First report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the origin and nature, &c. of the cattle plague : with the minutes of evidence and an appendix.

  • Great Britain. Commissioners Appointed to Inquire Into the Origin and Nature, &c. of the Cattle Plague.
Date:
1865
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the origin and nature, &c. of the cattle plague : with the minutes of evidence and an appendix. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    Alt J. Hbnck. 10 Oct. 1865. 510. You constantly have, I suppose, foreign cattle consigned to you ?—Yes. 511. Have you often had Russian cattle consigned to you ?—No. 512. Are you acquainted with the case which has beeu talked about a good deal, called the Revel case ? —Yes. 513. Some cattle were consigned to you ?—Some cattle were consigned to me from Revel in the month of May last. 514. By whom were they consigned to you ?— They were consigned by Messrs. Clayhills and Son of Revel. 515. Will 3 0U state what occurred with regard to those cattle ?—I will. Last summer I became ac- quainted with an individual of the uame of Burchell, and he stated that he believed there was some good to be done from Russia, and that he was going out there. I said, “ Very well.” Then he said, “I have “ not the means to carry on the trade myself, but if I “ find that things are promising, perhaps you will “ assist me to import cattle from that place.” I said, “ If you go and see I will hear what your report is “ first.” He went, and came back again in about October, I think it was, September or October, and his representations were of such an extraordinary character as to the cattle that they had in those districts, and he made out the business in prospect to be so profitable, that a friend of mine, Mr. Baker, and mysalf were induced to come forward to carry out the contract which he represented he had made with the landowners in Esthland. That is how the business was first introduced to me. 516. Will you state what steps you took to carry out this arrangement ?—He then stated that it would be necessary to lodge 1,000/. in the hands of Messrs. Robinson and Fleming here as a guarantee that the contract should be carried out; but as I did not know anything about the parties, I was uuwilling to part with my money before I had a full guarantee that they were respectable and responsible persons, and I did not do so. He said, “It will not matter if I go “ back again, the persons will be quite satisfied with “ my being there, and they will be equally inclined “ to deliver the cattle when the spring comes.” So he went back again, and I supposed that everything was going on all right, and that the cattle were coming in such splendid condition as he represented them to be in. From the notice I received that the cattle were ready, I sent a steamer over called the “ Tonning ” to Revel, in the month of May last. She started from London on about the 9th or 10th of the month, and arrived there on the 16th or 17tli of May. 517. Had this vessel been previously engaged in the cattle trade ?—Yes, continually, she was built for the cattle trade, and we are always bringing cattle by her. She arrived at Revel on the 16th or 17th, and she left again on the 23d, with 321 oxen and 330 sheep ; these cattle were received by this Mr. Bur- chell who was out there at the time. 518. Can you state how these cattle were collected ? —They were collected in the neighbourhood of Revel from the different landed proprietors in Estlionia, within I suppose about 100 miles of the place. 519. Did they all come from Esthonia ?—Yes, all of them. 520. Did none of them come from St. Petersburg ? —No, not that I am aware of, or ever heard of, and in fact I am positive that there were none which came from St. Petersburg. 521. What class of cattle were they ?—They were cattle which had been worked, and they were rather in a low condition ; but so far as I could judge and see they were very sound indeed. I never saw more sound cattle in my life from anywhere. 522. Were there any from Courland ?—Not that I am aware of. I had rather short notice, or else I could have been prepared with documents, and could have answered you fully upon all these questions. I 523. It is very important, if you will be good enough to do so ?—I do not believe that there were any except from Esthonia. 524. Were all the cattle in a healthy condition when they were put on board the vessel ?—I believe so, fully, because they were very healthy when I saw them when they were landed here. 525. Where did the sheep come from ?—I believe they all came from that district. 526. When they left the port were they inspected by any Government officer belonging to Russia ?—I do not think so. 527. After leaving the port did they touch any- where on their road home ?—The vessel touched at Copenhagen. 528. For what purpose did she touch there ?—To take in water ; and there was also an order sent by our brokers that if they could ship 40 more cattle at Copenhagen without delay they were to do so, because there had been an application of that sort to ship cattle at Copenhagen for London. 529. Did they do so ?—No ; they did not get any cattle from Copenhagen. 530. Were any orders sent to Copenhagen with regard to the destination of the “ Tonning ?”—Yes ; when the cargo was first ordered she was ordered to bring the cattle to Lowestoft, but afterwards it was altered to Hull, because I was so utterly in the dark about the quality of the cattle, as to what they were, and I received one or two telegrams from Mr. Burchell which I could not make out, to this effect : he said that the landed proprietors were cheating him, and that the cattle were in a very lean condition and quality, and that induced me to send them to Hull, partly because I thought that in the northern districts there would be a better market for lean cattle, and also inasmuch as I did not know anything at all about whether these cattle on the voyage, as they often do, might not get the foot and mouth disease, for in Hull they have never taken any notice of that, but in London and Lowestoft they are very particular, and they will not admit any cattle which have the foot and mouth disease. 531. In using the word “they” do you mean the veterinary inspectors appointed by the Customs ?— Yes. 532. They are more lax at Hull, are they ?—Yes, they are, in regard to the foot and mouth complaint. We have always had them passed coming from Hamburgh with the foot and mouth disease at Hull, whereas in London they would never pass one head. 533. Were any of the animals sick on their passage to Hull ?—I have heard that one of them was. Mr. Burchell related that it was so, but that is not at all an uncommon occurrence; they often die on the voyage without anything at all being the matter with them when shipped. 534. The animal that was sick did not die ?—No. 535. On their arrival at Hull what became of these cattle ?—On their arrival at Hull I put them in the hands of a Mr. Coulson, and he sold 106 of them, to the best of my recollection, there, to go either to Derby, I think it was to Derby, or to Leeds. 536. {Dr. Playfair.) Did they not go to Man- chester ?—No ; I do not think they went to Man- chester. Mr. Coulson sold 106 of them, and 40 were taken by another gentleman, Mr. Hickman, to Manchester, and they were sold there. 537. Mr. Coulson sold 106 for you ; what became of them ?—That I cannot say, but they were sold to dealers. 538. They were sold to Mr. Lambert, were they not ?—I believe they were sold to Dickenson and Derby. 539. {Chairman.) You are now speaking of the 106 ?—Yes. 540. And Mr. Hickman bought 20 or 40 others : —Yes ; he took 40 to sell at Manchester, and he sold them at Manchester.