CO885-(19-20) — Page 149

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PRESENT:

Mr. A. W. Anstruther, Board of Agriculture and Fisheries

Mr. S. Stockman, Board of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Mr. H. J. Read, Colonial Office; and

Mr. J. R. W. Robinson, Colonial Office (Secretary).

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1. The Gambia.

The Committee considered two reports by Captain A. V. Todd, A.V.D., on diseases of cattle in the Gambia, and it was decided to recommend that the Governor should be asked to furnish, annually, reports on the success of the preventive measures recommended by Captain Todd, and statistics, so far as possible, of the mortality from anthrax amongst the native cattle.

2. The Gold Coast.

In connection with reports on the diseases of horses in the Gold Coast, the Committee discussed the question whether the present system by which medical officers are requested to report on horse diseases in their respective districts should not be superseded by the appointment, as recommended by the Governor, of a veterinary officer who should be attached to the Medical Department. The Com- mittee agreed that the present system is unsatisfactory, and that there would be sufficient work to employ the undivided services of a special veterinary officer. They agreed unanimously to recommend that a special officer should be appointed, and that the Governor should be authorized to provide £500 on the Estimates for 1908 for his salary. It was considered probable that a qualified officer could be obtained at a salary of £400 a year.

The Committee further agreed that it was very desirable that the officer selected should not be attached to the Medical Department, but should be independent of it.

3. East Africa Protectorate.

A despatcht from the Commissioner covering a report by the Game Ranger was considered, and it was agreed to recommend that the Commissioner's proposals to make certain alterations in the third schedule of the Game Ordinance, 1906, should be approved for the present, but that the question of allowing the shooting of game should be reconsidered at an early date. Mr. Stockman suggested that game should be preserved in one reserve, within which no shooting should be permitted, but that outside the reserve game might be shot without restriction. He pointed out that zebras did much damage to settlers' lands, and that they were not valuable for purposes of domestication, and, like buffaloes, are a means of spreading trypanosomiasis; and with regard to the hunting dogs, he said that it would be desirable to exterminate them, and that an attempt might be made to spread dis- temper among them; the matter should be referred to the bacteriologist of the Protectorate (Mr. Simpson).

Mr. Stockman further recommended, with regard to paragraph 5 of the Com- missioner's despatch, that to check the danger of spreading disease through the Boer cattle, a system of permits to move cattle should be enforced, and the police empowered to stop the movements of cattle the owners of which had not obtained a permit.

The Deputy Commissioner, in his observations on the report, stated that there is no evidence to show that any species of game conveys rinderpest, pleuro-pneu- monia, Texas fever, or East Coast fever from one place to another, but it was pointed out by Mr. Stockman that it had been shown that the buffalo conveys pleuro-pneu- monia; this fact came under his own observation in India and South Africa. Experi- ments which he had undertaken showed also that the buffalo conveys Texas fever and the East Coast fever.

4. Veterinary Appointments and Examination. Replies to the Secretary of State's circular despatch of the 28th of February‡ received from various Crown Colonies and letters from the India and Foreign Offices

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were considered, but it was decided to take no decision upon them until replies had been received from all the Colonies and Protectorates concerned.

In the case of Malta, it was suggested that Mr. Stockman might be asked to proceed there and report on the best means of stamping out Malta fever by the elimination of infected goats.

It was, however, agreed that the Southern Nigerian proposal to establish a central research institute for West Africa, in which diseases of animals could be studied, and that, failing such an institution, veterinary investigations should be carried out by district medical officers, was unsound, since it is desirable not only to identify a disease, but to ascertain its place of origin and the causes for its appearance, for which the institute would not be of value, while to entrust such investigations to medical officers would mean that either their medical or their veterinary work would not be properly performed.

The Committee, therefore, agreed to recommend, in the case of Southern Nigeria, the appointment of a special veterinary officer, but to defer their recom- mendation until the special officer temporarily employed (Mr. G. Garden) had furnished his report.

With regard to the question of the examination of candidates, Mr. Anstruther. pointed out that it would be necessary eventually to arrange with the Civil Service Commissioners for periodical examinations, at intervals of not less than half a year; and that the Commissioners would have to be asked to make arrangements to examine candidates for future vacancies.

An application for promotion from Mr. G. Harvey, Veterinary Officer in Cyprus, was considered, and the Committee agreed that he should be noted for consideration should a vacancy occur.

5. Uganda.

The Committee then discussed an extract from a report by the Commissioner of Uganda on his tour of inspection, dealing with the cattle of the Ankole country. It was decided to recommend that the Commissioner should be asked to report whether the export of hides, i.e., of the hides of cattle, the number of hides exported, and the diseases, if any, of which the cattle had died, or whether the cattle had been slaughtered. A similar report should be asked for in connection with the export of goat skins.

With regard to the Commissioner's desire to import Mysore cattle to improve the Ankole breed, Mr. Stockman observed that it would be desirable to know the direction in which improvement was desired. The Mysore cattle were admirable for transport purposes, but if it is desired to improve the Ankole breed as milch cattle, it would be better to introduce English cattle, and thus, incidentally, avoid the risk of introducing the diseases common to Indian cattle into Uganda. It was decided that the point should be further discussed with the Commissioner on his arrival in England.

Mr. Stockman undertook to enquire as to the sources from which the Orange River Colony had obtained its stock of Angora goats, with a view to their intro- duction into Ankole.

The Committee then adjourned.

19291

No. 146.

FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.

(Received May 30, 1907.)

Foreign Office, May 30, 1907. [Published as No. 24 in [Cd. 4472], January, 1909.]

Nos. 36 and 85.

† No. 5 in [Cd. 4472].

No. 93.

• No. 123.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 885

20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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