S.C.A.B.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1431, 16 July 1883, Page 2

S.C.A.B.

,'-| .V'Y ■'■,:iV/V.'!;i...'..f l )u.L^J» ('.The in moving the motiou standing lriih'isrname, said it might appear, tOjhonprab.le members Ito he one of little importance, but he hoped, to' 1 show- ; that it was one to ;.which |.they. Wight- to/give: their best 'attention',''"'lf'''honorable' members would look atthe Financial Statement made,in.another place on the previous day, they would see clearly that wool was now our principal product and export, on \ the ? which we had mainly to depend'for'meeting our engagements.- in faGt, wool was now admitted'itoibe the staple product of this country. It therefore became the (duty of!, the jGqvernuiehtfis hitherto had been done, to'take every means in 'their power to foster and protect an interest of such vital importance to the progress of the colony. He was sorry to-be obliged tosay(be-believed this colony was the 'only one in' ; ; Australasia in Which the terrible, disease of soab now,", existed,; i ; 1. disease 'which, if generally.prevalent, wpuldihjost materially affect the giwy'tiij of (this great product,;,had'. been.'exterminated in every coloiiy (except ,iji , :; Zealand. He had no.doubt-thafrtheiGbvernment had done their yery ■ best up' |p the present time to curb this, 'terrible disease, andsbeepfarmers'had cheerfully submitted ito'a tax quite-sufficient for every purpose^in' {act mpre;ihan sufficient to pay for a very"oxfepve staff oflnspectors'tosee ; tHat' ! every means witre taken to get rid of the disease. The Government had appointed a very numerous staff-of inspectors, but it would scarcely appear to be numerous enoughs ►That would appear to be the case as it now stood; but he thought, f when; honorable gentlemen heard his * remarks, they would agree that it was in consequence, not of too small a staff, but of not having men' who/attended to : their duties as they 'oughTtbSlo, that a great deal of money had been spent withont kving its proper effect. He' " ■state'd-positively that the staff was numerous enough, and they were liberally paid; sonve-of ; the<>lhspe'ctors received; quite (fewp-fcbirds'f; of the il# Qrbvn, That, should, be iquite 'sufficient to secure 'the services'''' and cqmpeten> men:; '.bu(i, : , :i jp'd|ing by the report of a papej;; Ka> of a case'broiightiUnder tli§ Scjb Act, all the- by tto means' cpfflpetel)t;; ;j .'|:'-byeaph of the A$ occurred jn' and the, Government;, were'„sKanxious that nothing "should fdil,with;regai'd to the prosecution ; 'tha't-Kef'',bp)ibv(ed they sentdowii, a Wellington to conduct the,:casejiiand,, aL-vory able and efficient Magistrate went up from : tithe' Neighborhood :J oflGh'risfichuich to -heariifc' From the published report of that case he thought honorable gentlemen iwoulll they had not a : wholly efficient stiff of Inspectors to • ibbkafter.thesheep and seo that the Act was being carried ; puji' ! ii)(its integrity'.' The report .'showed' .'that in the course of this trial the evidence of the local Inspector was taten A -Honorable members would remember : that in the ' first instance there was very great i opposition to the passing of any Act for .the atkst an : Act ; Was l paiJed, and the position' of sheep : farmers whg , ,had,scabby flocks., was^ivery/jliberally considered. ,;-:A: .veryi. long time was'givenithemto clean their flocks, and when that time, wjiich qi ;Budjcient, had still* found that they had not succeeded in , getting rid of the, disease/ a r was granted. 