The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-14 00:00:00

The Cattle Plague.

A supplement to the London Gazette of Friday,
published on Saturday last, contains two orders by
the Lords of the Privy Council, dated the 11th of
"August current, relative to the cattle disease. The
first is in the following terms :
" "Whereas, by an Act passed in the Session of the 11th
and 12th years of her present Majesty's reign, intituled
'An Act to prevent until the Ist September, 1850, and to
the end of the then next session of Parliament, the spread-
ing of contagious or infectious disorders among sheep,
cattle, and other animals,' and which has since been from
time to time continued by divers subsequent acts, it is
(among other things) enacted that it shall be lawful for the
Lords and others of her Majesty's Privy Council, or any
two or more of them, from time to time.to make such orders
and regulations as to them may seem necessary for the pur-
pose of prohibiting or regulating the removal to or from
such parts or places as they may designate in such order or
orders of sheep, cattle, horses, swine, or other animals, or
of meat, skins, hides, horns, hoofs, or other part of any
animals, or of hay, straw, fodder, or other articles likely to
propagate infection; and also for the purposes of purifying
any yard, stable, outhouse, or other place, or any waggons,
carts, carriages, or other vehicles ; and also for the purpose
of directing how any animals dying in a diseased state, or
any animals, parts of animals, or other things seized under
the provisions of this act aro to be disposed of ; and also
for the purpose of causing notices to be given of the ap-
pearance of any disorder among sheep, cattle, or other
animals, and to make any other orders or regulations for
the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the said
act, and again to revoke, alter, or vary any such orders or
regulations ; and that all provisions for any of the pur-
poses aforesaid in any such order or orders contained
shall have the like force and effect as if the same had
been inserted in the same act ; and that all persons offend-
ing against the said act shall for each and every offence
forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding .£2O, or such
smaller sum as the said Lords or others of her Majesty's
Privy Council may in any case by such order direct :
"And whereas an order was made in pursuance of the
authority of the said Acts on the 24th of July, 1865, by the
Lords of her Majesty's Most Hon. Privy Council, applicable
to the city of London and to the metropolitan police dis-
trict, containing certain provisions for the purpose of pre-
venting the spreading of a certain disorder, of which the
nature was at the time of the making of the said order un-
certain, tut which has since been ascertained to be of a
typhoid nature, and is commonly designated as the ' cattle
plague,' and which may be recognised by the following
symptoms

" Great depression of the vital powers, frequent shiver-
ing, staggering gait, cold extremities, quick and short
breathing, drooping head, reddened eyes, with a discharge
from them, and also from the nostrils, of a mucous nature
raw looking places on the inner side of the lips and roof of
the mouth, diarrhoea, or dysenteric purging :'
"And whereas inspectors have been appointed in pursu-
ance of the provisions of such order :
"And whereas it is expedient to make further regulations
for the district to which the said order is applicable :

"Now, therefore, the Lord of her Majesty's Privy Coun-
cil do hereby, by virtue and in exercise of the powers given
by the said recited Act, and the several Acts continuing
the same, as:aforesaid, order as follows::

"1. That in this order the word ' animal' shall be inter-
preted to mean any cow, heifer, bull, bullock, ox, or calf.
" 2. Every inspector appointed, or to be appointed under
the provisions of the Order in Council of the 24th of July,
1865, shall have the power of entering upon and inspecting
any premises in or upon which he has reason to believe
that there is any animal labouring under any such disease,
from time to time, as often as he may think necessary. •
"3. Every person within any district for which an in-
spector shall have been appointed as aforesaid, upon whose
premises there shall be any animal labouring under any
such disorder, shall, as far as practicable, keep such animal
separate and apart from all other animals, and no person
shall, without the licence of such inspector, send to market,
or remove from his premises, any such animal, or any ani-
mal which has been in the same shed or stable, or has been
herded, or been in contact with any animal labouring under
such disorder.

"4. Every animal within any such district as aforesaid
dying of such disorder, or slaughtered on account thereof,
shall be buried, if practicable, on the promises where it has
died or been slaughtered, or (if this be not practicable) as
near thereto as may be convenient ; and if such animal be
not buried with its skin, its skin shall be disinfected in
such manner as the inspector of the district may direct.
"Every person within any such district, on whose
premises there shall be any animal so labouring as afore-
said, shall cleanse and disinfect such premises in such
manner as the inspector of such district shall direct.
" Every person offending against this order shall for
every such offence forfeit any sum not exceeding 420,which
the justices before whom he or she shall be convicted of such
offence may think fit to impose."
The second order repeats the preamble of the first
order. It goes on to. say :
" And whereas since of the making of the said order
the said disorder has appeared in other parts of England,
and it is expedient to extend the provisions of the said or-
der to the remaining parts of England and Wales, and to
make further regulations for the purpose aforesaid for the
last-mentioned parts of the United Kingdom :
" Now therefore the Lords of her Majesty's Privy Coun-
cil do hereby, by virtue and in exercise of the powerigiven
by the said recited acts, and by the several acts continuing
the same as aforesaid, order as follows :

" 1. That this order shall extend to all the parts of Eng-
land and Wales not comprised in the said recited order.

