THE RABBIT PEST

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 116, 18 May 1887, Page 4

THE RABBIT PEST

Thb man who first introduced rabbits into New Zealand, if he is still alive, 'will be interested in perusing a parliamentary paper which has-just been laid on the table of the House. From this he will learn that since Otago became infested with rabbits 1,346,554 acres have been surrendered and the loss of revenue to March lastamounted to £32,803.. Of the area stated, the greater portion has been relet at considerably reduced rentals, only twenty runs containing about 414,000 acres lying unoc.. .pied at the present time, exclusive of runs which are unoccupied on account of their elevation and inaccessibility, and not because of rabbits. In Southland alone the loss to the Government through the runs being infested with rabbits has been, not less than since 1883. The loss to the individual run-holders and to the country has,been enormous. Great as this loss ia, we are much mistaken if tha measures approved by the Government for the introduction of stoats, weasels, ferrets, and " other vermin to extirpate the rabbits do not make the loss still -greater. The man who devises a simple and safe means of killing bunny will deserve, well'ofh. country. • ?•' \

The criminal : i^y: ; Court open on the 7th of'W^ B calendar contains X t : So j£r Henry O'NeiV Moore,. attempted^?%■ J- • WS£ Lowrie, nnlawfa^ouS *5 Peter fr ° m & 5 fr* eter F""V assault; ~lilts% wood, larceny jArthtif S larceny from a Phee, areon; Alexander Grey, andßobertWa£ !?>' Tilly,alias John Duncan, fe^gl^e Lowndes, violent ail fc . £ n « Perry rapo; .Georgo wounding; William Thomson McCaUum ■S tW Charles. Wright, rapl; &H2l unlawfully wounding; assault; Te tencea-(two charges); Tn l e # f pk tences. "> }f& The Shortland Saw Mm resumed operations.' eThe^n^ 1 * 1 ! down during the late fresh jffiS cient to keep the mill eiimlS* months. >w «V.ij held at Robson's rooiE£s& there not being a decided to adjourn until The directors, we shortly the matter of enlarging ££* The London Circus wag Jh patronised last evening, and W' $ items on the programme were A midday performance when inmates of charitable admitted free of charge. '' Bel^ 1 features are announced for. this eila?H The Earl of Aberdeen wired frip vernment House, Wellington y. *- afternoon to Mr .Harry would bo present if possible ai'l'H ringers' concert in the Opera s'ffi Saturday evening. ■; His: LoidsMJH let Mr Lynch know for certahi onWJR morning., -,'-.'siE Mrs Lathrope, residing. i n jdK street, Newton, met with an uillP accident laßt night. She had i her daughter,.who is sick, and in|J tho house in the dark, stmnbledfll steps, fell, and broke her aria"ipH A full rehearsal of theßandof HowJI was-held last night, in' the'eNe-fSH gregatiorial school-room, EdiiibiirgfeH About 400 were present,'Mr ing as leader. An. orchestra m jUm attendance. The various pieces j* rendered with pleasing ; precision, aaife exercise songs were veryamusing.'ki^ instances the effect is heightened-byl manipulation of partithe vocalist 3. Judging ty last tdgiftj hearsalthe performance oh ffie%thot't should prove an unqualifiedisnccea Rev. J. Chew,, of. Beresford-sfeffe g-egational Church, and, ithe Rr, \ ilmore, of Ponsonby' BapdlftfJijA deliver addresses, and Mr Eeid will girtb unique performance upon,.,'"Fairy E4 ! No doubt the Choral Hall will be if only the friends of the children attend Mr A. G. Daniels re-deiivered his l«fe on ' * The Pernicious Effecteiof: Alcohol j the Human System the PonsoDki fellows' Hall last evening, the lecture kij illustrated by the charts of Dr. MThere was a good attendance. '■; Duriiipfi evening selections of music were' 'mm by Mr Danielle'schoir, GriS contributed two appropriate.,solos, Aai lection waa taken upafrthVcloietode!":! expenses. ''■':' i 'h,: ' At Whangarei, on Monday, Wirca Katene was declared elected memk k the Northern Maori Electoral Districlk three votes.