22
7. The model by-laws relating to the maintenance of cattle mortality registers
were adopted by twelve more municipal councils bringing the total up to 34. The
Government trust that the remaining councils will take early steps to introduce the
by-laws, the importance of which in enabling the Veterinary Department to deal
promptly with outbreaks of contagious diseases has been pointed out on several
occasions.
8. The improvement noticed last year in the number of cases sent to veterinary
infirmaries by subordinate magistrates under se3tion 6 (3) of the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act, 1890, has not been maintained. The necessity for making
full use of the provisions of the section has often been emphasized but there is still
great disinclination on the part of the magistracy to use the powers conferred on them
by the Act, The Government are therefore constrained again to request District
Magistrates to draw the attention of their subordinate magistrates to this matter and
to satisfy themselves periodically that advantage is being taken of the provisions of
the Act. The District Magistrate of Trichinopoly is requested to report the circum-
stances in which 316 animals only out of the 2,335 in respect of which convictions
were obtained in Trichinopoly were sent to the local hospital during 1922-23.
A veterinary institution has now been sanctioned for Tuticorin and the obstacle
to the introduction of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in that municipality
has thus been removed.
9. The Madras Veterinary College continued to do satisfactory work and the
results of the examinations held in March 1923 were slightly better than in the
previous year. A refresher course was held for the first time during the year and
was attended by eight veterinary inspectors of whom two came from Bihar and
Orissa.
10. Since the close of the year orders have issued on the recommendations of
the Retrenchment Committee which are referred to by the Chief Superintendent in
paragraph 58 of his report. The most important recommendations of the Committee
were that the inspectors' grade should be abolished and the payment of stipends to
students entering the college should be discontinued. The first of these has been
accepted in its entirety, but a selection grade of veterinary assistants consisting of
ten posts on Rs. 125—5—175 has been sanctioned in order to compensate for the
loss of prospects consequent on the abolition of the inspectorate. The Government
were unable to agree with the Committee that stipends at the Veterinary College
should be entirely abolished, but have sanctioned a reduction in their number from
40 to 15 per annum.
11. The receipts and charges of the department as reported by the Accountant-
General are as follows :—
Receipts.
College receipts ... ...
Contribution from local
bodies.
Other receipts ... ...
Total ...
RS.
12,783
3,525
8,434
24,744
A.
15
11
11
5
P.
2
5
4
11
Charges.
Superintendence
Veterinary instruction ...
Subordinate establishment
Hospitals and dispensaries.
Total ...
RS.
1,03,316
98,597
1,89,340
1,67,743
5,58,997
A.
1
1
8
8
4
P.
11.
11
6
6
10
The expenditure in the department in 1921-22 was Rs. 4,23,874-0-4. The
great increase in 1922-23 was due to the important change in the management of
veterinary institutions which was introduced in April 1922 when all these institu-
tions in charge of local bodies were taken entirely under provincial control and these
bodies were relieved of the charges for maintaining them. The charges noted above
exclude the sum of Rs. 31,151-12-0 spent on veterinary buildings during 1922-23.
The Government observe that the receipt from veterinary institutions outside Madras
City shown in table V of the report fell from Rs. 39,231 in 1921-22 to Rs. 7,313 in
1922-23. This large decrease has not been explained by the Chief Superintendent.
(By order of the Government, Ministry of Development)
F. NOYCE,
Acting Secretary to Government.
Editors' Table.