MEETING OF SETTLERS.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 59, 23 July 1879, Page 2

MEETING OF SETTLERS.

A most numerously attended meeting of landowners of the district was held m the Public Library on Saturday, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the rabbits had or had not really obtained a footing m the County, and if such were the case, to take immediate steps to put restrictive measures into effect, and so meet the evil at the outset. Mr John Dalrymple was voted to the chair, and in opening the proceedings stated that the meeting had been convened at his instance, and it gave him great pleasure to see such a large number of settlers present, thus evincing a most laudable interest m so important a matter. For some time opinions differed as to whether those peats to the farmer had really obtained a foothold m the county, and as he was determined to be; able to speak with an air of authority, upon the matter; he one day took his gun and m ( the space of less than a hour shot two very excellent specimens. This look.placq m tlv? Brewery Paddock— actually within thp town boundaries — and upon a wet rainy day. But although he had shot hut two m the short time he had been on the watch, he had seen fully a dozen, and those who knew anything about the habits of rabbits were well aware that they would not show themselves upon a wet day if it could possibly be avoided — a matter of necessity not choice. That was his own expedience pfthe existence of the evil, but he was given to understand upon, the very best authority that they were down the river at one side, and as far as Mr. Knight's on the Rangitikei Line, while he had also been informed that they had been seen at Feilding. They had been called together to consider the matter,— which they could all see was a most serious one — so that the best means for the repression of the pests, could be devised, and immediate steps taken. For his own part lie saw nb other course open tp them than the adoption of tho Rabbit Nuisance Act, 1876, a few of the Clauses of which he would proceed to read for tham. By the third; clause it was enacted that — .... . " The Governor m- Council may, on the recoipt of a petition duly / signed by not less than ten landowners residing within any district proposed to, be proclaimed under this Act, praying that such district may be declared a rabbit district under this Act, cause the prayer, and substance of, such petition to be gazetted and publicly notified, and unless a counter- petition by a greater or equal number of landowners to the contrary is received by the, Go-^evnor within thirty days from the date, of such publication, the Governor, may, by proclamation, constitute and declare the areas, described by such petition to be. a district for tjhe purposes of this Act by some specific i\am<»," v . That was the action necessary to havethe district proclaimed, the fifth clause related to the election of trustees — "When any portion of the colony is proclaimed by the Governor m Council to be a district for the purposes of this Act, the Governor shall m snch proclamation direct that, at a time and place therein named, there shall be held within the said district a meeting of the landowners of such district for the purpose of electing either three or five persons to be the trustees of such district for the purposes of this Act, and such : election shall be held accordingly." The following clause was of small importance, having reference merely to the mode of election of trustees ; but m the seventh tp the. twelfth clauses inclusive, the pith of ' the measure rested, . and. he would therefore read them to the meeting — "It shall be lawful for the trustees to levy m each ye,ar, for the purposes cf this Act, a rate on ah holdings of landowners not exceeding one, halfpenny per acre." " The trustees are hereby empowered to do all such acts and things as may appear to them proper and necessary to be done to ensure the destruction of rabbits m the district, and for that purpos*. may, out of moneys received by them by virtue of this Act, offer rewards or bonuses for tho destruction oi such animals." "If the. trustees shall have reason to believe, that there, are rabbits m a wild state upon any lands within the district, and that the owner or, occupier of such lands neglects or. refuses to destroy the. same, the said trustees shall by notice m writing require \ hira or. his authorised agent en his behalf to do-so ; and if after, ten days snch notice be neglected or, not complied with, op. up efficient steps taken to carry out such notice then it shall be lawfu.l for. any person authorised m writing m that behalf by the trustees to enter upon the said lands, and to use all such mean 3, excluding poison, without the owners consent, and take all such measures as may be necessary for. taking or destroying any rabbits which m,ay be found upon such .and., and all such persons may take, and carry 'away, the, said rabbits or part thereof : provided that nothing herein contained shall exempt any person acting m pursuance of the powers hereby Qonferred from any liability fo.r damage occasioned by his wilful act or default." " Tt shall be lawful for any, person authorised m writing m that behalf by the trustees, after having given 'notice, to enter upon any lands within such district at any. reasonable hour m the day-time, whether enclosed or not, for the purpose of ascertaining if any. rabbits are thereupon, and np, such' person shall be deemed a trespasser by reason pf such entry, or be liable for any damage thereby occasioned, unless the same was occasioned by such, persons, wilfully and without cause ; provided that any person so authorised shall exhibit such written authority if required to dp so, and. if required he shall fail to exhibit su"h authority, then he shall be liable to be defined and be dealt, with as a trespasser. These were the main features .of. the Act, the only other classes, which were np^ Q? fk

