BRANDING SHEEP.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3649, 27 October 1890, Page 2

BRANDING SHEEP.

,;.{ Meeting at O&rtertoa, - V The meeting of farmers and station' owners held at Carterton on Saturday was attended by about twenty, peisons, Mr H. R. Bunny, who'had.; convened the gathering, being in the' chair, . / .;..'.'. - -The new olause in the Slieep Aot, Section 67,'tvas the subject', ;.ofconsiderable ..disotißsion. Tho /compulsory branding- of sheep, .whioluheAct requires' to be'done at Bheiirihg time, was unfavourably regarded by v most or fctose; ; [ present,-' Tie dissentients' '•. really were - Messrs'.* ColemanPhillips.ando. Tuliyi(»*hb I wrote), Mr J, Martini jr, and Mr Georgei Fairbrptberr These jseeiued infavour of the Act.without appeal or, alteration; ' The main 'arguments', against universal and enforced branding were that if done by effective means, tar: for instance, it damaged the wool, and that also* it was not so. serviceable as might' be thought as a means of identifioa-.c.. tion, and as an aid to the detection'oh* theft. ; No doubt another reason*might .be named in; the statement : that absolutely .thorough branding of flocks would entail additional trouble and expense,:, whicli those'.who are put toil do not in all cases consider is repaid by the: benefits gained, As we have said, though, there were one or two opinions expressed by persons who considered that wool branding > was of' service, and it was also affirmed by some that the wool did not suffer. ■ A testimony of the Wellington Woollen Company stating that lamp black and oil did not hurt the' wool was quoted in support of this assertion.,

j Taken generally, the tone of the meeting was strongly, against the new legislation on this point, tnd the following resolutions wo;e the outcome of this feeling : 1. "Tliatia accoronnoe with sec, 67 of the Sheep Act ut petition be circulated for signature in. South Wairarapa County, asking the Governor to exempt that subdivision of the / Sheep District from the operation (Cf the said 67th Section." w 2, That the undermentioned gentlemen be ut committee to circulate the petition for signature. Messrs E Dorset, F Moore, HR Bunny, W E Bidwill, AMcKenzio, H Braithwaite, H H Jaokson, D Sutherland, and 0 Pbarazyn, The following is the text of tho body of the petition. It is addressed : to the Governor, and at Saturday's meeting eighteen signatures wore appended : "That your petitioners are of opinion that tho section of, the Sheep Act,lß9o, ia not calculated to promote the best interests of sheep-owners in this district, and that therefore your petitionee humbly pray that your Excellency will be pleased to suspend the operation of the said section within the said sub. division,"