- over ; >Sydney Taiwhatigi Sydney handed the followings-prots against the election' to the Beturai?! Officer:—(l) That he by supplying liquor (foufMlesbfbnudi to certain natives. kV "Efct&V Mt, Hokianga, at 2.50 p.m. 'on &c diy* election. (2) That reveraTtfaorls tow Wi Katene whose vote*pfgMiiottota been recorded. (3) That votes were tih atplaces which were not gazetted as pollingplaces. Sydney was in town yeiteraay, M returns to Whangarei' with the steps necessary,to bring, Jiejif test before the Supreme Court, . ■... The members of the Eden and Epaa Lawn Tennis Club have'decided to'toHi concert in Waite's HaUj-Mount Hi, Friday evening.- The ifiretpaitofttew gramme will consist of; a concert, in if" many of our well-known leading EfflW l will take part. ; ' After' a shoif-ffitawkj amusing comedietta' tc - The -fSpM» Weavers " will be played byetliemerctea the. Mount Hobson Amateur, Club,. ™ piece is very laughable,' and the'eoste* are of an appropriately quaint charaw The Eden and Epsom-Lawn^amis<•« now number about 40 members, who *» for practice on Mr Udy's ! Mount Eden Road. The-ton ,ii m didlv situated and contains four, cess The'proceeds of the concert Will be de* to the funds, of the club..' -> : ' The sun has for many months p#*> very free from spots, but on Monday;* became visible near together!,, ™j % rather faint then, but .yesterday jm% strongly marked, and form a group «» usually large size near: the; suns«» Sudden outbursts of.. solar .activity m quently coincident with electrical 9 atmospheric disturbances': ,ou : e W ■<* \ Barometer has risen 3-tenths .ot m>since yesterday, and gone down considerably. -TW'S able that we may have a spell..of"S| fine "weather, and-perhaps Aurora Australis.—" Thames btar. , Newton East and Wesfc ; Schools;g teoheld their usual meeting-on;fw May 16th. Present Jenkins, W man, S.- Secretary,, ■&> French, Wilcox, Jeune,3oyd ( Wßr«> White: Newton'Easb-^number on m average attendance, number on roll, 506; go| 420. Miss Coffey applied,;.for -W.» sence 'for a fortnight'-on'accofflft,o| health. Referred to* Board;- 1WMaster.of Newton West-reportaHe^ materially to ,tMi «>.j Mutate, of' roads 'ta district. A necessity for a Truant Officer, Mr White, seconded by Mr |®» the compulsory clause of tbegp be brought into force toffis@fcjt tion district from this date. ■ , i»" , p the Head-masters bo reque»te4 nos the distribution of,ticket. circuses and similar solvedthat the'Commi toe day night to' examine the.-bpok ß >)> bythe S ScriptureGiftA«ociaticr, . Ticket* are now on sale iot Seslt s| mentary concert which is to be giveri In.the C| wa Thursday week. ; { gramme has been compied for w. comprising : the ; _over «• Itelianl in Algerl""and AuJ etta," the ch a rnm^;Potp^rn Journey " Through My O '» Rolling Drums " and ?*f , £ d .s ie ftßJ be ing instrumentoLsolos aW : by Herr Schmitt, 'brcig P Limont ; /clarfo^t:«ol^^ ; g LcompanimeriVMr J- ?*%■ eg soio, Mr g.. mf- ed^m was spontaneously projecwa J niusicW of AuckW for^P ;s ervJ suitably recognising. He ra« » which-for f {btb i3PS rendered and the'ready which he has always 0 beneficent objects J\e^ vi) a'word more is needed t0,.,,. port for such ft testimonial.

