HUMANITY VERSUS TROUT.

Globe, Volume VI, Issue 688, 2 September 1876, Page 3

HUMANITY VERSUS TROUT.

To the Editor of the Globe. Sir,—l read with very great pleasure your leader of last evening on the position assumed by the Council of the Acclimatisation Society with regard to the fence recently erected by the Government to form a long and much required recreation ground for convalescent patients at the Hospital. As I happen to know something of this matter, may I crave the indulgence of space in your widely circulated journal for what will appear an unusually long letter. Since the foundation ot the Hospital the patients who have sufficiently recovered as to be able to take out-door exercise, have been confined to the footpaths in front of the building, or as an only alternative to the very uninviting back portion of the premises, used for drying purposes, and other domestic appointments, the most enjoyable part of the enclosure being the walk around the dead-house, and the advantage of _ enjoying the fumes coming from the Windmill road brewery, and the foetid smells proceeding from the long notorious Antigua street drain. As our population increased, of a recreation ground was becoming day by day more painfully felt, the Hospital authorities were urgent in their representations to the Government to allow the waste land adjoining the building to be utilised for this purpose, but their efiorts in this direction have always been most strenuously opposed by the Council of the Acclimatisation Society, and simply because a race for young trout would be encroached upon, if the request were complied with. And here let me mention what must seem strange, viz,, that among the Council are one or two medical men, daily visiting the Hospital, who know so well thenecessity for this exercise ground, and yet have allowed in their persistent opposition, their love of the noble sport of hooking a trout, to override feelings of humanity. 'The funniest part is, that not one foot of this ground really belongs to the society, who at its formation were told they could occupy it only until it was required for other purposes ; and notwithstanding the votes made to them by the Provincial Council, the society may find to their cost that their supposed legal status is a myth, if they should have the temerity to venture within the precincts of the Supreme Court, as threatened by their president. Running in a line with the Riocarton road, starting from the back of the Hospital premises, is a strip of land which has for the last fourteen years been planted as a public avenue by the Domain Board, and which may be opened any day by the Board, the belief that such was their immediate intention being rumoured last year. This strip of land the Board allowed the Council of the society to run a temporary fence across, in consequence of complaints being made that eggs, &c., w r ere being stolen from the hen coops. In their magnanimity the Council

offer to give the Hospital this piece of land, provided their young trout race is not interfered with ! Not bad for the Council this, and would be amusing—but for the unfeeling (to use a mild term) selfishness they have displayed—to offer to give a portion of a public avenue which they only by a great stretch of kindness received permission to enclose. But even were this strip theirs to give, it is altogether unsuitable for the purposes of a recreation ground; the mortuary having to be passed or the small kitchen garden trespassed over to get to it, and would also be inconvenient as away from official supervision. The only course then left was the very proper one taken by the Government of running the fence direct to the river, enclosing a piece of ground of a sufficiently compact shape to make it useful for the purposes required; and be it also added that beyond enclosing about a couple of chains of a yard-wide race (which by-the-bye was dug without any permission from the Board) running into the Hospital creek, the fence does not do the slightest harm, as it is not placed below the surface of the water, and the young trout will be able to amuse themselves as mqch in it as ever. But supposing fence did even interfere with the pleasure of a few young trout, surely Hr Campbell, himself one of the visiting surgeons to the Hospital—however zealous a fisherman he may be—must admit, that an exercise ground for the patients where they might hope to aid the treatment received, in winning back health, was long required even before our Immigration scheme added so largely to the population, and which notwithstanding the late additions to the wards, have often compelled shakedowns to be iqade for urgent cases which could not be refused admission. And now. sir, as a late member ot a society, which seems to prefer trout to poor humanity, permit me to say a few words as to its objects when formed. The Acclimatisation Society when founded had for its intention the introduction of useful animals,

