A hundred years ago
The Contagious Diseases (Animals) Bill — in other words, the Bill for compelling the slaughter of all fat animals imported from every European country — Canada and the United States are not to be included in the same prohibition —was moved in the House of Commons by Sir H. Selwin Ibbetson on Monday night, in a speech which, while it dwelt chiefly on the mischief caused by the foot-and-mouth disease, hardly even attempted to make a case for the universal slaughter of all fat cattle introduced from Europe. Indeed, what Sir H. Selwin Ibbetson said in favour of that course applied with at least equal strength to the importation of the same class of animals from America, nor did he make any case for the exemption of the latter. Mr Forster, in a very able speech, moved an amendment opposing this policy, and proving, first, that it must greatly raise the price of meat, and therefore do harm; and next, that it would not offer any additional chance worth computing of stamping out foot-and-mouth disease — a disease which is, very likely, not an imported one, and is certainly spread much more by cattle-fairs in this country than by properly regulated importation.
Spectator, 29 June 187
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