SOUTH AUCKLAND CATTLE BOARD.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1208, 25 March 1880, Page 3

SOUTH AUCKLAND CATTLE BOARD.

A meeting of the newly constituted board was held at the Farmers' Club, Cambridge, on Monday last. Present : Messrs £. Maclean (Chairman), A. A. Fantham, H. Buttle, C. J. ritorey, ard Captain Steele. Mr Joha Ruuchnao, Deputy Inspector of Cattle for the dibtrict was also present. The Chairman read a letter he had received from Air Maunßell, private secretary to the Hon. the Premier, intimating that the gentlemen named above had been appointed members of the board. The Chairman further said that no notice of their appointment had yet appeared in the Gattttey and he was «on/<equently of opinion that they oould take no decided action for the present. He had received a communication from Mr Buike, stttiug that one of hi» cattle was effected with pleuro, and at his request Mr Burke had kindly oome over to report the m itter to tho bourd. Mr Burke, who "yas present, then staled that one of his beasts had taken .-iok on the previous Wednesday, and grew worse on the following 1 day. On Friday he had her killed, and subjected her lungs to examination. He found one of the lung's di. ea*ed, but not badly. The cow was not one of those which had come over With Payne's lot, but h d been running" with them. The rest of the caHli with her hid boen isolated and se far appeared te be healthy. Mr Sfcorey said he had inspected M Burke'B c.ittle that day and found them apparently quite heilthy. Mr Fanthim «aid it was quite clear that the diseahe existed in the distviut, and he thought the most prompt measure* should be at once re-orted to to prevent itn spread. Ho advocated fending for Mr Nadon at onco to inspect Mr Burke'a stock, and thought, that i nocc-sary, some additional beasts should be slaughtered no that the question may be fully understood. He need not tell them, who knew so well, that pleuro Bpread very rapidly, and they could not be too careful. He for one was quite willing to contribute \m share towards the cost of any cattle which Mr Nadeij might deem it advisable to kill. In England and on the Continent where the disease had been permitted to get a hold they had failed to exterpate it, and he feared that unless strong repressive measures were adopted here that theirs would be a similar case. Captain Steele deprecated anything like undue precipitancy. They ought to remember that in acting with rashness they would injure not only Mr Burke, but all his neighbours. He had the greatest confidence in the opinion of Mr Storey, who ha d reported the rest of Mr Burkes herd in good health, and he thought that before they took any such active measures as those suggested by Mr Fantham they should wait until Mr Burke reported a fresh case of sickness. Then he would be willing to send for a qualified man to report on the case. The Chairman concurred with the remarks whioh had fallen frouj. Captain Steele. It had been reported that wmo of tho Pi-iko Sw.unp Company's cuttle were afl'-cteJ. Ho -would like to hear Captain Stoelo'd. versiou of the affair. C iptam i-jtoule said the report that the cattle wore dyiuy by dxwen* or scores wa.s

case were these : — Seine five or six bulls had come over from Australia for the company in the same ship as Mr Payne's lot. One of them, a Hereford bull, had taken sick shortly afterwards, but they thought very little about it until they heard of the pleuro scare in Auckland. Thereupon, however, the manager had the animal brought up and put into a loose box by himself, where he had been ever since, and he was now getting all right' It might have been some ordinary sickness contracted on the voyage because the la^fc shipment of cattle they had received being longer on the voyage than was proper contained a good many' animal* whioh were more or less affected. Some of them had become blind in one eye. • They had some cattle by a ship which was now quarantined in Auckland, and although one or more of their number had been killed no trace of pleuro was discoverable. Mr Fan t ham thought the oase of the bull on tho Eureka station was another to < whioh the Board should direct its attention. Ho thought the Government should be called upon to pay the price of the animal, as it was through their negleot that the disease had been allowed to spread. Cap tail) Steele said the directors cf the Swamp Company had made arrangements to have all tbeir cattle inoculated as soon as the disease made its appearance on their property. f .>><> •Mr Burke said he had inoculated, every beast on his farm. ' • Mr Fantham was strongly opposed to anybody inoculating his cattle unless it was made comp ilsory upon all, because otherwise it would have the effeot of' spreading the disease amongst the netghbWiua: herds. Captain Steole paid he had it from a jt ntleman lately from Afiica that there", tfheie their chief source of support was tVorn c ittle, inoculation was lookel upon>j is absolutely neue^ary; and a run on which this was npglected was thereby reduced at least 25 per cent, in value. During tho former outbreak of pleuro he h<id suffered with others ; but he was, not aware of any partioular measures being taken for its eradication, and they had supposed it had died out. Penple had told him hince that the disease bad remained in the Province ever nince, though in a milder f-»rm. He thought Mr Burke ought to be commended for the measures I he had taken. It being understood that either Mr Burke or Air Stmey wo«ild >rive early notice of the appearance of any symptoms of diseuBe in the herd of the former, the Board agreed to meet a *am in Cambridge, on a d.iy to be fixed by the Chairman after the appointment of tho Board had been gazetted. 11 M^ Fantham said he would move at the next meeting, " That the Government be asked to bring in a Bill at the next session for the purpose of imposing a small tax on cattle owners, to go to form a fund out of which to pay for cattle slaughtered by order of the Board." This was all the business.