarter sessions issued different orders, some more stringent than others, which have caused great inconvenience, and the inhabitants of several districts not being able to comprehend why these discrepancies and incongruities should exist, applied to the magistrates for information; but the explanation they received not being satisfactory, they still entertain hopes that the Government, even at the eleventh hour, are prepared to recommend some definite course of action for the guidance of the whole country, in lieu of leaving the matter in the hands of local authorities, whose views and opinions are certain to differ, and whose decisions could not pos sibly be expected to be susceptible of tion would have arisen among the farmers; amalgamation or concurrence. It is not but the case was now altered. The peosurprising that the subject of indemnity ple were all strongly impressed with the and compensation for the losses sustained absolute necessity of strong measures, and should have been mooted, for in many would, of course, submit to their imposiparts of the country these losses have been tion. In every newspaper, provincial as most heavily felt. Although I am aware well as metropolitan, letters from agriculthis is not the time or place to discuss turists appeared calling upon the Governthis point, I will venture to say if it was ment to exercise its authority, for the supthe determination of the Government not pression of the disease; and the same deto grant any remuneration or indemnity mand was made by speakers at agricultuout of the public funds, it was the more ral meetings throughout the country. incumbent on them to adopt from the first a few weeks hence it would be extremely every precaution, to exhaust every effort, difficult to take the necessary steps. At and to assume the whole responsibility of the present time the cattle were penned dealing vigorously with the subject in lieu up in the farmyards; but what would be of telling a deputation to wait and see. the consequence when they were turned If a man's house is on fire he does not adrift to feed in the fields, or driven to wait and see whether it will be burnt market for sale? The House would perdown before he takes steps to extinguish ceive at once how greatly the chances of the flames. Delays were said to be dan- infection would be increased. He abjured gerous, and that was particularly true in Her Majesty's Government to take such the present case. The noble Lord con- steps as would entirely put a stop to all cluded by moving his Amendment. movement of cattle. He did not know Amendment proposed to be made to the Address by inserting after the words (“so deeply affecting the interests of my people") In whether he should be in order in asking ask what Her Majesty's Government were the question, but if he were, he would proposing to do? He was sure the answer would be listened to with the greatest interest, and received by the com "We beg Leave submissively to add our deep Regret that upon this important Subject the Government did not from the first assume the Re-munity at large with no little dismay if sponsibility of issuing an Order for Uniformity of the hope he had ventured to express were Action throughout the Country, as essential to not favourably responded to. avert the Progress and to mitigate the Severity of THE EARL OF WINCHILSEA said, he so virulent, appalling, and destructive a Malady." perfectly agreed with the noble Earl that THE EARL OF ESSEX said, he must Her Majesty's Government had done little express his concurrence in almost all that or nothing; but he was disposed to go still had fallen from the noble Lord who had just further, and to say that in the little they sat down. In his opinion, Her Majesty's had done they had exceeded their authoGovernment had shown the greatest want rity; and they had done that which they of vigour throughout the whole of their had no more right to do than they had to proceedings on this subject. He was quite put their hands into any of their Lordships' aware how unwilling Governments were pockets and take out what they pleased. to undertake responsibility, and to go out The Act of 1848 was sufficiently strong in of the track of routine; but extraordinary its provisions. It gave the Government crises called for extraordinary action and power with reference to persons bringing vigour, and he must express his convic- diseased beasts into any fair or market-it tion that Her Majesty's Government had gave them power to stop the fairs and shown the greatest possible lack both of markets altogether; and it gave them concourage and action in this matter. If ever trol over all the highways and thoroughthere was a case in which vigour and fares of the country. But the first thing uniformity of action were required it was they did was, not to exercise those powers, this; but how was it possible to secure but to send inspectors on to private preeither when the Privy Council delegated mises, with power to break open doors if to the petty sessions, or quarter sessions, entrance was refused them, those inthe powers they ought to have exercised spectors being authorized to kill any cattle themselves? He was perfectly well aware which they might consider to be infected; that if the passage of cattle from place and they directed penalties to be inflicted to place within the country had been upon the proprietors of cattle who objected stopped six months ago, great dissatisfac- to these proceedings. Now he believed that those assumed powers were wholly illegal, and that when the inspectors broke open doors they were guilty of burglary at any rate he thought that in such cases the owner would have an action at common law against the inspector, or ultimately against the Crown or the country wherever a beast had been killed contrary to the will of the proprietor. Perhaps the noble Lords opposite would come down to the House with a Bill of Indemnity. If they did, it would, no doubt, be very politely received; but that this or the other House would pass such a measure, unless it contained some restitution to the owners of the cattle which had been killed, he could scarcely bring himself to believe. He thought the Government owed the agriculturists some compensation for having brought in the disease; for he maintained that it had been introduced by the laches of the Government as plainly as if they had brought in the plague in a bundle of old clothes from Mecca. At any rate they had allowed the importation of beasts from Hungary and Russia, where it was notorious that cattle were subject to a disease analogous to the plague. What the Government should have done was only to have allowed the importation of foreign beasts into particular ports, where inspectors might have been stationed, and where the beasts might have been got into a proper state of health before they were allowed to go further into the country. There was nothing, however, to prevent the admission of diseased cattle at this very moment. The plague came from Europe, and how did they know that new cases did not arrive every week? During the three months of winter they might have prevented the movement of stock; but the 1st of May was drawing near, and then a penalty of £10,000 would not prevent the farmers from turning their cattle out to grass-in fact, they could not help themselves; it was a positive necessity, for the beasts must otherwise starve. It was very well known that even now the Order in Council was not strictly obeyed; for, on all hands, as