Report of Joint Committee of both Houses to inquire into the Working of the Sheep Department.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2967, 3 August 1888, Page 2

Report of Joint Committee of both Houses to inquire into the Working of the Sheep Department.

Youv Committee have tlio honor ropoit that they have examined the cncumstances concerning tho isteuce of scab in. tho colony, and-also into tho working of tbo Sheep De-* J® partment, 1 - J They find that scalx exists m three, ."4 places iu the Mirandi, in the Auckland Distiiot, at tho house in the Nolson District, : a«A-:tlie Seaward Bange, Kaikouia ™ [ "M, v Two yoars ago overy.ilocltowner,yn" New Zealand had a clean certificate, and no scab was ofiicially known to *-$ i exist, foi thero weie still great doubts I JM about several of the high-m(jJfcmouß;;--.|ffi' parts"of the colouj ~but, as tie Bcab ( * had been nearly eradicated,, the had eveiy right to expect that the T depaitment would exeiciso nloie than ordmaiy vigilence, in older to insure * *>' that the disease was actually stamped - out ;-and the Committee considet that the Department is deseivmg of gieat ' i:censure for not having done so ( To ■ thoroughly-bcoui tho high mountain n," i ous and wooded part of the country * requires expenditure, but theie is no ! plea set up that money was denied -> them; on tho contiaiy, so fai as tho Committee can learn, whenevei oxtra men were asked for they were at once -j-? « gianted, and the only excuses ad f vanced for the present existence of ~ scab are the extraordinary loughness % of parts.of tho country, and the prob- J> able wilful concealment of the disease by sbeepowners. Your Committeo consider that neither of these excuses is sufficient..- jf*"* 'l'lio Tophouso flock was running in the immediate vicinity of a denely- v.: wooded range of mountains^'4Btwas suspected to have held scabby sheep \ for probably thirty years. Tlie flockavKf| on both side of this rango were scabby; and in 1885 the depaitment had a ' party scouring the mountain foiest for some thrco months, the result being that a considerable number of wild sheep were killed. ' This process was:;|£s repeated in the following jeai, but in tho opinion of: the Committee a serious error of judgment was made in discontinuing this work—an opinion that is completely borne out by the fact that quite recently many rnoio wild sheep ' have been killed on tins countiv.

On the Seaward Baugo, at KaiKouia, there seems to have been even less excuse, as this couutiy is thoioughly fenced and subdivided; and, as scab

had previously, on two'•occasions, been found hi the flock running' there; the Committee consider it altogether inexcusable; that scab should; have

beon allowed to deielop unchecked from February, 1887, to Nmeinber, 1887, until on the lata datejWkss than 00 per cent, weie shffbving from disease ' With regard to the outbieak at Miranda, there isio doubt that very serious blame must also attach to tho department. Not only has tho distuct in question not been visited by an * Inspector for.two ybais, but even the * \ name of Steadinan, who sold tho <: infected sheep to the ownei of Miraiidn, does not appeal on tho ollici.il list of owners of sheep, conclusively proving long-continued lieg- • j lect on tho part of the Inspector.' : Tho probable cause of this outbreak <- is the existence of wild sheep ju tho "•' l Coromandel peninsula, which the dopartinontal record shows has novel been visited by an Inspector. - . f At all these places steps: aro being ; Cv taken by the department to get rid of the disease, but the Committee are ■

unanimously of opinion that tM|' aro altogether inadequate. Tho™bhc interests involved aro of siioJi magnitude that all other considerations

should give way, and the utmbst', efforts continuously made to fM* tho colony from this disease,

The existence of scab at the present time is an absolute disgrace to all concerned in the administration of the

law; and your Committeo recommend that the Government should either

take charge of the infected Hocks, or send tho most capable Inspectors in ; tho service to reside'in tho different'-

infected localities, with instructions ■ that tlioy arc not to leavo until tlio * disease is stamped out, *• , ; :.'3 Your Committee are perfectly confident tliat' this can be done in a

reasonable time by constant and unremitting attention, and are also certain that meaus such as these are in the • interests of the sheepowaers tliem- ■ solves-especially the owners of infected slieep-as the past history ' of scab in the colony abundantly proves. Your Committee are of opinion that these three outbreaks, of scab in

different parts of tho coloum two years after every flockowner iifllhad : '■'! been granted a clean ceitificate,'Ard unmistakeable grounds for concltfing v' that the department has failed in its .r- '■ ;

most important functions, and that a - change is absolutely essential. The < question is, in what direction shall > llio chingo bo inado ? "It Laa boon suggested to reraovo tlio control of tlio department from the Government, and transfer it to the County Councils - ■ * ■ or Road Boards. .Others, again, think that a better be to have special Boards elected for tlio

purpose, similar to the Pasture Boards in New South Wales, who themselves olect a Central Board, always sitting , - in Bydnoy, of. which a Ministor is

always a member, this Central Board being'the channel of communication between the outlying distiicts and the Government, ;

The Committeo do not think that either of these plans is suited to tlio' oircumstances of this.colony: the local bodies as at present constAited ' are not fit to deal with the ',qu®#f and, when we recollect the strong feeling that existed in Nelson and Marlborough agauist eriforcing the penal olauses of the Act, tlie Com- n niittee think it would not be wise to risk a similar result .j'.while as regards the New South Wales syEtem of Pasture Boards, it has not boon an '" J unmixed success,_ arid iu our smaller " ' area the Committee we afraid >■