'That ! was in .the last .session. That.further tiine.. : liacl now; expired,, and:, yeivthe sheep remained in the same condition. It might be argued, for those whoiad infecled sheep ■still/- that' 1 their country was. very rough, and.that thoy had ». . done all.they possibly; cqu]d;/ As a proof that .they had not: done' ail they could, he was able' to I were 1j many) OtherirUns\ jwhere the cduhtry-'-'was'' quite* rugged, and difficult for mustering, where the sheep had been already cleaned. Under \the :^\ynpw: in-force they had-suc-ceeded in maatering the disease to a large extent, and it is now confined to a very;?small not sufficient. They mighTjust as well put. out part of a large fire and leave a portion of, the ..building .alight, and the ..ashes, (smouldering,' as'to' partly clear the country of scab and leave it existing in one, district. If immediate steps'ivere riot/taken to wholiy root out this' dreadful disease, the wqrk that 'had'beeh'tfone'might i b > e / *fous4 ) to be of no avail, and through the incapacity of vgome'of those filftriistedr with the .workingibf the Act we might have to begin again a 6 initio. It would be ,f cesh itt|the memory pftsMnehouorttble Igtollemen/lthat itl w"aS .fioaong ago that scab was found among sheep yarded at Addington, near Christchurch, and no one knew where the

!jl ~, ittfeoted< i ca T from. At tho ~.,;.present.time-people who;lmd gone to veiy great expense, in ..cleaning their ;;.'; flicks,', ivore, laboring funder a vory; :',.'', greatdisadyantegOtlirdugh tho defaiilt ;i..-, - ,i| pf theirtoeighborsr Honorable goutle--1 an; 1 infected district' i, '''' : ' : ' I '''*'^^^ n! ' ,o sheep, and hadpWtificate that, ,-his | floclis ,j\v,ere. 1 ! '' ,;,, 6left)i/'Ke ,, yaV ! dliowed to moveitiiem ■ ! ,|l ' ■■' uridei''certain conditions','wliioh were >''' Ij.alnipst..tantamount toVprohibitloii, and '' which really invoked gnat loss tptlie 1 .■,.-.i farmer who'was obliged "to g; ; t 'rid of ,- ■ • hia surplus stock," because,; in/mo;.jug. A.., Wssheepthrough;a apart of ™'**' 'which.was infected, they j to mix with sheep: ■'< ( 'scab': in fact the'sheep moved were more liable to it than those which remained behind. In runs wh&esoab ) was still hot : a;bit; of . f " keep .the,sheep together," and jw!i to-.prevent -tliem infectitig; the flocks in \;adjoining; ,;i Thus :: 'the diseaso "was /■■- A; carried north arid southland someday: i r '* ! _' ! ;• th'ey'Svoviid find that scab > was again, ■■'•l'.'i .over a : large'' part of'the )::• vii country. ( There was another consider::.i"V! iation'j and that was. that, when sheep were moved' by, sea to other-parts of ■'•• '- ; i 'the' country they might spread,the I ■ :'..infection if : it was not" totally'' eradi- !'■ '• ■". ■.'' catei .■ In '.talking with -some owners, '''''*_:''' of irifectod sheep lately,-hei was ..quite" ..,,'.,■surprL'ied.to -hear-therii niake an adu.:'.mission which prOved'alf lid, Jiad nowr ' • i '; , ',;'said.; They .admitted;'that Others had /""'released,theirsheep,.and>had gone to 1 ''"' great expense aridtroublein doing'so. j u".'. They thus admitted that 'their "own sheep could be cleaned: and he mainPC .', tained that those -who had already v'.