considerable reliance eat present placed by the community upon the paragraph published in the W.-C. Daily News of the 5th inst., remeuts made by Mr. H. E. Hall in reference to cattle disease in native dairies in the neighbourhood of Shanghai, in the paragraph referred to; but truth an error are 80 intermingled as to render it derstood by giily acquainted with the full particulars and facts of the case, and to justify me in making o special report upon this subject.
will first take the paraztaph question, in which it is stated that, We are sorry to hear that the catch been and still is very severe in Si We are assured on the best authority that the disease has existed ever since last August: nnd that it hae gone through all the dairies; and that some dairymen have lost all their beasts, One, to our knowledge, lung lost one fine young English bull, three cows and two calves."
Ist.—It is said that cattle disease (and this may be supposed to nien rinderpest or some other contagious disease) hing been sll severe in Sh wi, Now both the past and present tenses are male use of, and whatever difficulty there may be proving the disease to have existed the past, there should be little or none proving thy existence of a severe disease this kind at present, for it should be bors in mind that in the event of cattle dis-ens breaking out amongst the native cattle it eaves fearful and most fatal results, and is not readily got rid of, as the natives take but little trouble make no willing sacrifice whatever to stamp out the disease; and in the event of digoate passing through the native dairies its flight is anything but rapid, except us far as spreading itself is concerned, but it hangs bout the locality as long ae it exn tain food for existences, Hence maintain that there should be no difficulty in ps ing the existence of the disease ut present, if there is any truth in the statement made by Mr. Hall, Now I challenge Mr. Hall, peraun, to prove to the satisfaction of wi tuubiassed and unprejudiced mind that such disease exists amongst the cows, or cattle, of any of the 22 native dairies Uhat ure inspected by us. I cannot, however, nee cept as sutlic nasertion letter from Mr. exists; but as hw says the disonse is will aovero L would and must insist on his producing the animals ao effected, and point out the native dairy whose animals are still suffering from this suvero disease, Neither ill it be satisfactory evidence should he get Chinese to come forward and make statements to that effect, for it is a well known root that " Chinaman will, for eration, swear to anything, right or ws Jong as he is well for domy Ton the other had am quite prepared to go round any or all of ules 22 native dairies with any number of gentlemen and prove to their satisfaction that all cattle kept there are healthy, and fave frum cattle disease. It is fully odinisted that cattle disease hax ducing the autumn visited o of the daicies, butine very mild form only see my reports of 26th September and 3rd October last upon that subject, (Herewith.)
"We arengsured, on thy best authority, Unat the disease hus existd over since last August: and that it has been through all the dairies: end that some dairymen have lost all their berists." 1 must here take exception as to the best authority. As U deem it, there is none give such information better Weed or myself (the *medical practitioners excepted); but us they do not isit unive daicies, they can personally have bue little information more then hearsay upon that subject. Now as to the disonse having existed ever since August last, 1 believe there is some truch in that, for it has double moaning. belief in the matter is that the disease referred to is always existing i say, it is not only epidemic, but always here—I am not alone in this idea but better and much more reliable authority than mine has been so expressed and that the disoste, like the reptile, lies dormantunder certain conditions, and than, when under either atmospheric. or other favourable conditions for its fuller development, it periodically bursts forth, with more or less vigour, and spreads its evil influence wherever it finds suitable or favourable conditions for ite further growth and development. So that it may under certain conditions be admitted to have ifstylel veteriuaties uvt included in the except
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.