THE JOLLY SCAB CASE.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 659, 15 August 1878, Page 2

THE JOLLY SCAB CASE.

The following petition was read and adopted at the meeting of the Cambridge Farmers' Club held on Monday last. (The report of the ordinary business of the Cl"b we hold over to our next issue) :

To the Honorable the House of Representatives of the Colony of New Zealand: The petition of the undersigned farmers, sheep owners, and residents in the District of "Waikato, in the Provincial

District of Auckland, humbly sheweth—1. That, on the twentieth day of May, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-eight, one Thomas Jolly, of Hamilton (in Waikato), was charged, upon the information of one Francis Charles Lewis, of Auckland, Inspector of Sheep, with suffering sheep infected with scab to be driven along a certain highway in the suburbs of Auckland, and that —on the hearing of the said information before Messrs Robert Chapman Barstow, and Benjamin Maclean, Esqs. and Justices of the Peace—the said Thomas Jolly was convicted of the said offeuoe, and ordered to pay a fine of Five pounds and Fourteen pounds costs, which sums have been duly paid.

2. The whole of the evidence given by and his witnesses was confined to the examination of one sheep, and one sheep only, out of the number of sixty-six sheep sent down by train from Waikato by the said Thomas Jolly to the Auckland market for sale.

3. That it was proved that—weekly, and for seven weeks prior to the occasion referred to—the said Thomas Jolly had forwarded (in the same manner, to the same salesmen—the Messrs Hunter and Nolan, —and from the same flock, and fold, and yard) similar lots of sheep, all of which had been openly sold in market. i. That it was also proved that these seven previous lots of sheep were all open to inspection by the said Inspector, and that he visited the yards at which the same were sold on the days when the same were sold, and that ho did not condemn the said sheep, or in any way object to the same, but the same were sold as clean sheep, and fetched good prices, and it was only upon this last and eighth occasion that it was suggested that any of the said ihomas Jolly's sheep were Hcabby, when, after examination of one she&p—and one sheep only—the whole of the said sixty-six sheep were condemned, and a great loss was thereby caused to the said Thomas Jolly. o. It was proved by the informant and his witnesses, that the indications of scab on the one sheep in question were peculiar, and were of some months standing. That they consisted of a large scab, as large as a man's hand. That they had the appearance of having been an old scab, partly grown over with wool. That it had been treated for scab, but imperfectly treated, and had healed up in the centre, and had broken out again at the sides, but no evidence whatever was given that any scab insect was found. 6. Assuming that the said sheep was so infected with scab, your petitioners submit that such could not have been the case, without some of the remaining' sixty-six sheep were also infected, as well as some of the remainder of the said flock at Hamilton being also infected.

7. It was proved, however, that upon the said Inspector condemning the said sheep, that his attention was drawn to the mark or scab in question by one, John Short, a thoroughly competent judge of scab, who then told the said Inspector that the scab was the wound caused by the bite of a dog, and he then examined the remainder of the said sixtysix sheep, and could not find a trace of scab upon one of them.

8. It was also proved that upon the said Thomas Jolly learning, by telegram, that his said sixty-six sheep had been condemned a# scabby, he forthwith caused the remainder of his flock at Hamilton to be examined by Mr John Eunciman, the Inspector of Sheep for the Waikato District, and in whom your petitioners have every confidence as a judge of scab, who, after a very careful examination of the said sheep, pronounced the same to be free from scab, and gave a certificate accordingly. 9. That the said Thomas Jolly is a respectable settler, and a man of means, and a man who would not be at all likely to allow scab to be upon his sheep, without taking steps to eradicate the same; and, it was proved most cleanly, at the said hearing, that the said Thomas Jolly had never had scab among his sheep, that they had been periodically inspected by the Waikato Inspector, and that they had not, at any time whatever, been treated tor scab, ©r mixed with sheep infected with scab.

