A.—2

8

8

New Zealand, No. 70. My Lord, — Downing Street, 2nd April, 1910. With reference to your despatch, No. 109, of the 10th December last, I have the honour to request you to inform your Ministers that the Department of Agriculture for Ireland would be glad if they could be supplied with copies of any enactments which may be passed in New Zealand to regulate the examination and registration of horses, and also with copies of the regulations governing the issue of certificates of soundness, which it is understood are granted on certain conditions by the Government of New Zealand. I have, &c, CEEWE. Governor the Right Hon. Lord Plunket, K.C.M.G., X.C.V.0., &c. V

A.—l, 1911 No. 10.

No. 8. New Zealand, No. 74. My Lord, — Downing Street, Bth April, 1910. In continuation of my despatch, No. 31, of the 9th February, I have the honour to transmit to you, to be laid before your Ministers, copy of a despatch from His Majesty's Consul at Stockholm regarding the importation of meat into Sweden. I have, &c, CEEWE. Governor the Right Hon. Lord Plunket, G.C.M.G., X.C.V.0., &c.

A.—l, 1911 No. 57.

Enclosures. Sis, — British Consulate, Stockholm, 2nd March, 1910. With reference to my despatch, No. 19 (Commercial), of the 22nd February, 1910, and previous correspondence, concerning the importation of meat into Sweden, 1 have the honour to enclose herewith a translation of an article which appeared in Stockholm's Dayblad of the 2nd March, 1910, giving an account of the steps taken by means of consular certificates to regulate the importation of meat from Denmark into Sweden, from which it appears that a Danish veterinary's certificate concerning horse-meat has been considered unreliable. Such meat is not Danish. The action taken is important as evidence that consular certificates are recognized as a method of controlling meat sent to Sweden via Denmark, and therefore might be suggested as the method of controlling British colonial meat for the Swedish market. I notice, that in the Swedish Chamber of Commerce (London) Journal a Stockholm, merchant advertises that he wishes to become importing agent for Australian meat. For the first time for many years some Swedish meat has been sent to England, it was slaughtered and inspected at the public slaughterhouse in Gothenburg. Two consignments of about l<2 tons each have been made. 1 have, &c., M. Viluees, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State, &c. His Majesty's Consul. [Translation from Stockholm's Dagblad, 2nd March, 1910.] A Consignment of Meat and its Consequences.—Thk Danish Authorities have taken up the Matter. As it was mentioned some time ago, a large consignment of smoked horse-meat imported into Sweden from Copenhagen was confiscated by the sanitary police here, as the meat in question was found to be in an exceedingly tainted condition. In spite of this, however, the consignment was accompanied by a certificate from a legitimate veterinary, to the effect that the meat was perfectly fresh. At the request of the Board of Health, the report of confiscation was handed over by the Directors of the Medical Department to the Foreign Office, who, by means of the Swedish Minister in Copenhagen, forwarded it to the, Veterinary College in that town, who in their turn finally submitted the matter for examination to the Agricultural Department. Minister G-unther informed the Foreign Office that according to information received all the meat that is exported from Denmark to Sweden is imported into Denmark from abroad. As regards the veterinary who drew up the certificate that accompanied the horse-meat, Minister Gunther declared that he had the same right to draw up such certificates as other Danish veterinaries. In order, however, to avoid having to legalize similar certificates drawn up by the veterinary in question, Minister Gunther requested the Swedish Consulate in Copenhagen, for the protection of Swedish interests, to write on his certificates a few lines referring to the evidence against him. Under such conditions it is unlikely that certificates from that veterinary will be presenter 1 at the Consulate for legalization.