The Evening Star TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1874.

Evening Star, Issue 3500, 12 May 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1874.

It is desirable that, during the present session of the Council, some steps should be taken to prevent the inhabitants of the suburbs of Dunedin from having the lives of their children endangered, and their property injured, through the neglect of the owners of cattle. Not long ago a very serious accident occurred at Maori Hill from this cause, and we are constantly hearing complaints about gardens being broken into and seriously damaged by cows that are allowed to roam about at will. It is true that there is an Impounding Ordinance in force, but bitter experience has taught persons that it is better to “ bear the ills they have ” than “ to fly to others that they know not of.” In short, there are so many means of eluding the provisions of the Ordinance, that a person who impounds his neighbor’s cow may think himself fortunate if he escape without having to pay the expenses—to say nothing about his being liable to have an action brought against him for illegally impounding. There are several difficulties in the way which make it by no means easy to deal with this matter. The fact is that these difficulties can be met only by special legislation. Strict regulations with regard to stray cows would be altogether out of place in the country, where nearly everybody has cattle; while in a town or in a thicklypeopled suburban district, cows can at the best be looked upon only as a nuisance ; and it is mere justice to the inhabitants of such a district that those who have a fancy for harboring these nuisances should be made to keep them entirely to themselves, without allowing them to make periodical raids upon the gardens round about. In this as in other matters “ the greatest good to the greatest number ” would seem to be the best object to aim at. "Where it is the interest of the majority that cattleowners should not be needlessly annoyed by too stringent rules, the law should be elastic. Where cows are a cause of annoyance to the majority, they should be relentlessly put down. Of course any person who has had his property damaged by the irruption of a cow may sue the owner of the animal for damages, but to say nothing of the uncertainty attending lawsuits of all kinds, it is very undesirable that a litigious spirit should be encouraged \ it would be far better if such matters could be placed entirely in the hands of the police. What is required is an Ordinance which shall enable a policeman to proceed against the owner of cattle whenever such cattle are found off their owner’s property, whether they are on a main road, a district road, or a neighbor’s cabbage plot. Of course, cattle might be driven to market or elsewhere at proper hours and by competent persons. In order to prevent this law from being a burden to the inhabitants of agricultural districts, it might be left to the local District Hoad Boards to say whether the law should be in force in their district or not. At present the Road Boards have power to pass byelaws, which have, after they have received the sanction fof the Superintendent, the force of law. It is, however, to be feared that this will lead to serious inconvenience ; each Board will probably have different bye-laws, and this is, of course, very undesirable, and will tend to make the duties of magistrates and police officers much more difficult than they need be. If the plan we propose were adopted, proceedings against owners of stray cattle would be of the simplest character, and no difficulty could be experienced in obtaining a conviction.

We are glad to see that there is likely to be an attempt either to infuse new life into the almost moribund Royal Horticultural Society, or to start a new Amateurs’ Society on a more satisfactory basis than the old one. If we may judge of a tree by its fruits, we are perhaps warranted in saying that there has been something radically wrong either in the constitution or the management of our Society, While Dunedin has been increasing rapidly both in wealth and in extent, and ihe number of gardens is probably double what it was a few years ago, the Dunedin flower-shows have been gradually dete-

norating, both with r?gard to the number of j exhibits and the quality of the fruit and I flowers exhibited. While these shows have thus been “ tapering to a point,” there has been a manifest improvement in the Botanical Gardens and in the private gardens in and around Dunedin. Numerous nurseries have •sprung up, handsome new varieties of flowers have been imported, and there has been, speaking generally, no lack of interest in horticulture. We are therefore quite justified in saying that there must bo some defect in the Society as it exists at present; and it will be well if those interested in the matter exert themselves to make the Dunedin flower shows fair exponents of the state of floriculture in the Province. The development of the taste for the beautiful in nature and in art is no unimportant part of the culture of a nation; and all attempts to promote this taste are worthy of every encouragement.