THE RABBIT PEST.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2194, 31 July 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE RABBIT PEST.

The latest scheme for the extermination of the rabbit pest in Australia received some attention in the House of Commons on May 13th, when (sayp, the European Mail) Mr M. Kenny asked the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether the attention of the Colonial Office had been drawn to the following paragraph, which appeared in tho Pall Mall Gazette of Saturday, May Sth • — "The rabbit plague in Australia. — The latest attempt to exterminate rabbits in Australia ended in failure. It was a truly infernal device, namely, the importation of rabbits suffering from the rabbit scab from Euiope in the hope that the contagion would spread among the Australian rabbits and kill them off Professor Watson, of Adelaide University, was granted six months leave of absence, in order that he might purchase diseased rabbits in Europe. He bought two dozen thoroughly infected with animal and vegetable parasites, and embarked with them on board the Caledomen steamship ; but, tinforunately for the experiment they all died of sunstroke before reaching Aden, and the attempt has consequently failed. lie has, however, ordered a fresh supply, and he is still in hopes that the rabbit scab may be successfully introduced ;" whether the statements contained in the above are true, and if so, whether the Colonial Office would make some representations to the Government of South Australia as might induce them to adopt some other method of mitigating the rabbit nuisance in their colony. Mr Morgan, in reply, said :— " I am a little surpri&ed that tho

honourable member, who is, I believe, an ardent Home Ruler, should have asked me the question. The Colonial Office has no information on the subject of the paragraph iv question, and the extermination of the rabbit plague of South Australia is essentially a matter which concerns exclusively the Government and Legislature of that colony. In these circumstances, the Secretaiy of the State for the Colonies is not iv a position to make the representation which the hon. members desires, or to interfere in any other way with the sanction of the colony itself.