The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1882. CURRENT NOTES. POACHING.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 603, 25 April 1882, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1882. CURRENT NOTES. POACHING.

There are some men who appear never to be happy without a gun Their earliest ambition is to procure one, and once they have it in their possession, they blaze away at everything, from Mrs Jones' cat to Farmer Brown's haystack. It does not at all follow that they are good shots ;it is often the reverse ; but failure never daunts them, and they go through life making a noise in the world. There are some of these characters in Akaroa, and they are a perpetual nuisance. At the first break of day they will take their beloved weapon, and, attended by sporting dogs of doubtful origin, scour the hills and the bush for pheasants. There is no pride about them ; they will shoot a lion bird as readily as a cock ; and if, after a weary journey, during which they hive not succeeded in getting a goo i pot shot, they drop across a neighbor's turkey sitting in fancied security on a rail, thfy will not despise him, but, shattering his head to pieces with a five or fix feet shot, will take him home with the pleasant consciousness that the morning has not been altogether wasted. As to seasons, they are nothing to them. Parliament may make what laws it likes, but Government is in WellingtoH and they are in Akaroa, and, like certain public bodies that we wot of, they think Acts very dry reading, and. not worth taking any notice of. Some of them may have heard of licenses, and some not, but none are ever known to purchase one, and it is a notorious fact that only two licenses to shoot pheasants were taken out last year for the whole Peninsula ; and yet in any hotel in the place one may hear a dozen men boasting of the big bags they made. Now, this sort of thing is not fair.

No one has a greater abhorrence of the old game laws thnn ourselves ; nobody sympathises more with the poor cottager who is punished for shooting a, hare for the support of his starving family ; but, thank goodness, there is no want of that sort here, and the whole question is in quite a different state. All we want is fair equaity. We do not wish to see game preserved for any class, but bo have poor and rich blazing away during the proper season, and at the proper birds, to their heart's content. What we object to is, that a set of rascals who h ye not the shadow of an excuse should, wit'i a sneaking meanness worthy or all condemnation, crawl into their neighbors' property and steal the game out of season. The sheep farmer has a happy time of it with these so-called sportsmen. Many of the dogs ax their heels have not the least objection to n.utton, and even suppose they prefer that meat cooked, their joyous yelping at early dawn has the beneficial effect of scaring the sheep awny for an hour or two. Besides, so ardent are the} r in tho chase, that such a trifle as closing a gate, or putting up a slip rail after passing through, is not worthy of a thought ; consequently the sheep mix—but what's the odds ; they haven't to draft them. The game here was imported at a, j

consider iblo expense, and whilst making it the object of healthy amusement and pleasant dinners, we should also endeavor to make it increase and multiply. It is thoroughly unfair to shoot a bird out of season—unfair not only to the b:rd, but to those sportsmen who, having

some sens- of right, wait patiently till llic proper tiiiK , comes, and then fairly and openly enjoy the:>',,elves. The men who do this are almost invariably not ! only the best mull but the best shots ; and we hope the police will use their

best efforts to secure them good sport this year, by properly punishing the cwvardly fellows who shoot all the year round, not for sport, but for the sakf of selling the game at a high price because it is out of season.