birds, and fish, which would in time not only supply sport, but also food to the community at large. For this purpose large rotes of public money were granted by means of which we have introduced hares for the benefit of the Hunt Club, and gentlemen with large domains, the general public being benefitted only so far as the destruction of their valuable shrubs in the people’s parks will count; sparrows which became so great a nuisance throughout the province that we were glad to withdraw the protection first given them. And here, in justice to truth, I must admit that we cannot take the credit of having introduced the pheasant, as that bird was very common at Port Levy, and on the Peninsula years before the society was established, and we have introduced the trout; but before I speak of them let me refer to one auiilliary of trout culture which we have also introduced. I allude to that nefarious weed (anacharis alsinastrum) which has helped to block up our beautiful river and the adjacent watercourses, and which for some years has cost the Government and City Council about £3OO per annum to keep the river sufficiently clear to prevent it overflowing its banks and the lowlying lands around. However, with public money the trout became an established success in our river, and a few up-country streams. But mark you, sir, when the fish became sufficiently mature for the purposes for which all the money was spent, several members of the Council aided by a judicial functionary, lay wait at nights in contravention of the Order in Council of 30th September, 1875, which referring to licenses to fish only ‘ with rod and line ’ says, “ such license shall continue in force until 31st day of March, 1876, and no longer ,” and “ ‘any person’ offending against this regulation shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £100”—to “ net ” the fish in July and August and take the ova from them ; and for what purpose 1 why, merely to breed young trout to sell to some wealthy settlers who have water frontages, which they are very unlikely to throw open for public sport; to stock the rivers in other provinces at £5 per 100 ; perhaps to place a few in our rivers, where they may or may not ever be of any public benefit, beyond affording sport to a few members of the Council who can afford the time to leave town to devote to it ; but altogether these fish, which if allowed to increase naturally in our rivers, might be of some use to those who contributed most towards their introduction, are despoiled ia a poacher like manner for the purposes I have stated, and to improve the monetary position of a society which has already done so much good for the people, and also perhaps for one other reason—to afford a little practice in the art of trout culture to a few amateur pisciculturists.

Let me refer to the financial position of the society. The receipts since last annual meeting from game and angling licenses must amount to nearly £6OO. Large numbers of trout have been sold, and some subscriptions, no matter how small, and the wonder would be if the receipts from this source were other than small, have been received, and with the hares “ not” sold to the Hunt Club, must at least represent altogether another £250, so that the society should have a credit balance of over £BOO at the present moment. By the bye, I read that Mr Wallace two meetings ago of the Council referred to the dissatisfaction that prevailed generally about the state of the society’s funds not being known, and the excuse given was that the treasurer was absent. The treasurer was not absent at the last meeting, and yet no statement seems to have been presented, nor did Mr Wallace, according to the reports, make the slightest reference to the resolution which he had proposed in this matter, and was carried. Well, looking at it all ways, there is but one simple solution to my mind, and it is this : —The Society have been making application to the Government for the balance of the vote towards the introduction of American Salmon l(and these fish, according to what Mr Mellish is reported to have said, will be about as lively an introduction as the others by the Society), and they do not wish their financial position known until this £l5O is secured. I can only express regret that Mr Wallace should permit himself to be silenced, to obtain this money, I have already trespassed too much, sir, on your space, but will merely add that if a few misguided men, in their selfishness, who can ride home in their carriages to their wellstocked preserves and watercourses—stocked at first and greatest cost by public moneyshould so far in their luxuriousness forget the promptings which should be an inmate of every breast imbued with feelings of humanity, as to pull down a fence erected to afford their suffering and less favoured fellow-creatures an opportunity of regaining lost health ; and as you jocosely remarked, should the volunteers be called out to prevent these men carrying their wrath as far as the Government buildings, depend upon it, sir, many of the public will also be there to aid our provincial soldiers, not in shedding blood, but to quietly and gently lead these humane pisciculturists as far as the swing bridge, and about the centre drop them over slowly one by one, giving each a cheap opportunity of cooling his martial ardor, a result that would, no doubt, have been accomplished by the time the Armagh street bridge was reached. Yours, &c, ONE OP THE PUBLIC. Christchurch, Sept Ist.