-: cleaned were suffering' g'reafcjhardships : ~ H-: ; through the neglect of 'other's. There was no encouragement to them to elean ;;'.their. sheep, or. to keep them clean, was also the consideration that . sheep could not bo got,to market from >'■'' •'. infected districts, and there was ton-' q'uently a smaller food-supply at higher prices than there would otherwise be . —an injury ibpth to the public and tlio sheep-farmer.. It had been.shown that sheep could .be cleaned in tho very roughest parts of the country. He • knew of one run of over fifty-thousand '■' ''sheep which had been all scabby, and ... t were now all clean j and yet these two ,\ . ror.threesheep-farmers, Svith flocks of :' of eight or .ten-thousand,; were still ''•.,;'■■'•'•''; going on with their old style of manage- ''"'"' merit after.'it had been proved that that style would not do.to eradicate scab. '..; Now, he submitted that, a sheep-tax being'levied to pay the Inspectors, they ought to use every means in their power to get tho scab eradicated, il.i*;.'lt. hiidbeeii - very difficult to get the Apt, but; the'Acfc having been passed, and it having been .shown that scab ...; i;could ;be ; cured, its total eradication 1; 'Bhoiild now, bejjisistedon, Scabhad , ,; . } 'jbeen ciiretl in. the very largest flocks ';',;,,'' and in the very : voiigh'eßt parts of the i '.-■■ oountry, and' it;,'wasfVpw only left! among a few thousand sheep in one : corner of a particular .'district—which) however, was enough to say -that the whole district was infected, arid left it '•• -■•.-' 'open to spread,at any time. Hehoped the' Government would not only..pro'Vf.d.uce the papers', but would remember V, whati he,had,said, and use every.means "'„..:. in their power to see that so desirable y f ari. object as, that, of eradicating this t fl (terrible disease' was accomplished. Motion made f and question proposed, ■ -A)'i :•! i'i " -That' all : papers, 1 "and other •documents' relating to the case against , A. W. Inglis and Gordon Gibson for'a 1, •'' !ol: ' ; *'breach of ..the "Scab Act b'e laid upon , v .. ( ; {ftp.table; ofthe Council."—fi/on. Mr Minsofi.)-- . „ 1 ■.M.n«ft .TheHori'SirG. S.'Wh'itmore said ;i! ;• the papers moved far would show that "thisi '.was a. very, peculiar, case. - '''The' n \ «< jssss .yp'uld. remember \ \jjith what got'a Scab Act| passed^ andrhowiraanyprejudices there Iwere to.-' overcome,--both in that Chamber, on H_ <■} itithe'pflrt of manv'jjionomhle gentlemen injerestedjii sheep,- ahdalsa in knotheiplace,"chiefly on the"ground- 1 that the i U -( i;'iMt'i'asoVerrliliiig'ihe ! pi;;dyijicial or r dinancos., ( Afteiva,;great.(leafof trouble) : 'givih'g''by'.ymany -ofrthose ']best\ informed; oil the subject 'of-a grtjaf, deal a.fair compromise was arrived m-sn.iv v^t';'-'^"d'Vit'wM/4^ci.ded r I jtl)ab'; an'''A'ct t a .. !,,! , i ! they flCtiw .pighC:be'.-.able' toiniiike-- 1 .certain. ipi .- Li!i::speedily eradicating'this which' ■watt* :ought'tp ; 'have beeti'lpng,ago driven .put,.of the. l cpuntryi''.and i 'would have J .:;.[!.Jbeen; : b,ut fpivthe laziness arid neglect of the colony. He admitted: that ««• u:: 'the' l Acb > was a very.great-!w.eapon;p.laced in the Ijirndsofi certain In3pcctors ; and; v,!. ;h'e appealed to the Council at the time to pass it on, account .of the j great necesitsy for'it, notwithstanding that great. ; ppw,er ; j' -find 'he belibved that every.honorable ge'ntlemaii who then spoke on the ;^bjecj 'did' so with a certarif amount of hesitation in regard' to that great power. He had suggea-. ji,^tt^that.the'inEpectiott;!if : Bhe'e.pshbuid' placed' vtl timately under the control either''of the County Chairman! or. of y,,, , y i authority j •becairSe- he'' re-" ' J ; cpgnised. that it might possibly 'liappen *%ss. % s heep,;Pepa,rtipe}i.t,might .hev ,J: '"bome! a'red-tape department,, presided! ~pyei': by the Colonial Secretary and . .Vipiher officials who really knew nothing '"" about the disease, and that from this--.ignorance a certain amoiint'of hardship ..; might result in the working of the jim Mti. What'had 'iappehed; in this 1 4inp'%st'a , nceT' n H6|fo , .