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The case alluded to above, occurred at Sonepore. On this point,
Veterinary Captain Gunn reported as follows :—
" I have not been asked by any Officer to examine the Remounts purchased for signs of contagious disease,
in accordance with the Circular addressed by the Adjutant General in India to the Lieutenants General in Com-
mand Bengal, Punjab, Madras, and Bombay."
This fact was reported to the Government of India, Military Depart-
ment, and I trust now that the order is understood by Purchasing Officers, that
they will always avail themselves of the services of the Superintendents, Civil
Veterinary Department, especially as it will be the means, in the case of Native
Cavalry, of protecting the horses of their Regiments from contagium.
Extension
of
the Glanders and
Farcy Act to the
whole of India.
In last year's Annual Administration Report it was stated that Local
Governments and Administrations had been asked by the Government of India
to afford the following information:—
(a) In what areas the Act has been brought into force.
(b) Whether they considered any general or partial extension of the
Act advisable.
Replies were received on point (a) and will be found recorded on page 105
of last year's report. Replies have since been received on point (b), and on
these replies a most important Resolution has been issued by the Government
of India; it being of such great importance, I deem it advisable to record the
following epitome.
It is pointed out that the Glanders and Farcy Act XX of 1879, which
gives the executive power to take preventive action, extends at present to the
whole of India with the exception of the Provinces of Madras and Bengal.
In Madras, an Act of the Local Legislature No. II of 1866 takes its
place, but it is in some respects less effective than the Act of 1879,
and the Madras Government agree that it would be advisable to extend the
latter to the Province. In Bengal, also a Local Act No. VIII of 1880 is in
force, but it extends to Calcutta only and differs materially from the general
Act of 1879. The Governor General therefore considers it advisable to extend
Act XX of 1879 to the whole of India. It is further stated that the Act is in-
operative save when specially applied to local areas. At present, except in
Coorg and the Punjab, where it has been applied to the whole Province, the
local areas to which it has been applied in each Province, are extremely limited
being practically confined to the large towns and cantonments and some import-
ant lines of communication. It is true that the Act can at any time be applied
by the Local Government to any local area in which an outbreak may occur.
But with reference to this point, the Resolution states that in dealing with
the disease in question, promptitude is essential and that by the time the report
of the outbreak has reached the Local Government through the usual channels
and the notification applying the Act has appeared, serious mischief may have
been done.
The opinions received from Local Governments on point (b) were generally
unfavourable to the extension of the Act; the objections urged being, broadly,
the absence of any suitable staff to enforce the provisions of the Act and the
danger of entrusting to subordinates especially in the outlying districts, the
somewhat extensive powers which the Act confers. The Government of India
admitted the force of these objections and recognized the fact that under
existing circumstances it would be impossible to give practical effect to the pro-
visions of the Act throughout the whole area of a Province.
The Resolution then pointed out that the application of the Act would
therefore of itself in no way extend existing powers, while it would enable the
Local Government to appoint such qualified officials as it may have on its staff
to be Inspectors for the whole Province, and its application would place the
local authorities in a position to depute at once, without waiting for further
formalities, to any place where the disease might appear, proper qualified
Officers ready armed with full power for effective action.
The remaining portion of the Resolution deals with the Agency necessary
to carry out the provisions of the Act, with which it is not necessary to deal in
this report.
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