" 2. That in this order the word animal' shall be inter-
preted to mean any cow, heifer, bull, bullock, ox, or calf.
" 3. If at the date of the publication of this order in the
London Gazette there shall be any animal labouring under
any such disorder in the possession or custody of any cow-
keeper, dairyman or dairywoman, or of any milkman or
wilkwoman, or vendor or purveyor of milk, or of any dealer
in cattle, or farmer, or person in possession of cattle, what-
soever, within those ports of the United Kingdom to which
this order refers, or if at any time hereafter, while this pre-
sent order shall continue in force and unrevoked, any ani-
mal, being in the possession or custody of any such person

as aforesaid within the last-mentioned parts of the United
Kingdom, shall be seized or attacked with, or be found la-
bouring or suffering under, any such disorder,
notice of the
existence of such disorder, or of the first appearance of such
disorder in or among the animals belonging to, or in the
custody of, any such person as aforesaid, shall immediately
threupon be given by the person in whose possession or
oustody such diseased animals or animal shall be, if such
person shall reside within any corporate town, to the mayor,
or other principal officer of the corporation, or, if otherwise,
to the clerk of the justices acting in and for the petty ses-
sional division of the county, or district in the nature of a
county in which he resides ; and upon receipt of such
notice, or upon any other information which satisfies him
or them that such disease has appeared within his or their
jurisdiction respectively, it shall be lawful for such mayor,
or other principal officer, srnd for the said justices, if ho or
they shall think fit, from time to time to appoint some
veterinary surgeon, or other person duly qualified, to be an
inspector, for the purpose of carrying into effect the follow-
ing rules and regulations within the corporate town or
petty sessional division for which he shall have been ap-
pointed, and the same authority may, from time to time
revoke such appointment.
_ .

"4. Every such inspector shall have the power of enter-
ing upon and inspecting any premises in or upon which he
has reason to believe that there is any animal labouring
under such disease, from time to time, as often as he may
think necessary,"

The sth, 6th, 7th, and Bth rules in the second
order are the same as the 3d, 4th, sth, and Gth rules
of the first order.

SURREY.

The rural districts of Surrey have hitherto escaped
the cattle plague with comparative impunity ; but
the disease has made its appearance in two or three
localities in the neighbourhood of Dorking and
Guildford.

On Friday afternoon a large meeting was held at
the Three Tuns Inn, Dorking, to consider what steps
it would be desirable to take in the event of the
disease becoming general among the stock in this
district. Mr. T. J. Heathcote occupied the chair,
supported by Lieutenant-Colonel Atchison, Mr.
Lee Steere, Mr. E. Kerrick, and a large body of
agriculturists.

The CHAIRMAN said the main object of their
meeting was to obtain information and to decide
upon a future course of action ; as he believed there
were some gentlemen present who had sustained
severe losses among their herds he should be happy
to hear from them the result of their experience.
Mr. MINTER, of Fetcham, said that he had lost
88 animals within the last 10 days, and he regretted
to say that several others were at tbatmoment down
with the disease. His own opinion was that the
complaint was imported from abroad, and that it
was owing in a great degree to the wretched con-
dition in which the beasts were shipped, and the
overcrowded and unhealthy state of the vesselswhich
brought them over. He traced the disease in
his own stock to his having a farm on the Essex
shore contiguous to a spot where Dutch cattle
were landed for the London market. Mr. Keble, of
Leatherhead, a skilful veterinary surgeon, had
attended his cattle, and used every effort to check
the disease, but with very little success. He (Mr.
Minter) believed that there was no cure for it, and
that the wisest and safest plan was to sacrifice the
infected animals the moment the disease appeared.
Mr. Keble's treatment had consisted generally of
stimulants and tonics, with the administration of
hay, tea, and beer ; but not above two or three on
an average had been cured in his stock out of tan.
Mr. LEE STEERE regretted that Parliament was
not sitting, believing that, if it were, an act would
be immediately passed dealing effectively with the
subject. He did not think, however, that Govern-
ment should interpose to prevent the importation of
foreign cattle, because the consequence of such a
step would be to enhance the price of meat enor-
mously. He concurred with the last speaker that
the disease was very little understood, and ha dwelt
at some length upon the importance of compelling
railway,companies to provide clean and wholesome
trucks for the conveyance of cattle to and from the
metropolis. At present these trucks were, as a rule,
in a filthy condition, and no steps were taken to
keep them clean.

Mr. H. WISE followed with a similar line of argu-
ment, and suggested as one precaution that the
farmers should not allow their cattle to graze indis-
criminately in lanes, as many of them were in the
habit of doing. He also recommended those who
sent stock to the London Markets on no account to
take any of the animals back again.-
A resolution was then passed, appointing a com-
mittee of 14 gentlemen to watch the disease, and to
take such steps as they might deem fit to prevent it
spreading in the neighbourhood, after which the
meeting adjourned for a week.
A public meeting of the inhabitants of Godalming,
convened by Dr. Balchin, the mayor, was held at
the Town-hall on Friday evening, to take the same
subject into consideration. The Mayor presided,
and there was a large attendance.
After considerable discussion, a number of re-
solutions were unanimously agreed to. It was pro-
posed by Mr: Rea, and seconded by Mr. Roper,
" That no cattle, sheep, or horses be turned into
the ' common meadows' for 14 days from this
date." Proposed by Mr. Roker, and seconded by
Mr. Hull, " That no stock of any description be
turned into the ' common meadows' without being
inspected by a competent person, and having been
in the owner's possession for 14 days." On the
motion of Mr. Murray Marshall, seconded by Mr.
R. Shotter, Mr. S. Evershed, veterinary surgeon,
was appointed to inspect the stock, with full power
to appoint a sufficient staff to carry out the preced-
ing resolutions.
Mr. M. Marshall, Mr. G. J. Hull, Mr. T. Rea,
Mr. E. Eager, and Mr. R. Shotter were then nomi-
nated as a committee, and the proceedings termi-
nated.
On Saturday morning :numerous animals were
grazing on the " common meadows" as usual ; but
in compliance with the above resolutions they were
all turned out.