routine nature, being the 20th and 22nd, which provided m tlie first place for a heavy penalty for obstructing tho trustees or their ; delegates ; and the exemption of all fees upon dogs used m the destruction . of the rabbits. The chairmau after reading various extracts to show the ravages committed by the pests m Wairarapa, Southland, and Victoria, said he would be happy to hear some expression of opinion upon the subject. He thought it was time to take the bull by the horns. Mr Tiggo Monrad said he rose to propose tho first resolution with great pleasure, as the matter was one m whioh he felt specially interested, and m which he had been endeavoring for some time to have action taken. He perfectly co-incided with the chairman that the time, had arrived when further inactivity became culpable, and the question now was— not ire there rabbits m the district, but how .are .they to be got rid of. The threatened evil was one which vitally affected the country settlers, who had the land and the land alone upon which to: depend and from which to draw their resources ; but they could not expect per- . sons living m boroughs with their small holdings to view the matter m the same serious light. Perhaps he might have been beguiled into the sense of false security which appeared to prevail so generally, were it not that- he happened to^receiver the Wairarapa journals, andthe revelations therein contained of the disastrous devastipns of the annuals made him- painfully alive to the danger and anxious to escape it. It might be urged that the adeptipn of the Babbit Act would result m grievances to some ; but even were such the case, it was only what usually attended movements for the public good. As an instance of this he might mention the operation of the Scab Act, the provisions of whisht when carried out m their integrity ' should, necessarily prove a hardship to some. 15 his opinion top much time had been already lost, and the surest cure fer the evil was to meet it openly and firmly. He therefore begged to mpye— "That a petition be forwarded to the Governor m Council praying him to proclaim the district under the Rabbit Nuisance Act, 1876." V.^-A Mr. Piers E.Wakbubtoh would second the resolution fos two reasons \ tirst, on account of the necessity which existed for immediate and determined ' grappling with the evil ; and secondly, that by the adoption of fthatcou^e absentees, who, took- no share whatever m the protection of the interests of the district; would bo.compelled to bear their proportionate shares of. the burden. He did hot quite agree with the metaphor of the chitirman, who had said it was time to tak^e the bull by the horns 5 he would' rather sayvtake the rabbit hy . the I scrag. The lands of absentees were perf aot breeding' cages for the pests, and byApursiiing the suggested course, they would ! compel them te meet their- legitimate rest ponsihilities. • „ - A Mr, James Linton said that %ef ore ' the , resolution was put he would like to say a : few wordi, ' As a borough man he supposed he would be expected tff reply to the accusations of Mr. Monmd,— a%uMtions;^hich he held both unwarranted and uncalled for. It hqd been made to! appea? that the townsfolk and th*B.orough; Council had been as it were rather favorable tjo. the breedingpf the rabbits. This was; however, an injustice t- both one and the other, : for he felt sure that! the Corporation wojdd- be only too glad to act m concert with the Highways Board and th?. County Council m the matter. The; Chairman— -They never returned am answer to the letter oh the sub ject.^ ■ Mr. Linton — Until the present, time there was no actual proof : of- the existence? pf rabbits ? in the Borough. ; Mr. -Monrad: was very. eloquent over, the mjatter^but he wouldaskthat gentleman if he, : had seen' Oho?-: -A- .A:'': '■ : ' ■'-. ■: :' -'A : : Mr. MoNBAD-r-Haye I seer^ the Queen ? Mr. Linton— That is no reply, and I pre-, sume therefore, Jho . has. not. Well," ho' more have I, still sufficient proof has been given me to believe ; that there are.- such things/and while I will" be secohd'tp none m my desire, to ha rid of tbem. I must state I do not think the course proposed the best one. If the report gqes abroad that" we have been infested to such a degree as to be obliged to adopt the Rabbit Act, people will fight shy of "settling amongst 'us, and the value of land will deteriorate. ZL freely confess the necessity: for tome, repressive steps, but' I would adopting; some other, couwe than that suggested. * . I Mr. Monrad said they had relied altogether too- much .upon County .Councils, and j the eyil had been allowed to remain un-: . 'checked. The course suggested was the' most judicious- one, for it placed the remedy m the hands of the settlers themselves without the. slightest reference tp any local body. ' Were they to still expect action from the County Council and Highway Board, valuable time would be lost— even if the solicited action were, eye? taken— but there they could put the machinery ' of the law into motion by the. attaching of ten signatures. .'