AUCTION SALES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 220, 11 June 1919, Page 10

AUCTION SALES

I . FOETHOOIOHG FIXTURES. !' J.:., to-day. i ; Te Horo Yaida, 11.30 a.m.-Sale of stock j ' " (N.Z. Loan Co., Dalgety and Oo.). - Zeaiandia.Hall,'Palmerßton Nortiv 1 p.m. i —Land eale (Abraham and Williams).' !. 157 Lambton Quay, Wellington, 2,30 p.m.- ; ... Furniture Bale 'E. Johnßton and Co.). i ' - . TO-MORItOW. , - ' ! , Crown Theatre, Qreytown, 12 noon.-Sale i of dairy land (Dalgety end Co., and ! i\ Wise). .Master ton, 1 p.m.— o£ stock, motor j , cars,. vehioles, eto. (N.Z. Farmers' Coi ' . Yards, 1 p.m.—Stock salo (Dalgety ; 00., and Abraham and Williams). i fiuday. ! 8e11..8100k, .Taranaki—Sale of pedigree ; . .. - cattle (Newton King), ! 137 Quay, 2.10 p.m.—Salo of sec- }• ; uons (Murray, Roberts and Hodgkinn, t ' ■ .Carver and Oo.). | STOCK ON TRAILS ! ; COMPLAINTS OF CARELESS | HANDLING. v Complaints made in- Palmerston North ;• *ogarding the injury inflicted upoa.stofk i during railway transit are endorsed m ! Wellington. A reporter wlio made some I, inquiries on' the subject yesterdayt was | informed that the grievance. is an old | one. and that farmers and buyers alike •have long sought to secure from the l'inil- [ way Department greater caro in the hand- !. ling of stock. The damage done to cattle f • oosta the country thousands of pounds each • . year, and involves a great deal of cruelty ! - -to-the-animals. Sheep and ■ pigs- also ■ suffer, though to a smaller extent. 1 ■ ."The experience of the farmer who had j four trucks of cattle badly knocked about ! during'a train journey is by no means ! unusual," said a stock dealer yesterday. ■ ■"I have seen dead cattle taken from i trucks on many occasions, and the anl- | ■ mals very often are -unloaded bruised and i. bleeding. Some accidents doubtless are !■ unavoidable, since one unruly animal in i a truck can do damage even at a siding, i; ! mit the chief causes of the trouble are I j -careless shilnting, and delayed trains. . Trainmen would not think of sending j a passenger car flying down a siding to I bump heavily into another car. But the.y !■' do that sort of 'tlira? with' the cattle j .trucks, andi the consequence is that the i animals get thrown against one another ! -and the sides of the trucks, or.lose their i 'footing altogether. The Railway Depart- ! ment does not seem to regard itself ta !■ in any way responsible for such ncci- ! • dents. If a bullock falls in a truck, it may stay down for twenty-four hours or ; , more before the truck reaches its desr tination and unloading begins. .Therei is no attempt to remedy the trotiolo, | and a claim for damages appears to liave !■ ■no chance of success at all. | "The oonunon. failure of stock trains i -to run to \ time-table is another fruit- ; ful cause of trouble. Wo aro told to ■have th® stock in the truck at a, ceri. tain time. Then;-tho. train may be late ■and there is delay before the shunting I .begins. More shunting takes plaqe at vwayside stations, and eventually the ,trucks reach their destination at such an hour thfrt there must be another • long delay before unloading takes place. It'-eefims to, mo tliat the Department ought .to. make a serious, effort to im- . prova its methods. Railway ]ourneys probably cannot be made comfortable for stock exceut at prohibitive cost, but - oareful handling quick dispa>ch • "would improve the position a great ileal and prevent nuicli loss o£ luoncy and & good deal of' suffering.' • .