The Express.
London, England, 1865-12-18 00:00:00

STATISTICS OF LIVE STOOK.

We are requested to publish the inclosed copy of
a correspondence that has passed between the
Board of Trade and the Home-office respecting the
collection of returns of the number of live stock in
Great Britain, together with a copy of the ached alai
to be issued by the Board of Trade, and of a letter I
that has been addressed by Sir George Grey on the
subject to the lord-lieutenants of the several
counties. The form will he sent to, and is to be
returned by, each occupier of land through the
Poet-office (wherever available), and the return is
to be made by the occupier upon the day that will
be specified in the schedule, probably not earlier
than the let March, 1866, owing to the very large
number of schedules that will have to be printed
and distributed.

Office of Committee of Privy Council
far Trade, Whitehall, Dee. 6.
Sir, I am directed by the Lords of the Committee of
Privy Council for Trade to request that you will move
Seoretery Sir George Grey to 01M110 the county magistrates
in England sad Wake (and the corresponding authorities
in Scotland) to be informed of the steps about to be taken
by the Board of Trade for the purpose of ascertaining the
number of live stook existing in GOMA Britain. My lords
rely much upon the good offices of the county maisuates,
whore assistance will be most valuable I. advising their
own tenantry and the neighbouring farmers to give prompt
sod careful attention to the schedule to be transmitted to
them by post, for a return of thy camber of live stock
upon land in their occupation. The piffilished correspon•
dance upon this subject between the Cattle Plague Commis.
sion and the Board of Trade will siplein the object of the
inquiry, and my lords entertain the hope that the is.
(mired information will be successfully obtained by volun•
tary returns from the fanners and occupiers of land. But
it is very desirable that no mesas should be neglected of
gust) ingi against the refusal of information in
consequence of misapprehension on the part of the
farmers as to the intestine of the government in making
the present inquiry. The collection of returns from so
large a does of persons as the occupiers of land in Great
Britain can only be undertakes by the government ; and it
is of course desirable, on the ironed of public economy,
that officers already employed in the public service should,
if practicable, be made available for colieoting the statistics
of live stock. In order. therefore, to avoid creating • new
and wetly machinery, the distribution and collection of the
schedules will beintr,
intrusted to the Department of the Inland
Revenue, acting on behalf of the Board of Trade. The
schedule will bear the poet-office stamp for transmission to
and return by each occupier of sot less than five acres of
land. There will, therefore, be no occasion to trouble the
occupiers by a personal application for the return, if they
will only be good enough to rill up the schedule and return
it by post according to the address printed upon it. As
the value of the information will depend epos
the completeness of the return., it will be necessary
to make a further written or personal application
to occupiers who neglect:to fill up end return the schedule.
It is to hoped that this trouble to the occupiers and the
officers employed will seldom be necessary, as it will occa-
sion delay in the publication of the results of the inquiry ;
and en early knowledge of the supply of stock in the
country is manifestly most desirable. Every endeavour
will be nude to obtain the returns with the least possible
trouble and isooavonienee to the occupiers of land, and it is
the earnest hope of my lords that English agriculturists will
show themselves as ready to afford information of such
special and national interest as the agriculturists in
Scotland, Irelaad, and foreign countries. Copies of the oar-
' respondence between the Cattle Plague COMIIIiS/1011 and
the Board of Trade,and of the form of schedule to be issued
by the Board of Trade are enclosed, which my lords suggest
should bis transmitted with the letters from the Secretary
of State.—l have the honour to be, sir, year obedient
sernint,

