RAGWORT MENACE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 396, 3 December 1932, Page 6

RAGWORT MENACE

. Our Own Correspondent) .

OPOTIKI COUNTY COUNCIL DISCUSSES NEW SCHEME "CASES OF HARDSHIP"

(From

The Government's new seheme to assist settlers to eradicate the ragwort pest which was published in the "Morning Post" recently was the subjeet of some diseussion at to-day's meeting of the Opotiki County Council, a body which has for some time past been investigating the position of the menace in this area and has itself gone to considerable trouble in the formulation of schemes to deal with the pest. The engineer (Mr. W. W. Upton) and the county clerk (Mr. J. T. Merry) pointed out in conneetion with a letter from the Unemployment Board concerning the use of unemployed labour for dealing with the ragwort menace, that their allotment for the week was only £30 for 46 men and the board insisted that the men employed on the worlc should be paid 30s per week. This meant that they could only employ 20 out of the 46 men. Several councillors pointed out that the whole question was one of destroying the menace on Crown and native lands first. Cr. A. Martin said that the Farmers' Union had been battling for this for years and had grown more and more enthusiastic until they had boiled over and put the fire out. Cr. Martin then read a cutting from the "Post" which reported that the Government were prepared to supply men from unemployed camps and said it appeared to him that the Government was prepared to carry out this undertaking. Cr. C. Black said that he also had seen the cutting referred to and it had only been published yesterday. He suggested that the council should supply men to farmers asking for assisianee to clear the menace. Unoccupied Landls Cr. Martin pointed out. that according to the report it was only intended to assist those who were very hard-up. He suggested that the council should deal with the river beds and lands which appeared to belong to no one. Cr. Black then moved that tbe council supply as many men as they could under the No. 5 sclieme to anyone applying for a man to spray ragwort. Cr. Martin suggested that the engineer should supply the council with a list of those to whom men had been supplied so that the council could charge what they thought fit. The chairman said that it appeared that the local officer of the Department of Agriculture had been advised that he was to allow farmers till December 21 before instituting prosecutions and he considered that this date was too late for this distriet. Cr. Martin asked if Cr. Black would anxend his resolution to apply to those farmers who were absolutely up against it. Cr. J. Hedley endorsed Cr. Martin's remarks. Cr. Black replied that he could no' see that the matter would be as H the men's attention •V: • {-•» eoiRin-vt to n.-gwoit they .'• / :hl ouiy JuiVe a few days on most ■. M; ■ plaecs. Cr. J. Neilson: "We are dealing whli Migv.-cH and not inuividuals." Martin is.o\ed an amendment that the t.s>isUuiee be extended to "ases of hardship only. On u sia.'W of hands the amendment ivas iost. iue motion was then carried.