THE DOG REGISTRATION MATTER.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume III, Issue 318, 30 November 1881, Page 3

THE DOG R EGISTRATION MATTER.

. ’ # I | It H slid to le- dangerous wlien the blind ! j al t-mi'l: to lead the blind, but- it is cer- j ; tiiulv mehinc’.uJy to view the blind striv- ! ing to lead thoss who can ace. Mr William ; j Fitzwiliiam Terry, the nominal editor of ! local con tcuviorarvand general lact .itiun | : to the i.ppo’ilion candidate, is a young man | who takes great pains to prove Hint he ! k:i -W3 nothing al/out the various subjects ' : he wrest h s witli, and we feel boimd to say . 1:, .o-nernlly ,ii-ve, i-- in carrying out tiiis r,1;i.,.-;-. his ,pi.;stio,|s-at ( Irovetown on Ai evening lie clearly proved that he ' v.-.a-in a most lameniahle state o! ignorance in regard to the proceedings of Ikuiiaj muntiry I'ommittees, nm! possibly imagines j : that they arc conducted something after I the manner of a certain committee in which ; he is a bright and shining light. Altogether ; ; w? are. inclined to Hiink that Ida a;,point- ; ment to sneer-c 1 Mr Thomas as chief ques- ; ti.mrr was not a very liai.iiy choice ou tin.* ; part of Mr Dodson. Mr Seymour has very satisfactorily explained the matter which so greatly exercised ouryoungfrisnd, for whose cdiiieatiou ws also jiubiisli the ; following extract from lla. showing ' that Mr Sevinour was the iirct to introduce the subjsct of relieving t lie shepherds and otters from taxation in this direction. The ; ext/act we refer to will he found ou page , :iS!• of last session's //",is,and runs as j follows : nous ur.i!istr;atiox mu.. On thy motion for tlie committal of this j Hill, , , | Air Neymour said lie was absent from the j Moure last .session when the Act was passed : of which this was an amendment, or else he ! would then have asked to have inserted in j|: t.ie clause which lie would ask the : II f.u to insert now. It was to the eil-ct . tii it shepherds’ dog shoui-1 ba exempted j fi-i up taxation, lie found that that, was j ii: e practice in Hngland, where shepherds' i al id tarmi-r*' dog-;, which were kept solely j ft ,r use on farms, were exempted to the n umber of two ; or, where there was j u neuclor'd laud where sheep wore kept, I the number of dogs was increase.l in pro- i "portion to the number of slier;), until the maximun of eight dogs might In kept and j cxemoted from taxation. He did not pro- j poss to go as far as that ; but ho thou "lit it * would be only fair to exempt shepherds' j dogs to the number of two, which were | .kept hoiin lii.t-- for use among sheep. They ! "had ;■dreadv exempted rabbit dogs in a ilia- :

1 7i,( l (I CA t lilj/ca. J 'i . *i v ill it. inn- ■ ikrict which was proclaimed a rabbit dis- ! tlicit, and therefore it would bo no answer to i him to say that it would be diilicult to tiefine what a rabbit dog was, or, in tliis ease, ; what a sheepdog was : the same authority which could determine which were rabbit (iogs could also determine which were sheep dogs. That was the practice in Eng- i laud. He did not care much what the amount of the tax was that ought lie ; imposed on dogs generally. He eared very j little whether they were rated at .As or KH. i He felt satisfied that in his part of the j country the local bodies would not reduce • Hie tax below 10s if they could help it: but j nt lii* same time, there was a good deal of j Riirnes.s and justice underlying the request j which lie made. The dogs were part of .a shepherd's stock-in-trade, and for that ! reason lu; hoped Ihc House would make an j exemption in their favour. After some remarks by Mr Shepherd and Mr Hutchison the liiil was committed. In committee the following was carried • on the. motion of Mr .Shanks, by a division of 33 to 22 :—“ Provided that, where dog? j are nolnly used for (ho management of live . stock and for the destruction of rabbits, it ! shall be lawful for any County Council or j Highway Hoard to make such further ; exemption or reduction of the tec as thev i shall determine.” The C •mmitl.ee then divided on the ques- j tion “That the clause, as amended, stand ; part of the Rill’'which was carried by 33 j The Rill was then reported and read a j third time.