: nor notification of yesterday has had the «• t of causing a great many moro unemd men to register with tho secretary Builders' Association at tho office ofv Victoria Arcade. Within two hours 3. '.n_noon7o persons signed the sheets, * -5 30 navies and 28 carpenters. Tho 1 . inn tho list is now 195, including 90 tota Irs 60 navies, 19 painters, 12 bricklayers, 6 plumbers and P la _ fmnson. It is inbimiatod that the c X will attend from 10 to 12 daily, .11 Saturday next to tako tho names of !_ n'nempl°yed especially nayies, carponbricklayers' plumbers, and painters. cL c commercial morality of tradespeople • the suburban districts would appear to £of a high order. Yesterday Sergeant ramble made a wholesale raid on the storov ocrs of Otahuhu, and only detected one wach of the Weights and measures ordinb and in that case the weights were nobdetm the offendei: having simply neglected il stamp his weights. Tho same official \-o recently visited tho bakers' shops at It ehun^-a and Otahuhu, but was not suc.^jful ia detecting any light-weight bread. Tbe fortnightly meeting of the City Schools Committee was held last night in L schoolroom, Wellesley -street '"East. jLent: Messrs Gorrio (Chairman), McMaster, Blades, Crowthor, Batty, Farrell, *& Ussher. It was resolved, on the motion '{jlr McMaster, "That the Committee "trongly recommend to tho Board of r_ D cation the reconsideration of the lotion of Miss Mcl'lhone's salary." It |s also decided to recommend the Board toffrant the increase of salary applied for w|[r G. Thwaites. The resolution passed arecent meeting of householders, that the ijfion of members of the Board of Educate altered so that they bo chosen on a Slar basis to members of Parliament, was taissed, arid ib was agreed to forward it J the resolution regarding tho election of the School Committees to the Minister of location. The matter of early closing of M also came up for consideration^ when it was resolved on the motion of Mr UWher, ■•.That the attention of head-teachers be tavnto the clauses re early closing, but that it be pointed out that this regulation Kg exercised only on exceptionally wet kii'"' :H* Blades then gave notico of notion for next meeting, " That the resolution carried be rescinded." The Committee also decided to accompany Mr All right to the proposed school sites in Napier and Jjoive-streets, and consider their suitability. A letter from the Head-master of tho Bcres-ford-street School, concerning the report on the recent inspection mado by Mr Fidlcr, yas deferred to a special meeting of tho Committee, to be held next Monday.

The Committee of tho Edon Quadrillo Assembly have resolved upon holding a social meeting on Monday evening next, as a return for the recent meeting organised ]jy the ladies. Most complete arrangements /ire being made for this occasion.

i.,-}_'M. Keefe, stroke of the Waitemata Boating Club champion whaleboab cr.i.,returned from Sydney by tho Mararoa yesterday. He has been in Australia for sbbut six months, aud has seen enough to convince him that trade is _fc> better' thei-e tfan it is in Auckland, and that a large number of the Aucklanders who have recently crossed the water in expectation of tetter things are now only too eager to get back here. Mr Keefe intends to remain here, and will resume his connection with the Waitemata Club.

7The concert of sacred music given by Mr! Pooley's choir last Sunday was largely attended, many having to stand. .The propamine was a choice one, and each item was given in a manner that could not fail to please. Special montion should bo made of jhebasssolo, "Arm, Arm, Ye Brave," whilst Dr. Erson's rendering of "The Better :, Land" left little to be desired. Mr Pooley gratified the audience by a masterly perfortnahca from the works of Verdi, and finished the concert by the playing of the ■Match in "EU," by Costa. Tho boys sang well, .'and'-xre..were glad to see Madame Pooley once again in her place after h6r recent illness.

An adjourned Court of Inquiry was held yesterday at* the Onehunga Courb-house • before Mr T. Jackson, R. M., for the purpose of hearing evidence bearing upon the proper maintenance and control of the 69 chains of road lying between One Tree Hill and • Mount Roskill Road districts. At- the first opening of the inquiry, held on May 14, Mr J. W. Carr appeared for the Mount Roskill .Board and endeavoured to show that the road in question was the main ■ thoroughly fare to Onehunga, and was littlo used by : Mount Roskill ratepayers. Mount Roskill ; was,however,quite willing to pay half the i cost of maintenance. He considered that the • Work required should be done by tender, -and.ihecost adjusted to each Board. Mr |E! Hall, Chairman of the One-Tree Kill Road Board,also contended that he had no power 'Jo.assist ia maintaining the portion of the road in question. On re-opening the inquiry yesterday, Mr Jackson, R.M., showed that his duties were strictly defined,and he rmusfc not go outside certain limits. ' Mr Theo. Cooper, who appeared for the Mount • Roskill Road Board, said he had read -the Commission of Inquiry, and said that the Commission assumed that the road was a boundary road, and behind this the Court 'couldnotgo. As no further evidence was forthcoming, His Worship closed the Court, <and will forward his report to the Minister .of Public Works immediately.

• The opening drill of the Ist Auckland I (St. James's) Company of the Boys' Brigade '; tras held on Saturday evening last. The lads mustered forty-five strong, and after engaging in prayer, they were divided into three squads, and instructed separately -jn the preliminaiy movements laid down in.the Army Red Book. After an hour's : steady drill," Captain Logan reformed the Company, which was then addressed by [Mr Brownlee, the Superintendent of the 'Sunday School, in a few earnest and telling .words. A parting hymn having been s;heartily sung, the "dismiss " was given. ;', The attention and discipline displayed by 1 theyouhg recruits, and the smartness with ■Which they acquired the different movements, were highly gratifying to their officers ; ;and other gentlemen present. At the next "drill, which takes place on Friday evening ■■'. nrst, at half^past seven, a large addition to § 'he ranks is expected ; the company will be M through the extension motions and an interesting address delivered.

