MOUNT BENGER.

Evening Star, Issue 3798, 27 April 1875, Page 2

MOUNT BENGER.

(From our own Correspondent.) .... . . April 24. ; A land of miniature civil war between bur cockatoos who own sheep and those who own cattle is m progress. Away somewhere near the summit of the Old Man is a block of land known as the commonage. Upon this the herds of the duri agrestes are supposed to disport themselves undisturbed by the ferocious merino. Untortunately, our patriarchs have been too smart in playing Commonage verm* runholder and vice vena. In this way, when Messrs Cargill and Anderson desired to levy charge for cattle depasturing on their nm, injured innocence knew them not—“My cattle 1 bless your life, you murt be mistaken: my cattk are never off the commonage.” And when the inspector came round, eager for assessments, the changes were rung to—“ Oh, yon must be mistaken! all my cattle are on Cargill and Anderson s run; don’t imagine I’m going “hillings a head and assessment 7 a • l tT , \\ Teral ye»n this little game flourished, then a more ambitious cockatoo put i flock of sheep on ** an ! an<L H « WM highly successful, not losing much over fifty psr cent, in snow drifts, Ac.; and animated by so glorious a result a regular rush to stock the commonage has set in. In another fortnight I expect there will be at least ten sheep to the acre en ground which might in a favorable season carry an inverse proportion of one sheep to the ten acres. I hear the eattie-owners are going to do something desperate, boiling down and bowie knives beirg the mdt tfordre. In the meantime, just to-remind the Government -of such a place as Roxburgh, a little quiet agitation for the cancellation of some half-dozen sheep inns has commenced. This is the slack time for publicans, so no doubt any amount of public meetings will follow in due course. The grog must be consumed, or hew is the interest on the loan to be provided for ? Thus our pubs contrive to blend profit and patriotism. talking of grog reminds me, lucus a non lucendo , of the Good Templars. They have a lodge here, but owing to the scarcity of young lady members—“dear sisters’’—a good many youths who were at first enthusiastic are waxing faint in their loyalty. Indeed, some have • already bowed the knee at the shrine of their old deity, P. B» Perhaps the facts of the river falling .and the usual consignment of barmaids being invoice t may have something to do with it. ° Imported game are, lam glad to say, spreadmg. Pheasants are getting numerous, and partridges have been seen. Hares have recently been introduced. In a country where hot one man in every hundred has the feelings of a sportsman something severe in the way of a gamo law is necessary. But this is too intoresting a subject to be disposed of in the fag paragraph of a letter, and some day when I have inclination and you space, I shall treat you to an anathema against poachers. In the meantime let me exhort every true disciple of rod and gun to slaughter without scruple every cat (domestic or otherwise). »W. mad hawk he can get a chance at. I am sorry to say those pestilent varmints rabbits are also on the increase. They appear to be invading this district via Southland