The Express.
London, England, 1866-02-17 00:00:00

CATTLE DISEASES BILL.

Tbe Dowell thee went isto committee ou the CIA& Dis-
ewes 1301, !melanin" with clause 21 Those from 22 to 30
lacing's were struck oat, and 31 was proceeded with.
the coarse of discussion while samd, sad on

alaue
Mr. AYRTON objected to the expenses of the act being
borne by the cattle rate, and having alluded to the opiniese
expressed in a former debate by
Mr. J. 8. MILL, that podeman repeated his argu-
ment against the compensation of • Glue by taxation
general in its nature, sad urged that ii the present case
the hordes should be betas by • general rate, but on lend
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER argued that
the quotient was whether the saghbans of thou whose
cattle were Waited had not • special interest in the mesos
used for checking the plague, and therefore • duty in
untribeting in a greater degree and mere directly than
the ink/Meets of those diancts which were nuinfeetee.
Mr. LOWE said that, as to the cattle in town sad
Country, he might my Gioia pandelur ab urbe; the cause
of the country was takes up by the member for the Tower
Hamlets. (laughter.) The right hoe. gentleman bad
I adopted the argument of the hon. member for Westenioster,
I who he (Mr. Lowe) was afraid win • little too clever foe
' them in that house—(laughter)—for he reasoned with a
degree of clearness and refinement which the house was
sot accustomed to. But he would endeavour to analyse
the argument of the bon. member, and see what he
could make of it. His hon. friend argued that
the owners of cattle were not sufferers by the
elegise ; that individuals might suffer, but that the
elms did not, and that the class would be amply iodemni-
: bed by the WO art se obtained for their cattle. He in-
tweed that that class sustained no loss whatever ari stated
that as the producer sustained no loss, the whole loss must
fall on the eocanaser, aid as the consumer already hri to
tow the whole loss, be ought not to pay anything more,
but that the loss aught to be made up by the producing
class. Now, in the first place, It bad in it this error which
the Chancellor of the Exchequer was too acute sot to feel
—that this was not a question of indemnifying people for
' loam, but paying people who were getting rid of the cat'e
• plague. The hen. member foe Weetmiestar's argumrat
was based upon the assumption that obis wee a
mere question of indemn;ty. But that wee trot &IL
Whre did be tad in any work on political eco-
nomy that it was necessary in a case where peat
lees was Incerred by a ekes which dimisished the
supply of ordain articles, that the bombed price of the
article was to indemnify that ekes ? The boa. member, in
hie speech that evening, said he thought it would be some-
where near it, but was that the ease' Was it true that the
English cattle power would pis all! Had be not got a
terrible competitor if there were imported 10,000 bead of
cattle every week into Ragland, and if the prices got
higher the number would probably increase to 20.000, and
the trade would have to be divided with all Ea: me. (Hear,
hear.) No soppositioo could be mare unfounded than that
• the losses ci individuals would be made up in that way,
and that you ought to call upon • class to indemnify the in-
dividual, all the rest of the community standing by &deg
nothing. &apposing he (Mr. Lowe) was wrong in his view,
• end the perinea of the hon. member to be • Boned one, It
would follow that this was • consumer's queslioa—the
prococer lest nothing, and that the whole lose fell on the
consumer. Now, if the whole loss fell es the Gossamer.
was that a mum the consumer should net make every ex.
ertion in his power to prevent that lose ? The object was
to prevent • fatal less, notes behalf of a ekes, but of a
whole community ; sad was it reasceable, bemuse that lase
mainly fell heavily on the consumer, that the whole corn-
' inanity should stand by and not stir a finger to prevent it?
• The informerss was the contrary. If the leaden on the we-
SMOOT, the whole of the eoestimere ought to come forward
to prevent that lea (Hear, hear.) The question before
the house was this-.should there be one simple nee, co
should it be divided into two-thirds from one source and
else-third from soother. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
wished to pet it on cattle, and he could nodeestasd the
right hon. gentleman if he took the proposition of the hoe.
member for Stockier* But the propositioa was that the
districts aWyvisited, or which hereafter might beviaited
by the cattle plago, should be taxed. Pint, they were to
suffer by the pressooe of a dreadful scourge ; secondly, by
paying a peculiar county rate ; and thirdly, they were to
outribute a per outage per head as the cattle which
had been spared. lie would submit to the house the beet
plea would be to take the broadest view of the question.
This was • peat national calamity. It was proposed to
meats • MS to avert that calamity, and all ought to pay it
in the same way se any other rate. It might just es well
be said that • man who was not mad himself aid bad no
madam in his family, ought not to be taxed to pay for a
lunatic asylum. (Laughter.) Besides, this was • new tax,
and there was no maohisery for its collection. Was is not
better le pay through the machinery in oxides:se than to
incur the expense sad trouble of creating machinery to do a
' most Invidious and unfair thing? He astir* agreed with
the has. member for the Tower Hamlets. It was absolutes
oseeesary that the money expended should be expended
meat carefully, and that a double prodigality should be
avoided. Some check was necessary, and what better check
mold there be than that those who ordered the slaughtering
cattle should pay far it! (Hear, beer.)
Mr. J. S. MILL thought it desirable that • reply should
be made as soon as possible to the ohnervatioss of the
right lien. gentleman while his arguments were still fresh
In the memory. The right hoe. gentians appeared to
think it • complete usurer to the arguments which he (Mr.
Mill) &dduoed, that the object of this tax was not sempen-
sation, but to give • motive to the farmer, whose cattle
were diseased to declare that they ware diseased. Now,
the motive was derived from the compensatioa itself, and
not from the quarter from whence it came. If a farmer
was paid 12/ or lbl. for a dead ex, he should Mee to know
whether it made any differeace whether it was paid by •
tax on cattle from the county rates or from the consolidated
fond. His right hon. friend also laid down the
proposition that it was not always the case
that the effect of the ocareesese of • commodity
was to raise the price. He was aware of that, but he Maur
also that it wee a moth commoner case that the effect nee
to raise the pries • great deal, and it was particularly Well
to happen is this special case. Take the rase of mßkorldela
was as article of first.rate neeemity to the poor. It was
not conceivable that such • calamity could continue without
raising the price of that article in a proportion immeasurably
beyond ealethatios. He considered this ea extremely ins.
portast element in the question. The right hon. gentleman
seemed to think it extremely nareasoaable to neglect that
Portion of the supply of catt'e which was imported, and
intimated that although he (Mr. Mill) had now alluded to
it, he had not mentioned it on • former axiseion. Now
the fact was, that he bad made that qualification specially.
The asewer which he made then be repeated now—the
quaatity imported was so very small to the whole supply.
With tespeotto another observation of the right hen. gen-
tlemen. he might ask if there was any economical law by
which the patients in a lunatic asylum were commuted fee
the expenses of that asylum ? (laughter.)
Sir G. GREY then withdrew the provision relating to
the impositice of a cattle rate, and the clause was
agreed to.
Sir J. PERGUSSON moved an addition, confining the
operation of the schedule to towns not baring 20,000 in-
habitants.
The LORD-ADVOCATE opposed the amendment.
After some oeurerseeion, the committer divided:
For the amendment
Against it 26-2
The schedules were then agreed to, the preamble sad
title agreed t; and the bill was ordered to be reported.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was
intended to report the bill to-morrow, and he hoped it
would be read • third time and pared.
The bonne resumed.
ELECTION PEITITONS.
Petitions were presented complaining of undue retain
for Great Yarmouth and New Windsor.
The home adjourned at 10 minutes to 1 o'clock.