The Bruce Herald.

Bruce Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 710, 18 June 1875, Page 5

The Bruce Herald.

The Tokomairiro district has not much to thank its meniber for. this session of the Provincial Council, and we have now every reason to believe that it. would have- been ;far better for the interests of his constituents had the Harbor Board decided, whenjilr Gillies became its secretary, , that ■ -.he, , should, retire from the political arena, and devote his whole? attention to the duties of hia new office; Had this been done, and had the representa-tion-of Milton in the Council been placed in, the^hands of somertSlßient haying the interests of the district -at^heart, we should no doubt have had soMe little attentibn paid to bur chief f equirements. Our principal want at the present time is the Tokomairiro Branch Railway line, the construction of which has been looked forward to for a long time as the only means of developing the splendid mineral resources of a large and important part of the district., As \ shovrn by. : our report of the rroyinciai Council , proceedings, the motion for the construction of this line was lost by 19 votes to 7 13. An analysis of the division list gives the following result : — Members of the •Government, 6 for thei proposed line, and none against it. Goldfields members— none for, and nine against ; Northern members— hone for, arid two. against; Duhedin members— one for, arid five against ; Southern members— five for, and none against ; Southland menibers-^one for, arid three agairist. No better' proof of the log-rolling proclivities of the present Council could be offered Hhan this analysis, which speaks volumes as to how votes are obtained., Although, from our telegrams, it will be seen that our member is said to have strongly supported the. construction of this . line . by the Government, we. are in a position to know that, had he worked- as hard as his duty to the .district demanded, he might, possibly, have been i able to bring, about a different result when the matter came before the Council. The, construction of this railway has been delayed for at least a year, and a serious injury ias been ; done to. this district, when it is considered- that it will be co much longer before. the mineral wealth, almost at our hands, can be utilised, by the providing of a cheap means of transit to a large market. This line is : the only real district want of ours that has been placed before the Council, and in speaking of the apathy displayed by our representative with regard to it, we cannot do better than contrast Ms conduct with, that of Mr Donald Reid, who fought with such vigor and pertinacity for the pet railway scheme of the persons whose interests he was elected to the Council to watch. We have no record before us of the discussion that took place when this matter was being considered, for the proceedings being in Committee the remarks made by hon. members were riot reported in" the Dunedin dailies. The division list, however, tells its own tale, which, it is to be hoped, will not be forgotten by the members for the. agricultural districts, wto should in , future combine as has been done by the Gdldflelds representatives and Dunedin members, who have in the present instance acted with that snort-sightedness, and selfishness that not only prevents them seeing any., good in a proposition that does not immediately affect their own constituents, but makes them also see in it. a danger to their own narrow-minded policy. Why this antipathy to a scheme for the benefit of this district, should be displayed by the Goldfields members, we are at a loss to know ; and it can also pretty safely be said that had Tuapeka or any other goldfields district similarly available deposits of coal, a much larger vote that asked for Tokomairiro would have been secured, if log-rolling and truckling could have done it We do not approve of the " you help me and I'll help you" system of legislation, and should be sorry to see our representative lend himself to it, but vre like to see all matters of such importance as the Tokomairiro Branch Railway decided on their merits. That this question was not decided upon its merits is not at all difficult to Beg^ Interest in Green Island coal and Tuapeka and Ty&itahuria lignite has had its effect on the voting,- for there is not the slightest doubt that the construction of the line : ; ;the residents of this district require, would throw into the Dunedin and other markets a coal that would be better and cheaper- than^ any other fuel in Otago. There is scarcely an elector in this district who is notanxious for the opening of the Tokomairiro branch railway, arid if Mr Gillies ever comes here to give an account of his stewardship, we shall want him to show that he did his best for us in this respect.

Ijr our aumitfary of the proceedings of the Provincial Council; -published" on Tues. day waß the report of the Belect Committee appointed for jbjje purpose of determining the best course to be taken for the repression of the rabbit nuisance in this : Prbyince. The menibers: of .the Goniimtitee appear to haye taken a good deal of troijbia over their work, and though Bom* :/.of the in the report are absurd, there are pthere that might be acted ; I?he pettljers; i»

