THE CROWN TENANTS’ GRIEVANCES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1276, 13 August 1886, Page 3

THE CROWN TENANTS’ GRIEVANCES.

The evidence taken on the petition of pastoral and Crown tenants of Otago and Southland was circulated to night. -It is voluminous, and covers twenty seven pages of closelysprinted matter. The first witness called was Mr John Roberts, runholder, who gave the following evidence os to the relative value of wool for the last three years t 1883, 4s 7 3-5 d per sheep; 1884, 3s 24d; 1885, 3s Bjd. This was partly due less to price than to deterioration, Mr Thomas Brydone gave strong evidence as to the devastation of the rabbits. He stated that on one run between Cromwell and Queenstown the increase at lambing before the rabbit pest came in was 70 per cent.; but during the last five years, since the pest, the average increase had only been 43 per cent. The death rate, which was formerly 3| per cent, was now 104 per cent. The rabbits had reduced the weight of wool by Ijlb to 141b per fleece, besides depreciating it by Id per lb. The cost of killing rabbits in 1883 was L 3,394, and in 1886, L 3.699. The average profit on working the run for the four years ended 31sl March, 1884, was L 1,980, or about 7 per cent, on the capital invested, while for 1885 the profit wasL24B, and for 1886 there was a loss of LI, 157, without taking into account any fall in the value of sheep. The New Zealand and Australian Land Com* pany had not paid any dividend for the past two years, and this year it was doubt - ful if they could pay their debenture interest. As to the rabbits, he thought that with energy and perseverance they could be kept down, and he apprehended no more danger in the future than in the past. Mr William Fraser (Vincent County Chairman) gave evidence that on Kawarau station the gross 1 expenditure last year was L 3,700 for rabbitting. Deducting the average sum of 2s as the cost of management and rabbiting from the average value of a fleece, viz , 2s lid, there would remain lid to pay rentals ranging from 14d to over 2s per sheep, irrespective of any question of interest on the capital invested or borrowing. The witness also gave evidence that in 1879 Mr D. H. Mervyn, despite protests, was allowed to bid at the sale of runs, and ran the price up beyond the value of the runs, though Mr Mervyn had previously declined to buy a run knocked down to him and was, therefore, a defaulter. Mr Edwin J. Spence contrasted the results of the operations on the Morven Hills station for the last two years. 1884 85 the number of sheep shorn was 98,000, and the loss on the year L 6,922, equal to Is lid par sheep. In the following year 95,000 sheep were shorn, and the loss was L 8.955, equal fo 2s per sheep. Owing to the rabbits there had been a decided drop in the number of sheep on the same country since 1882. On the Mount Pisa station 38,000 sheep had last year shown a loss of L 2,943, equal to Is 6d per sheep. Wool would have to go up 3d per lb before working expenses were paid. Toe cases he had mentioned were analogous to those of all the other Crown tenants, and he was of opinion that the arbitrary and capri oious mode of dividing the country haa been very prejudic'd. Other witnesses gave evidence of a like nature.