The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1883.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3753, 26 July 1883, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1883.

The Porangahau settlers have very little faith in the efficiency of the Rabbit Act to suppress the one dread post with AA'hich HaAvke's Bay shecpf armors aro iioav threatened. Taking the fact of the presence of rabbits in the Akiteo country as sufficient evidence of the insufficiency of the measures adopted on the AVellington side for the destruction of rabbits, the Porangahau settlers have formed themselves into a committee for their OAvn protection. The agitation they caused some feAV weeks ago had the effect of stirring up the authorities, ! and some active rabbit hunting on the boundary of the province has been the result. "But the effect of this activity, as was pointed out in these columns, has been to drive the rabbits from the clear ground into the bush, and thero can be no doubt now that a rabbit-proof fence, as Avas suggested by Mr Ormond at the AVaipaAva meeting, is absolutely necessary. It aa-ill be remembered that at that meeting Mr Ormond proposed that the Government should be requested to contribute towards the erection of the fence, and considering the large revenue derived from the sheep assessment in this provincial district, over and above expenditure, the request aa'us reasonable enough. But this request happens to come from HaAvke's Bay. Had it come from Taranaki, or from some petted district in tbe Middle Island, there Avould have been no difficulty. Since, however, the electors have been so utterly blind to their best interests as to_ return a reprcscntatiA'o of no Aveigbt or influence with either the House or the Government, nothing can be got, not even common justice. It is true that when Mr Ormond represented tho southern half of this province avo got little enough, but then he only asked for a little. This much can, hoAvcA-cr, be said, that whatever he did ask for he invariably obtained. It is very different now. Neither Mr Buchanan nor Mr Smith can get anything, and from their senseless opposition to "every Ministerial proposal they can expect nothing. The Porangahau "committee have uoav learned that the Government Avill do nothing Avhatevcr in the way of extending the rabbit proof fence at the AVaimata boundary. The result of this point blank refusal is that the settlers must act for themselves. A circular Avill shortly be addressed to all tbe sbeepfarmcrs calling upon them to fonvard subscriptions at the rate of -{d per head of sheep severally OAvned by each of them, that a fund may be raised for the erection of the fence. It is calculated that the extension of the fence should at least be ton miles, and tho estimated cost £200 a mile. It is needless to say that, unless the shcepfariners combine to keep rabbits out of the provinffe, the whole country -will speedily be over-run by tbe plague. Tho fancied security of to-day most certainly -will turn into consternation at the approach of danger 10-morrow, and as sure as night succeeds day so Avill ruin follow the steps of the rabbits.