,firom the dqiredatioDß pf the jfabbits, but they can fuUy,Bymp.athiße with the landholders in other localitiea who have, arid ar<e alive to the fact that unless repressive measures are taken at once, the rabbit nuisance willnot be confined to * few parts of the Province, but will be felt over almost the whole of Otago. If the rabbit could have thoughts on political economy and give expression Ito them, how proudly he would point to himself as the greatest living example of the success of. assisted immigration. Itdidnottakeldng to settle; him upon, the lahdi; and then^he hjaß : ;'" increaßed .'^^ and .multiplied ..in; a man. ner that makes the two-legged colonist look on with alarm, and : confess hime'elf the rabbit's inferior in some respects. In every place where the rabbit 'has set his foot, Australia, ' Tasmania, and New Zfeahnd, iae has become a nuisancie, and the ho;w is .howr to exterminate, hini and , his kind^or at all eyents L to keep fchem from. spreading over the whole face of, the 1 ..Golony;. In Victoria, individual of large tracts of country have Buffered almost incredible lbs& from the rabbits on. their estates'; and some 1 of bur readers; will remember that -the;^late jMr ; Wmv. Eobertson, of Colac, spent seyeral thousand. pbundß in one year in the buiid;ngof stone, wallsiroundhis paddocks to keep the rabbits, out, and in employingnumbers' of men to shoots- trapj ■poisoflj amd otherwise destroy^ these'four-f6oted;r6b.-bers.. What is more, it paid Mr Robert- .-j son to go to this great, expense, 1 for it was*j simply a question of whether he and his stock, or the rabbits,; left /the land.- Qther, Victorian settlers .-have ;had; to spend almost as much money as Mr Bobertsoh in abating the •nuisance, 'and in Tasmania also, thousand's o f pbunds hav;e been, spent with the same object,' : When Mr Anthony Trollope visited "the garden of the South *' a few years ago he wai fairly astonished at the way in which the rabbitji were- overrunning the country,- and on hi* return to England wrote a highly humorous account of the state of affairg there, giving it as his opinion that unless something was done the settlers Would soon have to move, in order to make room- for the rabbita. Something was , done before it was too late, and, >fc the present time the rabbits do comparatively little damage }n » Tasmania. The local government machinery already in existence was used for the creation of bodies called Rabbit Triifcti, whose duty it w'ai to attend to all matteri connected with the extermination of these animals within, certain districts. We are not acquainted with the details of the system adopted in Tasmania, but believe that th« necessary expenses were defrayed by the levying of a snull compulsory rate. The Select Committee that has just given in jts. report proposes to do "something pf the kind, vid we do not think that a much; better system could be adopted in this Province. The local Committees, in wh6se^, v hands itj was suggested all matters connected with the extermination of the rabbits should be. placed, were to . empowered to pay a certain sum upon the production of the skin of a rabbit caught in the district over which they had control, or to otherwise reward the catchers or destroyers of rabbits. It was recommended that; the Q-orernmenfc ■hould be asked to pfty the Committees a bonus in proportion to the number of •kins collected by them, and that the Committees should have power to sell or export the skins, the proceeds to form part of the common fund for the destruction of rabbits. It is a matter for consideration whether it would not be better for these Committees to stop short of becoming dealers in rabbit skins, and to simply insist upon the production 'of the skins as a proof of the destruction of the rabbits, letting the men engaged in the work find their own market for them. Another proposalof the Select Committee was that ,the Government should authorise the introduction of weasels* or other auiinale necessary for the purpose of putting down the nuisance. Now it is pretty well known that weasels and other animals having a partiality for rabbits, 'do not confine themselves exclusively to such diet, but are destructive to feathered game, and are also in the habit of paying predatory visits to farm yards and hen roosts. We do not like the rabbit, but certainly should not welcome the stoat and the fox, J which animals would probably require to be exterminated in their turn. On Tues- 1 day night the repert of the Select Committee was discussed in the Council, and : hon. members managed to extract a good deal of fun from what the settlers are coming to regard as a serious matter. The proposition that the Government should be requested to give effect to the recommendation in the report during the present "session was negatived, and co were two amendments ; one to the effect that the matter should be considered during the recess, and the other stating that there was no necessity to introduce or pass any measure for the suppression of the rabbit nuisance. A motion that an should be presented to the Superintendent, requesting that a sum of should be placed on the Supplementary Estimates, with a view of offering bonuses for the destruction of rabbits in the Province, was also negatived, so that really nothing has been. done. What would tend more than anything else to the destruction of the rabbits would be the establishment of an extensive local market for their skins, and if this could be done we scarcely , think that it would be necessary to act upon the repqrt of the Select. Com mitt cc, Rabbits' hair is largely employed in the manufacture of all kinds, of felt,? especial ly- that to be used in hat making, and the ■ export of rabbit skins from the colonies to England for ithisi.purpose has been going on r for some time.

"Why does not some enterprising man starjL a felt manufactory iir the Province, yhe inaebinepy js jjot very expensive j

there is plenty .of ths raw material in the shape .of rabbits' hair^at^^hand, while thbre is also »n extensive market for the manufactured article. ;

