Mr. Sanford to Mr. Seward.
Sir: The law authorizing the government to take measures to eradicate and prevent the spread of the cattle plague, referred to in my No. 337, appears in the Moniteur of the 10th instant, and the measures decided upon in that connection are also published in the same official journal.
A royal arrèté of the 8th prohibits the entry and transit of cattle, (in certain parts sheep and swine,) hides, fresh meat, and offal, hay, straw, and manure, at the maritime frontiers and the land frontiers, in certain designated districts towards Holland and Germany. Under special conditions, cattle coming from the Zollverein may be allowed by the minister of the interior to enter in transit.
All proprietors or possessors of cattle in the towns along the frontier are to furnish a list of the same, within ten days, to the burgomasters, by whose authority they are marked; and visits for inspection and for verification of these lists are permissible on the part of the authorities between sunrise and sunset. Every change in the number, indicated in the lists furnished, by death, sale, purchase, or otherwise, must be notified within twenty-fours thereof to the burgomaster. No animal can be admitted into or leave a commune without authorization and a certificate of origin. Any animal found in stable or pasture, or anywhere in a commune, the presence of which cannot be accounted for by the inventory or a valid certificate, must be seized and isolated during twenty days, under the surveillance of the government veterinary surgeon and at the expense of the owner. If suspected of having the cattle plague, or of having been imported fraudulently into the country, it must be slaughtered.
The communes to which these provisions shall be applicable will be designated by the minister of the interior, and those on the frontiers, in the provinces of Antwerp and Limbourg, are accordingly designated by him in a subsequent arrèté. Cattle fairs and markets, in so far as they relate to the exposure of cattle for sale, are forbidden, with the exception of markets for the consumption of certain large towns, and the herding of cattle of different owners, together with a view to sale, is also forbidden.
Another royal arrèté, of the 9th instant, provides the manner of procedure for the slaughter of cattle and sheep attacked or suspected of having taken the plague. It can be ordered upon the report of the veterinary surgeon of the government; and animals suspected of being fraudulently introduced into the country are assimilated with those suspected of having the disease, and are equally liable to be slaughtered.
An indemnity equal to two-thirds the value is allowed to the owners of the animal so slaughtered, by the order of the authorities, provided they have complied with the laws, regulations, &c., for these cases; the said value to be arrived at by taking the mean of the valuation of the government veterinary surgeon, on his first visit, and that of two sworn appraisers, appointed by the burgomaster, taken just before the animal is slaughtered, and this appraisement is liable in certain cases to revision.
Lastly, by a ministerial arrèté the custom-house and internal revenue officers, and those in the administration of woods and forests throughout the kingdom, are authorized to seek out and notify to the proper authorities all infringements of these prescriptions.
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I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.