(Biped) .7. Earritaon T&Snenr.
The Under-Secretary of State, Home-oaks.
Whitehall, Dec. 13.
Sir,—With reference to your letter of the 6th indent.
requesting that the county magistrates in Englehd and
Wales and the correspondiog authorities to Scotland should
be ieformed of the Mere about to be taken by the Board
of Trade for the purpose of secertainurg the number of live
stock existing in Great Britain, I am directed by Secretary
Sir George Grey to transmit to you, fee the information
the Lords of the Committee of Council for Trade, copies of
the circular letter which has been addressed to the lord-
lieutenaets of eonnties throughout Great Britain. —I aro, he.,
(Signed) H. WiDDLEGTON.
Sir J. Emend Tesnest, Baud of Trade.
Whitehall, Dec. 9.
Sir,-1 have the honour to transmit to you the copy of •
letter, with its inclosures, which has been addressed to thin
department by the Board of Trade ; and I have to request
to will be so good uto cause the purport of it to he
madknown generally to the magistrates of your county.
Her Majesty's government have no doubt that you will
concur with them in the opinion that it is important to
obtain with as much accuracy as possible the information
which the Board of Trade is endesvouring to procure, sod
they trust that the county magistrates will readily give any
amersteue in their power towards the attainment of this
object.—l have, &c., (Signed) G. Geer.
The Lord• Lieutenant of the county of --,
BOARD OF TRADE.—SCHEDULE FOR RETCRE OF LIVE 81'021.
It is particularly requested that this schedule may be
filled up on the day of , 1866, and transmitted,
immediately thereafter, by post, as addressed on the other
side. The returns of individual occupiers will not be pub-
lished. Number of live stock upon land in the occupation
of( the undersigned cn the day of 1566. II
separate farms in two or more perishes be occupied, separate
returns of stock are to be made for each farm. Perish
of , county of . 1. Stock taken is to
grace is to be returned as belonging to the occupier of the
land upon which the stock is grating. 2. Stock driven to
fairs, markets, or elsewhere for sale, upon the of
should be included in this return by owners of such stock.
The number of cattle and milk cows, two years of age and
above ; under two years of age. The number of sheep one
year old sod above ; under one year old. The somber of
pigs. Signed Occupier. The Cattle
Plague Commissioners have reported that It in highly desir-
able to obtain returns of the number of cattle and sheep
withinthe area of every parish in Great Britain.

THE CATTLE PLAGUE AND IRELAND. —The coin-
mittee appointed by the Turd-Lieutenant of Ireland to
inquire what would be the best course to adopt in case the
cattle plague was to break out in Irelaud, have issued their
report. They, in the first place, recommend the issue of a
precautionary measure, requiring all persons who go out of
the country with cattle to gain permission from the police
authorities at the port of embarkation, to leave a deposit
of Si., deport in clothes to be provided by the police, to
return in the same clothes, and receive their deposit back
on exchanging them for their own. They also recommend
that the importation of dogs be prohibited; boxes and
crates also used for the importation of goods should be
branded, and not permitted to return . They also recom-
mend that ten persons be appointed by the government to
go to England to gain information respecting the cattle
plague, and to return in clothes other than those in which
they prosecuted their studies. If the plague should break
oat in Ireland, they propose that the infected district should
be isolated ; and all circulation of cattle or sheep within it,
or along the reads bounding it, be prohibited. To do this
they recommend that the owner of any animal which shall
be found to be infected be required to communicate the
fact to the police ; that every constable have power to
inspect cattle sheds ; that if be find a diseased animal
he should report to the lord-lieutenant, or bis
who should order an inspector to visit the spot ; that
the constable should also report to the nearest magistrate ;
that a certain line shall be marked round the district
where the diseased animal is, and the space should be
kuowo as an "infected district ;" that the locality of
this district be advertised by public notices for tee miles
arouud it ; that no live animal should be removed beyond
the line, but any animal certified as free from disease might
be slaughtered and exported beyond tho district minus the
skin and offal, and the skins should not be exported before
being disinfected ; no person attending on diseased cattle
should be permitted to go out of the proscribed district,
and no litter or manure should be exported therefrom ;
fecal matter discharged by diseased cattle with their litter
and useless fodder, should be buried four feet deep; that
isolation be continued 21 days after the disease has dis-
continued within the district cut off ; that diseased cattle
be slaughtered and buried six feet deep, unskioned ; that
the skins be scored that they may be useless ; and that
persons breaking the regulations made should be liable to
heavy penalties.
COLLISION ON THE SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY.--•
PLYMOUTH, Dec. 17.—A collision took plane at the Ply-
mouth Railway station on Saturday evening, by which
several persona received severe shocks, sad sonic were
badly cut and bruised. A passenger train bad just
arrived from Launceston, and was brought up at the
ticket platform, where the porters were engaged in
taking the tickets, when a Cornisb train going oat of the
station ran into a pilot engine and train crossing the
main line. The Cornish train suffered no damage, but
the pilot engine wu injured. and one of its trucks crushed.
while a van disengaged from it ran into the Tavistock
train, which was driven against its owe eerie' with great
force, sad the permanent thrown together and evilest the
CCITY 07 LONDON HOSPITAL FOR DISEASES OF
me Caw, Vicious PAHL—Tito number of patients
relieved at this institution during last week wee 1,269, of
which 277 wen sow cans.