■ Mb War. Smith, of "Weit Taieri, has been appointed to be a ranger for the Acclimatisation Society of-ofc*go. • ; Th» ceremony of turning the first ; sod of the, Kaitangata Branch Railway -will be performed to-, day by.Sir J. L. C. Richardson. [.'■ 'V V , The 'Tupeka. Times ' 9ays thafc rabbita are now gettingnear to Lawrence. They have been lieen repeatedly in the gullies around Mr ColquhounV; place.. '. ,'/ .' .',.■';■;..,;,", : ■■/:■:■: ■-■ \ ; .' ; . ; A EUBirg meeting wili.be held in St. GteqrgeV Hall, Milton, on Saturday night, at eight o'clock, to taka steps to bring about a reduction in the price, of bread, and, if necessary, to establish a cooperative bakery. . . ' . •.; ; MESSfts Murray and Cameron were elected; for the Adamsthorpe subdivision, of the } Mount Stuart Eoad Board, on the loth inst. the polling being, for Mr Murray 22, Mr Cameron 16, Mr .Mathieson ib. '; . . ; * ]{■ ."' '_, . ' : : . ,■ ' : It is rumored that legal proceedings, involving largo amounts, and affecting some residents of Milton, will shortly bo. commenced;, the parties iconcerned being present and late hotel; proprietors and occupiers. ••; ■-■•• .-..'.• ; ' ;■■':■ TilEJiSouthern Escorb arrived in.Dunedin-on Tuesday, last, with; the .following quantities of gold : — Lawrence, 1130ozs 18dwts ; . Waitaliunaj 126bzs j Tokomairiro, .101 .qzs... Total, 135>70zs } 18dwt5..:.: ;; ..' ' :^;:. ';','. ;-.f v ./.. r; ,. : ;O,r :;: . _■■•': .. ,A lAEGB slip hks'; occurred : in - one .of the cuttings on the railway line, a few miles on this side; of Sterling. There has also been a further subsidence of the line where ; it crosses two of the swamps^ between': String, and, Tokomairirb. A8 an example »fvth» rapidly advancing value of building; »it«Mn th» township of Kaitangata, we may, meritkm .that •> quarter acre rpection' adjoining fch». Bridge HoUl wai §old the other day by Mr Aitchison. for *liO.- Another in the B»mp locality told for ,£l3B. . ; -.-, ..;-'•.■• The poll for thi election 61 * member •( the Inchelutha Sub-divition of th* ' Matau Road < Board took place ;in tha driU-ihad, Inch Clutha, on Monday. . The, <foilo wing mi tha result :— Thos. M'Donald, 37 } P. Lawion,] 7; C. Smaili, Si &H. Gilrciy, 0* Mr M'Donald was there* for© dnly elected. . Mbsshs Capstick, Duthie, »hd Co. request vi jto draw special attention to their sale of Mr ■ Mackay.'s Lewisville Farm this day, on the ground, i Helensbrpok, Main South Road, when suitable ; allotments will tie offered, well -worthy, the atten- . ! fcion of small buyers des.irojK9-o£ obtaining a few-, [acres of freehold land witbiri convenient access of Milton for grazing or building purposes. Wb publish elsewhere a summary of the proceedings ; 6f the Clutha Presbytery at the meeting on "Wednesday. The Rev. W. Bannerman made a long and interesting speech on the subject of the overture of the Synod with reference to church music, and its was decided by eight votes to one that the overture should not be adopted. We intend to publish the Rev; W. Bannerman' s speech, and the discussion on it, in our. next issue. It hat been decided to ask Moody and Sankey to visit New Zealand. A meeting on the supiect was held in the Wesleyan Hall, Dunedin, on Tuesday night. Capt. Thomson in the chair. Amongst those present were the Revs. Drs Stuart and Copland, J. TJ. Davil, C. W. Rigg, J. N. Russell, and A. Slake; Messrs Strode, jGHeniining, J. Hill, D. Wright, and Dr Borrows. Mr Beattie (Knox Church) moved, and Mr Wright (Wesleyan Church) ieconded, "That Messrs Moody and Sankey be cordially invited to our land, when paying their intended visit to ! Australia." It was also moved by Mr Davis, and seconded by Mr Rigg, " That the invitation sent to those gentlemen be signed by the Chairman ! of the meeting and the Secretary of the Ministers' ; Conference." The motions were carried unani- | mously. ■ Ova Clutha readers will bo pleased to learn I that Mr W. C. Ancell, formerly the well-known •host of the Alexandra Hotel, Port Molyneux, continues to prosper in his Glasgow home. He sends us a programme of the 24th annual soiree of the Glasgow Grain and provision- Trade, held in the City Hall, for which Kis firm were the purveyors. .He tells us he often sees Mr John M'Ewanand his' good lady, formerly of Balclutha, who seem to be' getting on well in the western metropolis. Mr D. P. Steele, formerly of Puerua, gavehiia a call while in England, but he left London many months ago. He says— "l. always 'scanned the HbbaliD to see of his safe arrival in his old neighborhood, but failed to find any notice of him." We observed Mr Steele passing through Miltpn lately by coach, but have not heard of his again settling down in the Province. Mr Ancell informs us of the severity of the past winter in Scotland. So severe was the frost, that Loch Lomond was frozen over for a fortnight, and perfectly safe for curling, skating, and winter sports. Railway trails in the north had to be dug out of enow wreatha 14ffc deep, and on the 'Caithness line communication was stopped for over a week, and the arrival of mails was not even looked for. Destitution exists to a frightful extent in Glasgow, as in other large home cities, but the generosity of its merchant princes is equal to the emergency, and free breakfast tables and soup kitchens have been organised, and warm clothing, coal, and other comforts have been supplied unsparingly.