>as,''.a' part'of the country in which enormous efforts had been.made to..repair^tho neglect; of a greaVitiarjy'years • a distriot excessive-■n-jih to.mauage, 'for: two'tfeasons '"' firßt ) ' ! .: i on'accouht- ; of its extjremo, K .,-ropghri'ess. j.. and. second;- OrJ'abcount' of "Swrtunto the ;Crowh," and' wliich-*-hMj got .tiij;V/Bfocked'with : sheeprwhicn;^ for thich, propprly, speaking.; f y '-M$ r^pyemmepti',.were ut responsible. j l '^ ! i' l |ii.es'e;wild.sheep': wandered 'ihto' other flocks, .which -therefore "continued in--.•'i ! 'fected.''He thought, as tho Govorncontflderable' excess '-"of • '4()lpyenu9evoi; fcxp'ehditu're in'the'sneep-' CWi ta x > tne y 8^ eat * e troubifi'(of.. they (n . r j,eW(:[tnOtcdestrbyed ? by'- ; the' :, jiitji ment/'on'e'iofWb'itHmgs'iiiMt happen: *W» g9 to I the %oijj)le,'|Jid li pxßeMe' them m end'Jthe v yiUmiMmWWiWMkd ml# be Me(liilaHd^eYd«4llowed ( to lie idle for two or three years. The Government should recognise their

responsibility, and destroy ;tkse.i}viW I sheep. He knew that seVeral settlers | were killing wild sheep |in'; ! 'tkl)!'dili JI < tricfc. and so we're doing wns : ,boyond! their responsil|ihty.. ~J V ~:, ; The : Hon.'Mr < Wjjitalrer .said,'there was no 'objection I 'lb 1 ! the production 'of the papers,, and .he;had. only 'one; obser- 1 vatlon ;; 'to;i make.!.!: Tliel- Government'' fully' appreciated i j the -'importance: of eradicating'scab,' arid Were ÜBing<every : possible mearisto.'fhal'ehd.: They yy_ ; dbitigsd how, aim.'.would continue'to", do" so in 'the future.'::As to this .par?, ticularr.cafe, .ho;btlioved' therevtoew some peculiar 1 eirciimStances whicli';put' if oiit of the ordiriary:category of cases' 1 in ; whjch' fines,,would,,:belimpqsed, according ,to the: iAct. ! It would appear in the papers whether', .that was so or hot.'; After,' they' were "'produced. Y .t]i|» | honourable 'gentleman', (the! Hoh,"'Mr E'6binsonji„would See', whether it was necessary to' take 1 ariy /further action 1 in' the matter;" ' "'V j i ;; ': : ;''''/ ~The.Hon, Mr' Robinson: was 1 satisfied .with the reply of the Premier; 1 which was .the.' one lie had'expected." 'He diu not think any, alteration ' was : rajiiirWin the; Act"''.lt. waa'.;blearly;, demonstrated thairthV'Aot! had:: done, all that,could be-expeq^ed.'of'it,iih'a¥ much as^, scab had been eradicated in soriie of the roughest' parts of the try. i : As"to • Gpyernm'erit*' filling 'the wild • Bheep', if the settlers' fenced their steep, as .the,, Hon; ftjfivHolmes : suggested, the existence off jwild sheep .would i; be: little sequence. 'The necessity of fencing wtfs! so ob'vious to any man of commoh'seiise that'he would not allude to|it r and if that; *vere done'there 1 would be'noidiffi-' culty with wild sheep, and. the sheepfarmers' thein'selves would thenj .probably tell thein fencing was imperative because rcab was spread through sheep travelling frbnfohe partOf tlio country to another through infectedj fleets',' It was • compulsory on the Magistrate to inflict the fine, but the Government should see that,such a;case did not occur again, and should make the Inspector do his duty,,.,:He the Government • would strivo to strictly ■ carry out the carry out the Act as it '■■ stood, and show no' favoritism to "any one.' He thought, the surplus of the sheep-tax would nearly pay for 'allthe sheep remaining infected, •" ■ '■ ,- ; Motion agreed to.