;'. Uo many friends of Dr. Bond will be Pleased to learn that ho has commenced -.Practice in Auckland. His place of abode . »^_ been selected in a convenient, central rWsition in Karangahapo Road, between : u PPer Queen-street and City Road, ■M..far from Webber's Livery Stables. Pr- Bond is well-known to roost of our | |p«sfas' the lato Houso Surgeon at the Auckland Hospital, a position which he oc:!?pied for some time, and naturally received :J> extensive and varied experience, which i^ould',prove of great service in private practice. ~;■ • '„ Messrs Mennfe and Day aro of opinion Jtot a serious injury will be dono to the ,iam-mating industry should the proposed ipr.af.2d per lb.' on fruit pulp bo -f . sed, and the duty on jam remains f? at present, l^cl per lb. They think ■'£*-: ™ty. on the raw material should ?.«» than on tho finished article-say on jtopalp Id or ljd per lb, and on jam 2d or *.Pe_ lb, as this would allow the .^ngofthe article to be done in the ■ i;] 1188 Malcolm, the popular lady evange- ;» will conduct the service at Freeman s ;^y Mission Hall this evening, commencing ....-'SS^.'w.ll'W a meeting of the Gordon JJf football Club this evening, in the '.u-S^en's Christian Association Rooms, 'SM^fit7;,v Nqw members are invited, V •::

A boy named Alfred Holdman, an apprentice on board the ship Oamaru, met with an accident on board that vessel yesterday. It appears that tho lad and other boys were playing about the deck, and the chief officer, Mr Hammond, threw a broom at them, to fnghben them. Holdman put up his head as tho broom left Hammond's hand, and ib struck him on the head, inflicting a nasty cut which waa (subsequently stitched up by Dr. Lewis

A meeting of tho Licensed Victuallers Trade Protection Association convened for tho purpose of considering tho Governments Tariff proposals took place last night in tho Imperial Hotel, Mr John Mowbray in the chair. Tho Chairman in his opening remarks said that Julius Vogel had provided for the importation of full-proof spirits; bub, in the speaker's opinion, spirits would never be imported full-proof, since the large firms could not afford to do business with New Zealand in this way ; whilst, again, people could nob drink full-proof spirib, and the diluting with water would cause infinite trouble. The retailers might charge sixpence extra upon bottled spirits. Mr Luk3 pointed out that the duty which the Government proposed bo levy would be paid entirely by bhe retailers, since bhe wine and spirib merchants would be bub slighbly affected by tho new tariff, Ho considered that a sband should be made on this question and he therefore moved, •' That this meeting unanimously objects to the advance of duty on underproof spirits, as being most unjust, and class taxation, and not likely to lead to increase of Customs revenue." Tho motion, whicli was seconded by Mr Gallagher, was carried, and the Secretary was instructed to wire a copy of tho resolution to tho Hon. tho Colonial Treasurer and Mr Mitcholson.

Among tho passengers by tho Mararoa yesterday was Mr Howard Bankarb, architect and engineer, who, with his family, was a passenger per the P. and 0. steamer Rome, which was stranded off Port Said, her passengers being transferi'ocl to the Mirzapore and Surat, of same Company's fieet. Tho following paragraph, alluding to Mr Bankart's departurn for the colonies, appears in a Home paper: - " Among the list of departures for Auckland, New Zealand, we notice the name of Mr Howard Bankarb, architect and civil engineer of London who was upwards of 25 years managing partner of extensive Copper Smelting Works.in South Wales, and Goal and Ironstone Works in North Stafibrdshire. He is accompanied by his wife and daughters and a son who has been qualifying as overseer on one of the large Demararian sugar estates of the 'Sugar King.' Hon. Mrs Russell, and another who holds the testimonials of Professor Sylvanus Thompson and.the certificates of the Finsbury Technical College in Electrical Engineering, and who has already been offered an appointment in Wellington, and a third an artist who has been most successful in obtaining South Kensington distinctions and has made Portrait Painting his specialty.