THE SCAB CASE.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 945, 13 July 1878, Page 2

THE SCAB CASE.

JBhothbk Pabmebb of Waika-to,— By a late telegram received this evening from Messrs Hesketh and Turhmond, I observe that the appeal I entered against the decision of the Auckland magistrates — Barstow and Ben Maclean— is lost. I now appeal to you : Are my sheep and your sheep to be thus branded without a shadow of proof — fcho greittest injustice ever attempted in this district — to pass without a stubborn resistance ? Is this thing called law always to ride roughshod over justice and common sense P I call upon you all to come forward as one man, and shew the rest of the colony that •we will not submit to such gross injustice. We boast of our soil, climate, and other advantages. "What good are they if we have no protection to our property and cannot obtain justice ? We might as well live in Bulgaria or any 01.o 1 . her half -civilised couutry. The facts of my case are so well known to you that it is hardly necessary to repeat how 1., some two months since, seut ray eighth truck-load of sheep to Auckland. They were condemned by Lewis for scab, not even examined through a glass : no insect was seen. A bite from a dog was sufficient to account for the sear. I was summoned , and defended the case I produced the skin of the condemned sheep in Court, and demanded that scab should be pointed put. I pressed this, but the magistrates sided with Lewis, and would not admit it as evidence, so I lost the case. I was fiued <l only " £6 — the lowest possible fine-*-but the costs and expenseß ran it up tb'over £50. I appealed on a point of law, the only appeal I could enter against a Resident Magistrate's decision — " How I could sullbr and permit scabby sheep to be driven on the highway, not knowing they were scabby ;" in fact, having a certificate from our local Inspector of Sheep, Mr Runciman, that they were clean and free from scab. Since that, a deputation from the Cambridge Farmers' Club (consisting of Messrs Leslie, E. B. Walker, and R. H. D. Fergusson), and also a deputation from the Waikato Pastoral Association (consisting of Messrs S. Steele, Macnicol, and Brown) carefully examined the sheep, but found no trace of scab in them. Ido not a-k you to lay out a sixpence to enable me to proceed against the parties who have caused all this trouble, but I do ask you to unite as one man for the sake of our country and for the sake of everything we hold dear. Let us have justice in this matter, even if we have to tro to Wellington to the Governor himself. — I am, &c, Thomas Jolly. i Hamilton, July 10