-_ f The. motion was then put and carried. Mr. Brtjce said that it: vjas a most nnpleasant thing. to;have. tp. attend a ; meeting, ja»d for one portion of the community to be compelled to force an objectionable course upon the other. " Mr. Linton had said that he believed if the Act w« re put into operation it would have the effeot of, damaging the value of land m thi district. Now he (the speaker) as Mr. Linton was aware had some land m the market for sale,' and he was happy to Bay that he did apprehend any damaging results to himself through accepting the measure. But even if such were the case, he considered that the evil had assumed proportions which imperatively called ' for stringest repressive action, and the man who, m such an extremity would allow his private interest to sway him, would be nothing better than a traitor to the community. With regard to the suggestion that the various public bodies , should band together, he thought that was not Unable. He held tbe same opinion on that point as he did upon a grant to the Cemetery— the board had no power to |make such diversion of- its funds. Mr. Linton said he did 1 not' approve; of the proposed course, and he should admit he himself was not enamoured of it -bnthe would have liked <Miv. Linton to have gone all- little farther and suggest a better remedy^ He thought they had delayed action sufficiently If not re*lly too long, and if they wante.d an example of the disastrous results oi such a line of policy, it might be found m the Thistle Act. He would move that the, following petition— with schedule attach«.d--be tabled for. signature, and forwaredto the G,9 Terno . r > but atthe same time if a better plan could be shown he would be'on.ytoa. happy to support it, as h.\ certainly, did not wish to inflict a hardship upon any. on,e. \— • "To his , Excellency the Governor t . m Council. V.The humble petitions of the landowners of the district hereinafter described. " That you* petitioners- beaming m mind, the damage inflicted by rabbits m other parts ofrfche, Colony, desire to adopt measures that will prerent the, appearance, and incrjease, of the nuisance,. <"fhat the district which your, petitioners desire to be. proclaimed a Rabbit District is bounded as follows :— ; "By a line commencing, at "the junction of the' Oroua with the Manawatu, running

up the Oroua River to a point where th* aajd river is crossed. by the Main road froHt. Feilding to Ashiirst, thence along the said road to the town of Ashurst, and continuing to the Manawatu River, thence up tho Manawatu! River Atoya point distant two miles from the mouth of the Manawatu Gorge, thence along th'e summit of the Ta* rarua Ranges for a distance of twenty miles, and. thence dirept to th* commencing point aforesaid." ! ' A ' ... Mr. Waldegbave could bear testimony to there being rabbit* within tho town. Sometime ago m company with a gentleman he had visited the. Tenace End of -th*.. town, and at the invitation of Mr. Deards he had inspected one of his paddocks at the rear of tlie hotel He certairly.had not- ._. seen the rabbits themselves, but h*Jiad seen ahovel.f ul of droppings, and nuite enough, to convince him of the disagreeable fact. Mr. Benjamin Manson «dao,itat»d.tha| they had been seen op his brother's land. Mr. Sly said ther» could .be.no doubt whatever that the pests were amongst them .unfortunately, there was no question abou,t that, and the only matter to be considered was, how they were to ;be got. rid of. f Neither the County Counou nor th*' Bprpugh Council had moved m the matter, and -it i-emained with the settlers to take the. buUiby the hprns, and aot ior themselves; 1 He heed net dilate upon tht destructivenese. ; of the vermin, for did he commence <to do ■ i so he could detain them for hours. Thosa who had;experience of Jihe-peat. m Yictori*, would require ho reminder 'of the scourge they proved m that Colony, ;Wher© "the un- ; fortunate settlers were turned ' out of bbusoA| and home. They didjnot want a repetitiougl o^ that m the Manawatu, but they did T ,r TIP tb get rid of the rabbits. Mr. Lintoh- haa said he did not approve of the proclamation of the district, and he would ask that, gentleman what othen xqeana of repression he desired to take P ' I Mr. Linton, said that foHpwing up iri * the opening strain of the Chairman, th* , meeting appeared' to think that ha ; (th'*f ' : speaker) was adyerse to repressive measure^ being taken< He. . coi^d; . tell them very plainly that siich waa not the case. Mr, Monrad had sneered at the borough, but he (Mr. Lmton). could infortu, the -meelingv that though he was a borough ' man, hia stake m the County,; . and his, interests In-> ' volved m the question at issue was as great. as any man m the room, as he believed. h«c - .owned just as many acres as any of them. .; He was by no. ineains opposed to action being taken, and what was more he. was quit* ' ready to put his hand m his pocket to help, , it j 1 but he did sayj and still maintained, that tha course was not prudent until other measures had been adopted^ What was mora. , he did not think that the other: .ward* wpuld ; endorse the action ; taken, and : th* : measures, if adopted, would be confined t0,.'., the district. A ; ';'!i -Ay -y,-A. ■■.■ > Mr. SIY would wish, to explain th*t h* did npt m the slightest wish to^ reflect iipou Mr. L\nton. That gentleman, had said ha, did. not approve of the plan proposed, and ' all' that he (the speaker) hafl asked waa; that Mr. Linton .would propound a betteß or mora, feasible one^ and he %6ujd ; gladly support it. -". Mr. Linton suggested that the public. .; bodies should combine asd take active steps m the matter. If that were done immeduft* action mighthe taken, but by proclaiming, the district, they would, be ppTterljlaß tof. r action for at least three months until tho. Act can^e i^t 0 effect. . y .; "• ? -v; . Mr. Wabburton pointed out that Mr.^ Linton's argument against was'really a very • tfcroiig one m fayor of the proposition. H* admitted that other districts would not tak* voluntary action, constquipntly tjiere. exis-.-ted'thegreater .reason^ foj* suggested . ac-. •. §0% a. : ..'Aa'Z-z-' y.77 z r A7- - „. Mrs Rob^t Linton said he would se«: cohd the resolution With much, pleasure. Aa' r an old Victorianhe^couldspe^l. feelingly, of i - , the disastrous lavages caused^ in' the WW.. item district,' -which at one time was the very. ■' garden oi that Go-ony. ? ' , ; The resolutioawaß .then pu.t_it©d . cajrrie^,. unanimously, and after a , number of those. m the room signed the petition the meeting! separated-.