ALLEGED5 BREACH OF THE SHEEP ACT.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1076, 22 August 1883, Page 2

ALLEGED 5 BREACH OF THE SHEEP ACT.

A case arising out of the alleged driving of infected sheep on a highway was heard at the Resident Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning before C. A. Wray, Esq. Alexander .Howie was charged with driving sheep which were infected along the road leading from Waverley to Waitotara contrary to sec. 45 of ‘“ The Sheep Act, 1878.”: Mr A Monro, Sheep inspector, prosecuted, and the defendant, Mr Howie, conducted his own case.

Mr Monro, in opening his case, said that the defence might sot np that these sheep, which were sold in the Wavorley Sale Yards, caught the infection in those yards, bnt to rebut that, he had evidence showing that sheep had been bought privately from Mr Howie, and that they became scabby. There was some doubt as to whether the sale yards were dean. He would call Peter Campbell, who stated : I am a settler at Manutahi, and X remember buying some sheep at auction at Wavorley on the 4th May. I understood they belonged to Mr Howie originally. I bought about 349 altogether, the; greater part of which was Mr Howie’s. I took them home and put them in a paddock. I noticed they were infected and sent for the . Sheep Inspector. I kept the sheep in a paddock, by themselves. I first noticed they were infected about five weeks after I bought them when I saw one robbing itself against a post. You (Mr Monro j showed me scab and a scab insect. I know nothing of 'scab myself. Cross-examined by defendant : I bought some of the sheep from Mr Riddle. Tt was amongst your lot I noticed scab first. I know by the brand, Mr Riddle’s being branded R, I am perfectly snie that the sheep never mixed with any others from the,time •they left the 'Wavorley sale-yards till they reached my place. By the Court : It was about five weeks after I bought the sheep that I noticed the scab. 1 noticed nothing before. I asked Mr Howie if he had a clean certificate, and he said he bad not it with him, but he could let me have it. I (old him to leave it with Mr P. R. Jackson’s clerk, and he could- send it after me, but I never got it. The sheep were not very bad when I first noticed the' scab. . There were about 100 of Mr Riddle’s sheep and 349 altogether.. By defendant: I have never received the clean certificate. Defendant: That must be Mr Jackson’s fault then, for I gave him the certificate that day. By the Court: When I sent for Mr Monro he found several scabby. I never had any other sheep in this paddock. I have other sheep on my land, but they are all clean. ’ James Thomson junr : I am the son of Mr J. S. Thomson and reside hear Wavorley. My father bought some sheep from Mr Howie. I represented my father in the matter, and went together . with another, young fellow to take delivery of them about the night of the fourth of June. We got the sheep from Mr Howie's farm. Mr Howie gave us a hand to got them on the road and then wo drove them straight home. We had no other sheep. I assisted in dipping the sheep about the middle of July. Two of them were scabby. The wool on the shoulder of one was matted —quite hard and crusted. The patch would be about the size of my hand. Cross-examined by defendant : I do not remember any marks about these two sheep except that one bad a slit ear. Prom the time I took the sheep from your place till Mr Monro found the scab would be about a month. These sheep mixed with others. They were in contact with two different flocks before the scab was found—Mr John Dickie’s and Mr James Dickie’s. By Mr- Monro : 1 never heard of Mr John Dickie’s sheep being scabby. I saw them before they were dipped and; since, and I saw no marks of scab.' By defendant; I have no knowledge of scab.

Mr Alexander Ho'wic,’the defendant, called by the prosecution, statedl did drive sheep along the road from our farm to the saleyards. I know Mr Campbell bought' some of them. I bought these sheep-in Wanganui in two lots. I did not dip them .from the time I bought them till I sold them, as I did not think they wanted it for they smelt strongly of the dip then. I sold some sheep to Mr Thomson about a month afterwards. The sheep I sold to Mr Thomson . were mostly from our own flock. I did not dip the sheep I sold to Mr Thomson. , .•

