FAILURE TO CLEAR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 59, 5 April 1946, Page 5

FAILURE TO CLEAR

CONTROL OF NOXIOUS WEEDS OWNER FINED £5 “The statements in defendant’s letter are not true,” said Mr E. L. Walton S.M. in the Whakatane Magistrate’s Court last Tuesday, when dealing.. with the prosecution of William Verne Souter, who was charged by the County Inspector with failure to clear his blackberryridden property near Awakeri. Mr Walton observed that defendant had intimated that he had not been notified by the Inspector this year, whereas in reality- he had received the registered letters, read their contents and refused to take delivery of them. He would be fined £5 and costs 31/-.

In a letter to the Court, the defendant claimed that he had not been given any notice by the County Inspector and had arranged for the worst parts of the property to be crushed and broken up with the giant discs. This had been carried out before the end of February and he enclosed the receipt of the contractor responsible. In due time when the Lands Department carried out the projected drainage of the area he intended farming it properly, but up till the present had been unable to do so on account of flooding.

Mr T. Hamerton for the Council, said that defendant’s 580 acres was infested with blackberry almost throughout, and was situated in the heart of good clean dairying country. Defendant was an absentee owner who did nothing with the property, which had developed into a seeding ground which was a menace to the surrounding farms. He made no real effort to eradicate or control the pest and the Council was forced to take a very serious view of the position.

Inspector Carling gave details of his efforts to contact Souter who had been notified on two occasions by registered letters to take steps to clear the land. Both letters had been opened and returned by the post ‘refused to take delivery.’ Witness added that he had noted the work of the giant discs but this had only covered a few acres. The great bulk of the property which was utterly neglected was getting worse and worse, spreading and seeding into adjoining properties. After hearing all the evidence the Magistrate inflicted the fine abovementioned.