The Bruce Herld. "Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JULY 22, 1879.

Bruce Herald, Volume XII, Issue 1121, 22 July 1879, Page 3

The Bruce Herld. " Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JULY 22, 1879.

W_S think it ia generally admitted that th.c Land Tax is a failure, and the fact that it must cost a large portion of the money collected to pay the collectors is not the but of the evils arising out of it — the. greatest being that the tax falls upon the -tjrrong man. The tax was aimed at the "wealthy" land holder. Now, in the first place, the mortgagee is generally the •aore wealthy. Everyone knows that many people buy land, paying about onethird or one-fourth of the purchase money is cash, and mortgaging the property as security for the balance. Then, because a maa has the courage to buy say 1000 acres of land, pacing for perhaps one quarter of it, and trusting to his energy, ■kiIJJ and knowledge for providing means to pay off the remainder in a few years, he has to pay a heavy tax for the possession or presumed possession of these a*j-sful qualities in a eouniry like this, where their possession may be of no avail jn farming without a considerable amount •f luck, while the mortgagee, whose fecurity is often improved, and who is not likely to suffer much by the fail in the market value of land, escapes without paying a farthing, except perhaps a small commission to the agent who finds the iAYteiment for him, or sells his land upon ihe t-Tins mentioned above. Then, again, instances haye been brought under our BOtice where the " wealthy " land holders have determined to make money by the land tax, or the excuse it furnishes, thus : Labor is plentiful enough now, and a -nan employing five or six hands (as many of our farmers do), either reduces his men's wages £5 (and in some cases £10), per year ; gives pudding once a week only, instead of twice, or not even once, *nd discharges all his servants except j-hose absolutely necessaiy for the working ef the place. For instance, one discharges a. house servant, and lets his wife make -tha butter and nurse the baby. Another discharges his overseer, and works harder himself> and does not go so often to town as formerly; Another buys no forest trees this year, it being out of the question to expend labor and capital where there will be no return the following aammer, and the man who looked after the garden and did odd jobs is ' paid off. UJjS_sad of minbg pA^yh^t- : ic.^ mAmJ *ft|^

rape, and rye,^^ harvesting, and although they do not return so.much. as wheat, oats, and barley, they are more certain, and they invariably, when fed off on the land, improve the soil, and make it fit, to grow a rich crop in future. Another will not give more than 10* par acre for breaking up when he gave 13s last year, or he willnet break up any. We are, of course, speaking of the larger holden. The smaller escape, but how many of those who escape would like to take £500 for their land, and how many of the larger holders would refuse the sum at which they are valued, we leave those most interested to answer. The object of not taxing the smaller holders was so obvious i that we need not discuss it here, and we do not mean to say that the present de- i pression and scarcity of work is entirely owing to the land tax, but that it has a ; great deal to do with it, no one will deny. And this is how the land-holders mean to pay the ttarx r What liberal-minded man will blame them: A man can only spend what he has and what he can borrow. The working man would have Sir Geobge Grey and his Land Tax, but he little thought that he would have to pay it himself by the reduction of his wages by ' 10 per cent. Now that the legitimace season for killing and shooting game is drawing towards its close, and that consequently a period of rest is in prospect for the probably very few surviving specimens of the genus " Hare," at all events as far as the Tokomairiro District is concerned, we may not be out of place in taking a short retrospective view of the season now about to terminate. We should be guilty of uttering a gross falsehood, were we to state that " Puss " has met with fair play ; and equally great would be the perversion of truth, were we to attempt to show, that even one half of the game has been bagged, shot, trapped, netted, coursed or snared, under licenses as required by tho fiame«laws of the Colony. In Bhort, poaching in all its shapes has been carried op. m this district in a most shameful and at times cruel manner, as well as with^ a painfully glaring defiance at lawful interference, even in broad day -light. Again, there are instances where almost all the male members of a family have been shooting and otherwise killing game on the strength of one license only, using it similarly to a family ticket on the railway. Snares, traps and nets out of number have been set in hedges where puss was known to pass through ; and great has been the success of individuals, some of whom have •made handsome returns in supplying the Dunedin market ; a bag of nine victims thus obtained having been forwarded on one occasion lately. From the very beginning of the season (when some wellknown gentlemen from Dnnedin were coursing the district without licens-s), and up to the present moment, the Otago Acclimatisation Society has been conspicuous by an utter and not less remarkable apathy, as regards the ever increasing unlawful persecution of game. One of our most indefatigable local Rangers has resigned, while one or two others have apparently been satisfied to let the game take their chance ; the natural consequence has been, that the poachers have had it all their own way during the whole of the season. We will now mention two cases of undoubted ! veracity, in order to prove that some really cruel practices have been brought into requisition, to secure the coteted prize. On one occasion the dogs of a licensed coursing party caught a hare in a surprisingly short run, and when examined after being killed, the poor animal had only three legs and a stump, the lower portion of one of the hind legs having no doubt been taken off by a steel trap. Again, as a respectable farmer, living not very far from Milton, wag on his way home one afternoon, his dog, (a common house-dog), with great ease unexpectedly secured a hare, which seemed to be nearly exhausted. Upon closer examination the party discovered the portion of a wire snare round the poor creatures neck, and so tight was its grasp, that the eyes of the unfortunate animal were almost foiced out of their sockets. If comment were necessary after stating such facts aa these, we would willingly bring all the eloquence at our command to bear on the defence ol the harmless and ill-used puss ; bub we do hope that we shall never again have to chronicle instances of such winton and infamous cruelty to dumb animals * it is a matter of deep regret, that one or two of these wily poachers have not been brought to book for severe and well-earned punishment. As it is by no means certain that any hares will be left for breeding in the Tokomairiro district, the Society may not be in a position to grant licenses for this district during next year's season. But that, in tbe interval, far more rigorous regulations will have to be prepared, admits of no doubt whatever, unless the total extinction of all game imported with great trouble and at heavy expense, is contemplated. The appointment of a number of respectable settlers at convenient distances throughout the district, together with a most careful scrutiny of all applicants for licenses, coupled with the most stringent regulations as to any possible plurality in the holding of such licenses, might go a long way towards the future prevention of poaching in all its unlawful and disgraceful shapes.