SHEEP SEARCH FOR WATER

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21121, 23 March 1934, Page 12

SHEEP SEARCH FOR WATER

Serious Drought m Marlborough MISISTEH IMI'RKSSIiI) rr , t ., »<.-••• ! BLENHEIM. March 22 The Hon. F.. A. Ransom, Minister . j for Liaids. spent to-day in drought-stricken Awatere distiic,. . , : nd confessed ho had never seen a.i> - • tiling so el-stressing r.s condition* in , | the Stnrborough. Hichmondbt un,%. Blind River, and parts of the Haxhourne areas. He said cond.tioie , , wore worse than aiu'loo., .( at ever seen or imagined. The parly passed farm.- wheic , aheep were noticed huddled roil.id windmills and empty drinking troughs. or traveling in Indian H e nl-.nsi fence linos, in a van. search ; for water. In all directions faun j eart< were met carry ins water from i the dwindling Awatere river. From i the Lion's Back hill a dismal pane- i rama was seen, the ravages of the j drought being evident over a w ' dc I area. Denuded flats and hillsides < had replaced the scene which usually : delights visitors. The old-time view of nourishing farm lands had S'vcn wav to a vista of desolation. <'un ; ; parable only with a desert. I he o.d. croon obi cots wore occasional pin plantations. Lake Grasir.cn- was bone drv over the whole expanse though a shimmering mirage ga\o a vivid illusion of a wide expanse ol \\ nU-r. . , On the whole, corr.pai aU\cn> sheep were to be seen, the settlors having been compelled to so . tht m off. or move them to other distnctM where grazing is available. It is estimated that the Seaview district los. £20,000 on pea crops alone tins season and an unknown amount on stock. Such stock as remains is_ all hand fed and hand watered ioddor is running low, althoug.i Inc winter lias not >ct art hod. Irrigation Schemes Dunns the afternoon the Ministei was present at a crowded meeting at Seddon, where he expre.-seo f.isappointment and dismay at the Awatere County Councils refusal to give ratepavers the opportunity of voting on the Birch Creek water scheme, . : which will serve about aO.OhO cs :„f the worst affected land. The ; council had declined to take a poll j on the ground that only a propoi - tion of the ratepayers would bene- . fit by the scheme, but the Minister urged the council to reconsider its , attitude, and hinted that if it did not. the Government mrght have to bring in amending legislation. Ihe , Minister also promised to recommend'his colleague, the Minister for ! Railway's, to grant free carriage of , stock from ihe drought area to pasture. and free carnage of fodder. , To-morrow Mr RnnMtin will intiio Wairau Plain, where conditions, though possibly not so bad as in the Awatere, are rapidly approaching the desperate stage. Here also an irrigation scheme will be brought forward, the only difiiculiy I m this ease being that the Wairau ! River Board has no statutory aujthoritv to undertake irrigation work . ' The Minister will be asked for a ; special indemnity to enable this to i be done. i _ ■— 'direct, without an infection follow nig. ; Ki eedcrs with valuable stock at Make . !.«re not likely lo risk importing stock : fjom which there can be any fear of , ! foot-and-mouth disease. It seemed that a few vears ago an organisation, i moved bv scinch motives. tried to force i their own stock on the breeders o 1 >,'ew Zealand. A few breeders did ; jv.cll and brought their stock bofoie t ; Ihe public at shows m New Zealand, land m other countries: apparently t.u\\ ; have felt that as long as they stop : ; British stock from coming in they will ; , keep i lie market in New Zealand. We ; » should let the stock come into New : Zealand direct." I or and Against -, Agreement with those who believed I hat' the time had come to lift the embargo was expressed by Mr Gilbert : Grieg. Canada was quite willing to , accept the stock from England, pro- ! vidmg it came through the strict 1 ouarantme in England, ho said. Hie tanning community in England was : upset, about the embargo, and thought i i! unfair, because of the great expense i breeders had gone to in providing safeguards through the quarantine station. • New Zealand was the only Dominion . : which refused to accept stock through the stations. | Mr Hugh Ensor emphasised the mii portance of the point raised by Mr G. Johnstone, that once foot-and-mouth disease became established in stock ' ;md deer, herds in the back-country. . there would be no means of stamping i< out. Ii would not be long, in any case, before the deer would be seen on tiie coastal country. Mr F.n-or snid. ! "If you do not support Ihe Rycland people, you ;ire going to prevent New Zealand beef producers from taking advantage of their present opportunities to extend their markets, as the Australian producers are going to be able to do." said Mr H. D. Greenwood. Mr Gilbert Grigg suggested that one solution of the problem would be to : increase the period of quarantine in New Zealand by the amount of the ex- ; tension of the period in Australia. ■ Chairman Not Satisfied , l'ii!:l quite recently he had been {against lifting the embargo, said the : chairman <Mr Owen T. Evans i. He : wa< still a little doubtful, but if he i eeiild he reassured al»out one point - 'whether an animal without the disea-c ' eomd carry the germ he would be m ■ (;,vnip- of removing the restriction I -it 11 lie ciiuid hi' assured that there - no such danger, his attitude would be a gain. -I removal Am-ndmrnt in Favour Mr (dlbcrt Grutg then moved an amendmen: that the society support i'r.r Ilyeiar.d Society in Us request. \v,:h the Migcc-tion that the add it M'tial quarantine of three months in Austrah: lie trnn-ferred to New Zealand. Mr f'.reor: The cii.-east could ca-ilv ci me out in stra.c with the s-tock. Wr (!■; wail! to lake any risks. We ha\ c rah! 11 1-. That is enoitcii. Mr Grecuwond ,j u< s'. u med whet lie! an extfisinn o,' the quarantine pern d 1 ill New Zealand would meet the aim ' of iiv.port, rs to have the costs of »>,. poriation I c-: i n cd. He mover! that the 'icietv ct.pre=s r,".i:: lit-oi i t approval ofjha I\\'i'land Society's propo-al. Mr Ci - 'enrvodi-l's ami-ialment was ae copied. Mr llrigg slating that lie would ; withdraw irs with the roservitiou that i' lv put if Mr Greenwood's atnendtnent wa.~ not earned. » The was lost on a show ', o f bands by 12 votes to nine, and Mr • <• *•*ic:: s amendment met with the same • 1 result. Mr Stri ngfellow's molion. that the '/''a ; V >a..1.1.1 (.pi,o -e the introduction ''l: into New Zealand from Eng- - i land or from an> other counu> m- .. j lecteii witli f. .o<«-inrl-niouth diicasc. i j '-viu tarried by i 3 votes to nine. i