STOCK AND DAIRY INSPECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 34, 30 January 1908, Page 4

STOCK AND DAIRY INSPECTION.

To the Editor. Sir,—As one who lor many years has iK-eu. in dillerent capacities, intimately connected wuli agricultural mutter* . u .\c» Zt-aiaiid. I icad with intercut tinarticle in \our I*?"lie ol tlii? morning criticising tue organisation ox our Agucultural Department. iou ju»tly give tuai Utparlnicnt credit lor doing usctul work lor the country, and with the opinion expre*-cd tlTat it is not, ior all i

mat. " being worked as an ellicient busiue-> should be conducted, and consequently the results are iiy no uwaiw as , ."ati>lactory as they might be," 1 am. Ut a certain extent, inclined to agree. l>Ul to my miud tue writer of the irj tide in question has not put his linger i upon the real remedy which would ma\e ; lor mat iiicieaseu elHcicmy which \ii mu-l de-ire. the whole tone ol your ieniarks would naturally lead to the cwUelusion tli.it the "New*" held a blicl lor the Chief oi the Veteriuary Division ; in hi* w»*il-kiio\\n, loug-<-oui iuued en- • ileavoiir to dominate, more or le>s, the j working oi the whole Agricultural DeI partment. Tin- vigorous personality j and ~elt-a--ertivcne-r» ol that abie ; gentleman seem t<» In- rellecled in the

{sentence. "The Mau Who Knows, a i j V eterinarian'. ' printed in big capital ; The arguments used to jii-tity making j j the Hi let Inspector n| Stock ail olliciai ! i subordinate lo the Chief Veterinarian 1 eon-titut** a g!<»riiication tlie; almighty j expert, which if carried into the d- ; ; uuuistialioii ol the Stock and Dairying 'Act* would probably lead to re-uli* lar j more deplorable lnail me conditions ,ii present existing,, however susceptible to ! improvement theno may be. Ike dcj preeiative rclerence to the Chief luspec- • * lor ot Mock as "a man quautiaj tioU"> wtMe exactly tho-e oi any jarmer jin the Dominion mty be pa»ed over. I ior the rea-un tuat ihe inadequacy oi ; the de-criptioii applied to this oilieor 1 i» a-, obviou- to all practical farmers and ; who kuovv the man as I | could po.-sibly make it by a detailed i statement ot the iacU. In co far as hij knowledge and experience of actual «olouial farming conditions places him in sympathy with the agricultural and • pastoral community ot the Dominion ne j U the right man in the right place, ltej strictive legislation, which lor the com-

mon pjod must ne»tv-arily interiere with the per-onal liberty of the individual ia the carryiug on of his bu-iness. can only be successfully eniorccd by the exercise of the greatest discretion, in

order to aroid unnecessary friction in tike administration of the law. However good a law oi this kind may be in the interests of the public, it can

only be satisfactorily carried out with tlw general co-operation of the elas*. whokt* freedom of action it curtail- »r interfere- wjtu. That beany co-opera-tion and goodwill <-an only be secured by placing tadministration of the law in the haud- of men practically acquainted with the conditions they have to deal with, and possessed of the tactful alylity required to make people do what' th»'y don't want to do with as little |wT-»oiial friction a= po-sibie. consistent witli tirmnes* and impartiality. Now the -cientitie expert. ' |K?r se.' is the last p*«r-on in the world in whom ono would expect to find these Far he it from me to belittle the great value of expert scientific knowledge in the agricultural no lees than in any other iicbi of industry. But his training, 111 out of I'M, has made him especially unfitted to carry out with prae-ti«-il discretion what must l>e more --r le** legislation. Ho is "the man who knows"—what? Certain scientific facts. Therefore his advice om technical matters should always be sought and followed by fhe practical administrator. He i- like the invaiuaulc book of reference, to be taken down and carefully consulted, and as carefully put back again upon its shelf. Many of the young veterinary surgeons who have come out to New Zealand, however w?ll scientifically qualified, have bad no experience whatever of practical jarm life and the management of live-stock, oven in Great Britain; while of New Zealand conditions, and of what is practicable or not practicable here, most of them arc of course absolutely ignorant. These are not the class of inspectors to let loo*e on our independent country set 1 - JorSj armed with th* powers of an Act of Parliament, but without the saving grace of discretion, which comes of experience and local knowledge. To «*f»t people again«t a good law or laws by unwise methods of administration is a public calamity which. T fear, would bo brought al>out if our worthy Chief Veterinarian were allowed to become the administrative -love, hurling about exl>ert thunderbolt-, -which he would po«siblv like to be.—l am. &c.. 0. J/. V.