CLEARING NOXIOUS WEEDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 140, 12 June 1908, Page 7

CLEARING NOXIOUS WEEDS.

;., A LIVELY DISCUSSION. 'At- yesterday afternoon's conference of local t>odies, Mr. Comrie (Pukekohe iEJast), in referring to the noxious weed difficulty, said he thought the inspectors should be asked to stringently enforce the regulations, making it necessary to ibrrng about the rempval of noxious Tweeds. He said that a iarcner who tried to clear Ms land of blackberries generally found that bis work was without avail, as it frequently happened ths.t the adjoining property was ovei-run. Mr. Knight (Mangere) said that he thought the Government were the great*sfc sinners in not clearing Crown land. ..-'Mr. GUI (Paparoa) asserted tbat be fciew of many instances in which the inspector refused to prosecute farmers jwhom he thought could not afford to dear their land. Mr. Massey, MJ., said that he retoembered a ridiculous case at Pukefcohe, when 50 or 60 farmers were 'the Court for neglecting to keep down iEhs blackberry, and yet the Courthouse tyttrd was full of it. It was not tbe intention of the Act, he said, to clear his land of blackberry plants. All a farmer was expected to do was to cut them before they flowered and seeded. Some jmagisrtrates, he knew, took different that was thetairtenti6ir of the lA.et. Another injustice was that the noxious weeds' inspector frequently dragged a solicitor round to prosecute, ami extra expense was imposed upon the unfortunate settler. Mr. Andrew said that he remembered the cases before the Pukekohe Court. He had then asked the magistrate -whose duty it was to cut the blackberries in the Court-yard grounds and on the footpath, and the reply was to "go and «cc King Edward." The Chairman said that no matter haw they tried they could not keep the lilackberry down. He knew of cases in which tbe blackberry and other noxious jweeds had spread from the Government Sand along the railway line. Until the Government found them a remedy be did not believe they could achieve anything. The man who tried to remove blackberries from his land was a hero. Instead of assisting the settlers, however, the Government harassed them by dragging them before the Court. The following motion was carried: **That tbe Noxious Weedd' Act should be properly administered, and property owners should be compelled to cut, and keep cut, a certain portion every year." I