iO, That it vaß alec clearly proved

hat the said Thomas Jally's flock of sheep had been, Bhortly prior to their being sent for sale, attacked by dogs, and that many of them had been killed, and others badly wounded, and that for months prior thereto, ho had not bought any sheep, but that his entire flock had been running in the same fold, and had all been yarded in the same yard from time to time, in order to draft out the said eight lots of sheep, which were forwarded to the Auckland market for sale, as before mentioned. 11. That since the said tonviction, the matter has been the subject of very great consideration in the said Waikato district, and various public meetings have been held relative thereto, and the subject has been very fully discussed in the local Press. 12. That in consequence of -the said conviotion, and the great injury and loss occasioned to the sheep owners in the said Waikato District, and with a view of ascertaining whether it was possible for the said sheep to have been scabby, the " Cambridge Farmers' Club " and the "Waikato Central Agricultural Association," immediately after the said conviction, each appointed committees to examine the remainder of the flock of sheep belonging to the said Thomas Jolly, from which the said sixty-six sheep were drafted, and amounting in all to some hundred of sheep, and after the most careful examination of the same, the said Committee wholly failed to find even the slightest indication of scab upon any of the said sheep, and unhesitatingly declared the said sheep to be clean, and , wholly free from scab. 13. lhat your petitioners are fully Batisfied, after the most careful consideration and examination, that none of the said sixty-six sheep so condemned were scabby, or infected with scab; they are also fully satisfied that the said one sheep so examined by the informant could not have been infected for months, as deposed by the informant, without having some trace of the infection on the remainder of the same flock, rttnning in the same field and drafted out of the same yard. 14. It was also proved at the hearing, that no insect of scab was ever found on the said one sheep, and your petitioners confidently submit that the finding of the insect itself, iB the only clear proof of the existence of scab. 15. Your petitioners also desire to draw attention to the very important fact which took place in Court at the. close of the informant's case,- that is to say, after the informant's case had been closed, the skin of the one sheep so examined by the informant and his witnesses was produced and laid open upon the floor of the Court, and the informant and vhe said Justices and the Counsel engaged saw the said skin examined by the informant, in order to point out the said large scab, or, rather, indication of scab, and that after very careful examination of all parts of the said skin, the informant, who failed to find out any indication whatever of scab, declared the skin was not the skin of the sheep which he had examined. This was openly stated in Court, and in the hearing of the said Justices and all parties engaged, lhe defendant then gave evidence, which deary proved that the skin was the skin of the sheep so examined, whereupon the informant informed the said Justices that he then admitted that the skin was the skin of the sheep which he had examined, but still the large patch of scab was not pointed out by the informant. 17. Your petitioners now leam that since the said conviction, the skin has been examined by one, Trotter, one of the informant's witnesses, who now states, " That had he seen and examined the skin of the sheep before he gave evidence, he ', . would not have stated that the shsep was scabby." ,18. That immediately on the return of the said Waikato Inspector from Aucklandj after having given evidence at the said hearing, he caused a further examination to be made of the remainder of the saidftock, but was altogether unable to find any indication of scab, and declared the said sheep to be perfectly clean. 19. 'J he loss caused by the condemnation of the said sheep is very serious, for whether the sheep are treated for scab, or sold as condemned, the expense or loss is very great, and the remainder of the flock, together with the run on which they have been depasturing, are seriously injured by such an occurrence. 20. Your petitioners feel that a great injury has been done to all sheep owners in the Waikato district, and that a great miscarriage of justice has occurred, and consistently with the state of things found to exist, after the said condemnation, the Inspector of f«lieep for Auckland cannot, by any possibility, have been right in the course he took. 21. Tour petitioners also find themselves placed in the position : That after the sheep have been passed as clean by the Inspector for their own district yet they are not then secure, inasmuch as thet same Bheep may af terwars be condemned when they reach the Auckland market a state of things which could not by any possibility take place if the Inspectors were competent judgeß of scab, * and took reasonable and proper precautions when examining sheep. Your petitioners humbly pray that yonr Honorable House will be pleased to take the foregoing matters into your favorable consideration and to cause Buoh enquiry to be made into the same or grant tuoh other relief as your Honorable House may seem fit and as the came of your petitioners may require. [The remainder of the club meeting report will appear in our next ißßue.