their Lordships must have seen, cattle were driven along the highways with impunity. If Her Majesty's Government were in doubt as to what they should do, let them study The Gentleman's Magazine for 1745. George the Second's was not considered a very liberal Government, but his Government paid half the value of each beast The Earl of Winchilsea that was killed to the owner. He invited the Government of to-day to be as liberal as the Government of 1745. His noble Friend the Secretary of State for the War Department had certainly shown a spirit of liberality. He had issued a remarkable document announcing that, in consequence of the sufferings of the Yeomanry Cavalry, the Government would not press for the tax on their horses. This tax would amount to about £60,000 he understood. That was as if their Lordships were to say that because there happened to be smallpox in a few cottages on their estates they would give away no beef at Christmas. It seemed to him that the £60,000 which would be saved by not calling out the Yeomanry, might very well go to form the nucleus of an insurance fund to compensate the farmers for the loss they had sustained by the neglect of the Government in allowing this abominable disease to come into the country. The Government had, in fact, made them a present not only of this disease, but also of pleuro-pneumonia, and of foot-and-mouth disease, by permitting the introduction of foreign beasts without proper precautions. As he had already said, the Government had not put in force the enormous powers given to the Privy Council by the Actthe provisions of which seemed to have been passed by some autocratic body rather than by an English Parliament-and they had done that which they had no right whatever to do. If one of their Lordships instructed his steward to buy fifty beasts, and the man went and bought a hundred and fifty horses, no regard for his character, or for his wife and family, would restrain that noble Lord from dismissing him. Whether Her Majesty would take that course with her present servants he could not tell; but he was afraid they were too strongly backed up by another House. He must, however, say that no Gentlemen were ever placed-if he might use the term in a Parliamentary sensein so ignominious a position as that occupied by the noble Lords opposite. EARL GRANVILLE: My Lords, after the course this discussion has taken, I think it will be better if I at once furnish your Lordships with some information in reply to the various speeches made, partly on the other side and partly on this side of the House, all, however, in a great degree condemnatory of the conduct of the Government, with regard to this great disaster, the cattle plague. I certainly am not surprised, considering the length | allowing only seven days for the incuba. of time this disaster has continued, and tion of the disease, the contagion must the fact that it is in most parts of the have existed in Kent on the 7th and in country rather on the increase than on the Sussex on the 11th-the day following decrease, that noble Lords should express that on which the Government heard for themselves somewhat warmly upon the the first time of the existence of the disubject. I doubt, however, whether the sease in the country; so that no uniform noble Earl who has just sat down (the system could have excluded the plague, Earl of Winchilsea) is justified in cha- even if the Government could have acracterizing the Government as burglars, cepted and acted upon one. I will refer and the actual importers of the cattle presently to the question whether the plague into this country, in so light conduct of the Government has been juand cheery a manner, scarcely befitting dicious; but in answer to the charge that the gravity of the subject to which he we have done nothing, I claim for the was referring. The noble Duke who Government and for the officers concerned spoke fourth in the debate (the Duke in the subject very great activity in the of Richmond) and the noble Earl (the matter. On the afternoon of the 10th of Earl of Winchilsea) have impugned the July, Professor Simonds gave information legality of the course pursued by the Go- that he had reason to believe that the vernment, and they have expressed their rinderpest existed in the city in some few belief that the Government had no right to cases. I was informed of the matter that give power to the local authorities to issue afternoon, and I gave immediate orders orders. But the fact is that the local that Professor Simonds should at once authorities did not issue orders-they only examine into the nature and causes of the received authority to carry into effect, by disease, and report upon the cases which giving notices, the general Order of the were said to have occurred. Orders were Privy Council. I cannot believe that the also particularly given to the police, who noble Lord who has proposed an Amend- assisted in the investigation. On the 17th ment (Lord Feversham) seriously wishes the Professor reported. We received his to press it upon the consideration of your letter on the 18th, and we communicated Lordships, whatever may be his opinion as that day with the Home Office. to the course pursued by the Government replied, stating that under the Act alin not assuming from the first the respon.luded to an Order in Council could be sibility of issuing an Order for a uniform system throughout the country. If he does press the Amendment he certainly will not secure the vote of the noble Earl behind me (the Earl of Essex), who con fesses that measures which would be welcomed now would not have been regarded with favour six months since. It would have been perfectly impossible for the Government to put a stop to the importation of foreign cattle and the movement of cattle in the United Kingdom at the commencement of July last. The accusations made by the noble Duke (the Duke of Rutland) against the Government are not consistent, and one or the other of them must necessarily be unfounded. He charges Her Majesty's Government with having done nothing, and with having done worse than nothing; one of these charges, if established, must disprove the other. Her Majesty's Government knew nothing concerning the existence of the disease until the 10th of July, and cases were reported in Kent on the 14th of July, in Sussex on the 18th, and in Hampshire on the 21st of the same month. Now, They issued; and we gave urgent instructions the same day to prepare the Order which was subsequently passed on the 24th. The attention of the agricultural portion of the community had meanwhile been directed on the 12th by Professor Simonds to the existence of the disease, and between that time and the 24th, when the first Order was passed, there were consultations of every kind. It will, however, weary your Lordships if I go into the details of every matter which engaged the attention of the Privy Council. I may mention one fact with regard to the illustrious statesman whose decease has been lamented on both sides of the House-that he paid great attention to the subject to within a week of his death; and, as a singular instance of the activity of his mind, I may add that a very short time before his death he wrote a clear and lucid memorandum on the scientific part of the question. There has been an excellent pamphlet written by Dr. Lyon Playfair, one of the Commissioners, and in that pamphlet he throws considerable blame on the Government; but he distinctly says that up to the time of the |