The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-26 00:00:00

would effect great results, but, although the experi-
ments were at first successful, cows had since been
attacked after vaccination. He (Lord Belper) there-
fore thought that although vaccination might be
useful as a safeguard, it was not a perfect one. As
Mr. Paget had mentioned to him, so long as an
animal was suffering under one disease it was not
so much liable to take another ; therefore so long as
the effects of vaccination were going on, an animal
would probably not be so much likely to take the
disease. Although vaccination was not a perfect
security, the general feeling was that it might be
useful. Mr. Denison said he asked that question of
his lordship because, if vaccination could be regarded
as a security, it might alter the opinion of people
with regard to any other stringent step to be taken
with the plague. But as Mr. Tollemache's own herd
had been attacked by the disease after vaccination,
it must of course tend to shake the confidence of the
public in vaccination. He would now ask whether
there was any hope of any other remedy at all? He
had seen a letter written by the Consul at Odessa,
which stated that no remedies which had been tried,
whether fumigation, bleeding, or medicine, had been
successful, and which would therefore warrant re-
commendation. The letter gave an account of the
treatment of the disease in Russia. But coming
nearer home, he might say that he had written to
the veterinary colleges and to the Cattle Plague
Commissioners, and they all said that they could
not see that there was any specific which could be
specially recommended for preventing the disease
when once among the cattle. Well, the veterinary
inspectors all said the same thing. The state of
things going on at present in this county was this :
—The disease spreads itself to a farm, and a farmer
who has a good many cattle hopes he may have
success in getting rid of it, and he therefore tries
various remedies. He was sorry to say he had seen
it going on, and had witnessed cattle which were
first slightly affected get worse and die. When
cattle got into the last stages of decomposition they
had no idea of the amount of contagion. (Hear,
hear.) They became so fetid that when they were
taken away to be buried after death men turned
sick while digging the graves and burying them.
Well, therefore, might they suppose that if 50 or 60
animals died on one farm in the course of a few
weeks, the air must be impregnated with this
noxious virus to a very great degree, and the conse-
quence was that it forced its way to the next farm.
He had been to a meeting that day of farmers held
in Newark, and he was sorry to say that this was
just what was going on. The plague was now
dreadfully bad at Mr. Cartwright's farm at Marn-
ham, 74 beasts having died out of a herd of 80.
The contagion became so intense that it affected
the next farm, and now it had reached Grassthorpe
and Normanton, and so it would go on all through
their villages. This would be the case, undoubtedly,
unless something were done beyond what they were
doing at present. He felt sure that it would thus
go through the whole country, and carry off all the
cattle. This was a very serious contemplation, and
the question was whether it was possible to take
any steps that would be more efficient than those at
present adopted. The magistrates had done what
they could to restrict traffic, but as the disease had
got among them he felt quite certain that what they
had done was not sufficient to check it. Well,
then, was there anything that would assist in stop-
ping it ? He had been looking about to see what
had been done elsewhere, and he found that in the
county of Aberdeen they had taken steps which had
been attended with remarkable success--(hear,
hear)—and with most valuable consequences.
(Hear, hear.) He then read an extract from the ac-
count which had appeared in the newspapers of
January 19, of the meetieg of the Highland Agri-
cultural Society, stating the course which had been
taken in Aberdeenshire, in which county they had
adopted a system of voluntary rating of ld. in the
pound, and by acting in consort had stamped out the
disease seven times, and had now been • free from
it a month. Now, Mr. Hcpe, a speaker at that meet-
ing, said that the people of Aberdeen had treated
this matter in a much more sensible way than any-
body else, and he explained how they treated it.
They had stopped the disease, and secured them-
selves from immense expense. Ile (Mr. Denison)
could wish that this county was as yet in a favour-
able position for trying thesarne experiment. (Hear,
hear.) The centre part of the county was at present
free from disease, and in the Vale of Belvoir, up the
county to Mansfield, it had appealed. It was down
in the villages near Newark to a certain extent, and
where it had spread it had destroyed their cattle. In
the north of the county, in Bassetlaw and about
Retford, there had not been many cases, and he
thought that if the matter were thoroughly taken in
hand, and all acted well together, they might stop
the disease entirely, and he was sure they might do
which would be as
eenxspeense it must be if the
snootahtinpgroodoimgipoaurselyd lteosswhexapt
thing were allowed to go on as at present.. He had
written down to Edinburgh for more complete
details of the system of rating, as to what basis it
had been done on, wad what their organisation had
been. He had no doubt that they instituted an active
canvass among the farmers. If they considered what
a penny in the pound was, they must acknowledge
it was not much. Suppose a farmer was paying
£2OO per annum, he would have to pay 165., and if
they went to the large landowners who paid £l,OOO
they would get £4 and a few pence. Bypaying that
sum they would be placing themselves in a position
of comparative security. But what he chiefly locked
to was the chance of stopping the disease. At pre-
sent, however, there was no kind of unanimity ;
everybody was left to do the best for themselves.
Nothing was to be done by treatment. He advo-
cated the adoption of the same scheme as in Aber-
deenshire, and said it was a question for themselves.
(Hear.) By adopting the Turkish Bath on one of
his farms he had done himself the greatest injury.
Mr. Paget supported the observations of Mr. Deni-
son, and after some discussion it was agreed to obtain
the necessary information by Wednesday next, and
that the county meanwhile be prepared for carrying
out the scheme adopted in Aberdeenshire.

YORKSHIRE (NORTH RIDING).
A special Quarter Sessions for the North Riding
of Yorkshire was held at Northallerton on Wednes-
day, to adopt such new rules and regulations as
might be thought desirable to prevent the spreading
of the cattle plague. Earl Cathcart, who presided,
read the report of the police committee, which
pointed out the way in which the Court was fettered
by the Orders in Council, and suggested a resolu-
tion to the effect that to the extent of the limited
powers confided to them the justices of the North
Riding had done their very utmost towards cattle
plague prevention, but they desired to record, and
they begged to convey to her Majesty's Government
their decided opinion, which was, that the authorised
means were utterly inadequate to that end. The
non. W. E. Duncombe, M.P., moved the adoption
of the report, which was seconded by Mr. Pulleine,
and carried. Lord Teignmouth urged theimportance
of united action throughout the country, and said
the newspapers were calling for prompt and instan-
taneous action in this matter. He moved that this
Court, feeling the inadequacy of the means of pre-
venting the cattle plague placed at its disposal,
were of opinion that Government ought to assume
the responsibility for uniform and united action, and
that the chairman be requested to communicate this
resolution to the Secretary for the Home Depart-
ment. The Earl of Zetland seconded the motion,
which was supported by Sir J. Lawson and Mr.
Cayley, and adopted.

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNORS.—A week or two after-
wards this matter was brought under the notice of
the vestry. The proceediugi aro thus reported in the
leading organ :—" The bill of expenses for perambulating
the boundaries of the parish, amounting to £133 18s. Gd.,
was presented from the general purposes committee. Mr.
N. said the expenses had been much increased by persons
not vestrymen being at the dinner. Mr. D. had seen per-
sons there who were not vestrymen, or connected with
neighbouring parishes, and who wore busy bonneting ves-
trymen." (My conscience, bonnet a 'vestryman !) "He
could name the coroner's beadle for one. He had been told
that plates of meat had been sent from the Argyle to the
house of Mr. B. Mr. B. rose indignantly and denied the
assertion. Mr. D. could give his authority, namely, Mr.
F. Mr. B.: Then Mr. F. is a liar! A riotous scene than
took place between Mr. B. and the other vestrymen, after
which the resolution was adopted."—Dickenis "All the
Year Round."