No. 219.
Mr. Seward
to Sir Edward Thornton.
Washington, October 25, 1878.
Sir: With reference to your note of the 13th ultimo, I have the honor to inform you that the contents thereof, together with the copy of the contagious diseases act which accompanied it, were duly communicated to the Secretary of the Treasury, from whom a letter has been received on the subject.
It appears that under the provisions of the act, all animals landed from abroad at any port within the United Kingdom will, after the 1st of January next, be slaughtered at the port of debarkation, except in the case of countries specially exempted, in whole or in part, by the privy council from the operation of the act; and that, should the United States desire to secure this immunity, it will be necessary for a statement to be made on its part, giving the laws regulating the importation of animals into its territory and the methods adopted to prevent the spread of any contagious disease when it exists in any part of the country.
Furthermore, it seems to be desired that a report of the general sanitary condition of animals in this country should be furnished from time to time.
Upon the first point, the Secretary of the Treasury remarks that section 2493 of the Revised Statutes of the United States prohibits absolutely the importation of neat cattle and the hides of neat cattle from any foreign country, but provides that the operation of such law may be suspended as to any foreign country, or part thereof, whenever the Secretary [Page 357] of the Treasury shall officially determine and give public notice that such importations will not tend to the introduction or spread of contagious or infectious diseases among the cattle of the United States.
The restrictions thus imposed, he states, are now suspended generally as to all countries, with the requirement, however, that invoices of neat cattle or the hides of neat cattle coming from most foreign countries to the United States shall have attached thereto a certificate from a consular officer of this country at the port of shipment that the animals or the hides, as the case may be, are free from contagious disease. Where such certificate does not accompany the invoice, a special application to the Treasury Department is necessary, or the animals or hides cannot be landed or admitted to entry at the custom-house. This law and the regulations issued in pursuance thereof appear to be the only limitation which the laws of the United States impose upon the introduction of animals or hides into its territory.
With regard to the methods taken to prevent the spread of disease, he states that he is not aware that any measure has been adopted by this government to prevent the spread of contagious diseases among the animals in the United States, as that subject is regarded as being within the control of the officers of the various States composing the Union. But he addressed a letter to the Commissioner of Agriculture, in which he requested the Commissioner to state what control the Department of Agriculture had attempted to exercise over the matter. To this Commissioner Le Due replied that his department had not assumed any functions in the premises, further than to appoint a commission of inquiry for investigating diseases of swine and infectious and contagious diseases to which other classes of domesticated animals are subject, which has not yet completed its labors.
It is considered desirable that this country should be excepted from the law of Great Britian aforementioned, and in view of the general absence of the rinderpest and other contagious diseases among animals in the United States, it is not apprehended that any great danger to the cattle of Great Britain will arise from the shipment of animals or hides from this country to that kingdom. As regards that question, this Department can merely give the assurance that, should it obtain any information either through the public press or through documents received by it or by the Department of the Treasury that a contagious disease among animals prevails in any part of the United States, it will furnish information thereof to Her Majesty’s Government from time to time, as occasion may require.
I should be pleased to receive early information of the conclusions which may be arrived at by Her Majesty’s Government respecting the exemption of the United States from the operation of the act in question.
I have, &c.,
Acting Secretary.