Alexander Monro said ; lam sheep Inspector. Before Mr Campbell sent for me I was passing his place to keep an appointment with some other sheep owner, when I saw some sheep .scratching themselves "and made up my mind that they were either scabby or infected with lice. I was unable to inspect them then, and had not time to do so till Mr Campbell sent' for me, ■ I called at his place on .the 2nd of July, and found scab. It was not in a very bad state. The largest patch was not more than 3 inches square. Mr Campbell drew my attention to two brands,

find informed/m^-th.<4 ' hr* bad bought from both vßjffJdle'- and Howie. jAfter inspecting ifhe sheep I, came to •the ronclrr&ipri that the scab ‘ had originated in Howie’s sheep. On the 10th of July I cnllod at Mr Howie’s farm and he informed me that lie-bad dipped his own .sheeps some lime previous. He tdld 'me he had sold sheop to Mr Thomson, and that they were a fair sample of what his were previous to dipping. I went to Mr Thomson’s and found scab. The. sheep I caught had scab some considerable time; I should ,say two months. I was also informed that Mr Thomas had bought some sheep from Mr Howie. I wont to his -{dacejanAfmrnd..tjie.jhf.cp. liad been dipped; bnt on looking over; them I found one which hndevidently not had its head and neck in the dip, with a patch-on its neck. I should say it was a single insect that had escaped the poison. I questioned Thomas, and he said he had bought all the sheep at the sale. A regards Riddle’s sheep, on the 9th July I called at his farm and inspected the sheep, but found . them all clean.

Cross-examined by defendant : I called at Mr Carapboll’s place on the 2nd July. That was two months after he bought the sheep. The scab was just in its infancy then—just breaking out. The’ sheep would commence scratching after being infected about ten days. I know Mr Hunter Shaw on the Whenpakura Block. His sheep are scabby. .

The Court: This does not refer toi the case.,.

Mr Howie: Mr Hunter Shaw bought sheep from the Waverley Sale Yard that were infected, and the yard should have been 1 declared infected.

Continued Mr,; IJouteivrJShaw; informed me that the lambs were bought at those yards; It is possible that sheep put’ in those yards afterwards would catch scab., I don’t know whose fault it is that the, yards were not declared infected. It, is possible that your sheep caught the scab in: the yard. I know that the sheep of Mr Thompson had been in contact with one'flock. John Dickie’s sheep did mix, I believe; they were in from Saturday night till Monday raorhing. The other flock, -Jas. Dickie’s, did noti mix ; they-merely broke into the paddock and remained in an hour or so. Mr Dickie’s sheep are perfectly clean. I remember calling at your place and going through your paddocks. I did not 'see anything suspicious at that time. Alexander Howie, the defendant, said : I am a settler near Waverley, and was the owner of the sheep sold to Mr Campbell on the 4th May; Oh that day we drove about 400 sheep from our place to the sale-yard. They had been passed by the Inspector as clean. Wo had the sheep about three weeks, and had at that time a clean certificate; We did not dip them, because they all smelt strongly of the dip when we bought them, We drove them to the sale-yard, thinking they were clean. About rather more than two months after, the Sheep Inspector called at our place and enquired about the sheep, and told me that Mr Campbell had found infection about them. At the same time he told me that a lot of sheep sold in the yard one month previously had broken out scabby, and therefore the yard should have-been counted infected from the day of that sale. Tasked Mr Monro to look at the rest of the sheep but he said he did not consider it necessary, because , from what he knew of our sheep and: of us lie would take my word that it was all right. I told him besides that we had dipped all our sheep since. We had no reason to suppose anything was wrong, but we make it a practice to dip every year. X sold the sheep in thorough good faith, believing they were clean. I cannot account for Mr Thomson’s sheep turning out scabby. I wish to plead that seeing that the Waverley Sale Yards were infected I ought to have the benefit of the doubt. ,

His Worship in giving judgmentsaid he did not think that in this case the Court would be justified .in convicting on the evidence. It was possible the sheep might have caught the infection in the yards j At the same time he might say that settlers should be careful in selling sheep, and it was quite proper that this case should be brought forward. The information would be dismissed.