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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Reference :-

C.O. 882

8 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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7. I annex a copy of my Minute addressed to the Council of Government, to which is annexed a copy of my correspondence with the Chamber of Agriculture.

8. I cannot too strongly express my gratitude to Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson and his Ministers for having so promptly placed at my disposal the services of Dr. Edington.

I have, &c.,

(No. 12 of 1902.)

Enclosure in No. 5.

MINUTE BY GOVERNOR.

CHAS. BRUCE,

Governor.

The Governor has the honour to submit to the Council of Government regulations drafted by the Sanitary Authorities under the powers conferred on them by Ordi- nance 39 of 1881, and in accordance with a resolution passed at a meeting of the Council of Government.

2. In connection with these Regulations there will be laid on the table copies of a letter addressed to the Governor by the Chamber of Agriculture on the subject of that resolution and of the Governor's reply.

3. The regulations now submitted to the Council are based on the following considerations;

(a) That the responsible Sanitary Authorities have advised the Governor that they have no doubt that the disease now prevalent among animals is Surrah.

(b) That the most eminent authorities have declared that equines markedly attacked with Surrah are practically beyond the pale of treatment; have hardly any chance of recovery, and even should they apparently recover, are valueless.

(c) That the Government have been advised by Dr. Laveran and by the Govern- ment of Bombay, two independent authorities, that equines so affected should be slaughtered to prevent the communication of the disease to healthy animals by flies, a means of communication likely to be particularly dangerous on, or in vicinity of, sugar estates in this Colony.

(d) That there appears to be a consensus of expert opinion in advising that Surrah when it attacks cattle as defined by Article 1 of Ordinance 39, of 1881, is a disease much less fatal and dangerous in its consequences than when it attacks horses, asses and mules.

4. The Governor is able with great satisfaction to inform the Council that he has received a telegraphic despatch from the Governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope informing him that Dr. Edington may be expected in Mauritius by the "Clan Stuart," which was to leave Durban on Saturday, the 12th or at latest, yesterday.

5. The Governor suggests that the Regulations and correspondence annexed to this Minute together with all previous documents on the subject laid on the table be referred to a Committee of the whole Council with the Colonial Secretary as Chair-

man.

Government House,

July 15, 1902.

(Annexure I.)

CHAS. BRUCE,

Governor.

REGULATIONS made under the Cattle Plague Ordinance, 1881.

In virtue of the powers vested in me by Ordinance, No. 39, of 1881, and Ordi- nance No. 32, of 1894-95, Article 24, paragraph n, and Regulation No. 79, of 1882, the following regulations are hereby promulgated:

1. A fatal and infectious disease called "Surrah" having broken out among cattle, horses, asses and mules in Mauritius, I hereby declare the main island of Mauritius to be an infected area within the meaning of Ordinance, No. 39, of 1881.

Nothing in these regulations shall prevent the circulation of healthy animals on public roads or public places or between any two districts or estates.

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2. For the purposes of these regulations:-

(a) An animal" markedly attacked with Surrah" shall mean an animal which, in the opinion of a veterinary surgeon, is beyond the pale of treatment, and all chance of recovery.

(b) An animal" unmistakably affected with Surrah," shall mean an animal which in the opinion of the Sanitary Authority shows unmistakable symptoms or proofs of the disease, but which, in the opinion of a veterinary surgeon, is not beyond the pale of treatment or chance of recovery.

3. All horses, asses and mules markedly attacked with "Surrah" in the infected area as above defined, shall be slaughtered by the owners upon an order of the Sanitary Authority or by the order of the Sanitary Authority in case of non-compli- ance without any indemnity being paid to them.

4. The Sanitary Authorities who are empowered to act under Ordinance, No. 39,

of 1881, and the present regulations are:

The Director of the Health Department,

The Medical Inspector,

The Sanitary Warden,

The Assistant Sanitary Warden,

The Additional Medical Inspector and

The Additional Assistant Sanitary Wardens.

5. Animals markedly attacked with "Surrah" shall only be ordered to be destroyed under Article 3 of these regulations upon an order in writing signed by a Sanitary Authority as defined in Article 4.

6. No order for the destruction of an animal markedly attacked with "Surrah' shall be issued by a Sanitary Authority except upon a certificate in writing by a qualified veterinary surgeon that the animal is markedly attacked.

Provided always that when the owner or person, having the animal in charge, shall object to the execution of such order, and make proper arrangements for the isolation of such animal, a delay of not less than 24 hours shall be given to produce to the Sanitary Authority the certificate of a duly qualified veterinary surgeon, and in the event of the said certificate being such as to question the necessity of the execution of the order aforesaid, such execution shall not be made except in virtue of an order in writing of the Director of the Health Department.

7. The Sanitary Authorities shall keep, or cause to be kept, records of all measures taken or ordered to be taken, by them under Ordinance, No. 39, of 1881, or under the present regulations, and such records shall contain full details relative to the animals slaughtered, the names of their owners, the localities where they are found and slaughtered, the reasons for such slaughtering, and such other information as may be necessary for future reference.

8. All carcases of animals slaughtered under these regulations or which may have died of "Surrah" shall either be incinerated or buried at the expense of the owners, preferably on the spot, or if this is impossible or inadvisable, in ground specially provided for that purpose. If buried the upper surface of the carcase shall be at least four feet below the surface of the adjoining ground, and the carcase shall be laid on a layer of quicklime at least two inches thick, and shall be thoroughly covered with the same substance.

9. If the owner of an animal markedly attacked with "Surrah refuses, or neglects to carry out, the written order issued by the Sanitary Authority for its slaughter, the Sanitary Authority shall have power to order any Sanitary Officer whether holding a permanent or temporary appointment under Government to kill the animal, and, if necessary, to have the carcase burnt or buried as provided for in these regulations.

10. In case of inability on the part of the owner to dispose of the carcase, or when the owner is not known, or when carcases have been left unburied by the owners more than twenty-four hours after death, the Sanitary Authority shall have power to dispose of the carcase at the cost of Government provided that if the owner is known or subsequently discovered, and is found to have been in possession of sufficient means to dispose of the carcase himself, the amount spent by Government will be recoverable from the owner aforesaid.

11. No horses, mules or asses which may be, in the opinion of the Sanitary Authority unmistakably affected with "Surrah" shall be exposed or be allowed to