AUCKLAND FISHING SEASON.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 338, 27 October 1908, Page 4

AUCKLAND FISHING SEASON.

4 GOOD SPORT ANTICIPATED. [BT TKI.EUUAI'U.—SI'KCIAI. COICUJiSPONDENT.) Auckland, October 26. Tho fishing season in Auckland will open on November 1, and judging by reports to hand wielders of tho rod in this province may • confidently anticipate some good "sport." Last season many of the streams were spoiled for trout fishing purposes b.y floods, and jhoso around the well-known centre Atiamuri suffered much in this respect, the fish being chobcd in thousands by tho debris. Nothing lilto that has occurred this year, so that anglers are hopeful that tho trout which Burvivcd have benefited considerably in tho interim. A similar remark applies to tho Waikato River itself, on whose banks Atiamuri is situated. At Hotorua trout seem to be as plentiful as over, while some of the best fishing this season is expected in tho Taupo' district. " Lake Takapuna is to ba thrown open to the angler for the first time, and the experiment will be watched with interest. Fish in largo numbers and of good size have recently been seen thero. The prospects in the northern district appear to be about tho same as last year. It is interesting to note that the streams in this province are stocked with the best fighting trout to be had, the rainbow. In tho South Island this species does not thrive bo well, and tho brown trout takes its place. A good number of local .anglers propose leaving town for the opening of the season, but it is not expected that tho fish will ba in their best condition, as spawning has only recently ceased.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

MR. FISHER AND THE LAND QUESTION Sir, —Your correspondent "V" asks a very simple question. If Mr. Fisher is a .leaseholder, ivliy docs ho want immigrants with capital to come out and settle on freehold? The answer is simple. There are, millions of acres of .freehold for salo to-day that I would gladly see .settled by small farmers with capital. The' term "leaseholder" means one who is against the sale of Crown lands, iiot one who wants to make all tho land in the Dominion leasehold. As for immigrants, wo want men to come out who are able to help us. Too many unfortunates arc landed bore who'aro walking tho streets looking for work and charity almost imirfediately tlicy land. In conclusion, just let; me ask your correspondent to turn to page 12 of The Dojiixiox, in which liis letter appears. There ho it'ill find, roughly, 100,000 acres of land for sale: There is plenty of room in New Zealand for producers. 1 would gladly wclcoma COO imported farmers with £1000 each, and I could still remain a leaseholder who never wobbles or shuffles. —1 am, etc., . 3i; li. FISHER. Wellington, October 23.

.WORK FOR UNEMPLOYED CLERKS..

Sir,—ln order to give somo littlb assistance and temporary relief to somo of tho lai-ge number of unemployed in tho Dominion at tho present time might I suggest that it would be a very, considerate action fof tho' tjbvernment to instruct registrars of electoral districts to engage as lliany as pspsiblc of the unemployed to fill tho positions of Deputy-Returning Officers for tho coining election, iiistoad of, the. usual chosen onps—well-to-do tradesmen, land agents, shppkcepers, etc. In many cases a week's earnings for tho men on whoso behalf the suggestion is niado is less than half what tho fco paid for tho day would be, and this sum —tlioisjrh small—would be most acceptable to many of our men now in distress. 1 ask you to kindly use your influence to forward this idea.—l am, etc., October 21. W. G. D. EVANS.

THE ISLAND FRUIT TRADE,

Sir,—On, looking over my Dominion this morijing 1 lind> reference to my letter to tho Auckland Chamber of Commerce. Will you pjea.se allow mo to niako a correction ? ' I was at first informed that tho steam distance from Norfolk Island to Sydney was t-en days. But a lady in Wellington has recently mado tho voyage in six days. Even then, Auckland js only half that time (three days' sail), that the distance is only 700 miles from New Zealand. My relative, Mr. John F. Young, of Norfolk, who was lately acquitted with regard to tho boiler of the, Bounty, writes to mo stating that they have largo quantities of oranges, shaddocks,. for marmalade, lemons, guavas, baiianas, ,and sweet potatoes, and ■that a most profitable trade could bo mado '.with that fruit, and another correspondent says that the oranges lio on the. ground going to'waste. Mr. C. Quintaj stated,. in. the..'-'Svdnay..Morning. Herald!' last July, that therein,"no market for their 'surplus, products.-,'yTfie Sydney market'is practically barred by'freight, Customs duty, ascficy fees', :'etc." . , flho suggestion"of'vtho Auckland merchants 'is worth'-.WnsideA^prii'which' is to build up a trade with; New'•'Ghlcdonia'- and tho New Hebrides, .lyhich' a'ro 'directly north of Norfolk Island.! . We,.liavo. much liced'of better and cheaper fruit for the 'Wellington, supply. It is a lamentable fact'that Norfolk is under the cpntrol : of: iho -New South Wales Government/ for- jn' that administration has bccli -a disastrous failure for tho peace ■ an'^V-p^Psperit^r. of '"tho Islanders. From its geographical:'position, tho Island ought to have bcen.'?imderV.the Dominion of Now Zealand, which WpuJd' Jiave been to the great advantage of" both.'—l> aril, etc., . October 23. ~, . DAVID NIELD.

SUNDAY CONCERTS.

Sir,—Allow mo to protest against tho ridi : culons and unfair restrictions imposed on the Wellington Professional Orchestra in connection with tho concert .given by them in the Town Hall on a Sunday evening. I don't know what short-sighted, or maybo narrowminded, individual was responsible, but I do know that the action was most unjust to tho orchestra and to tho very large number of people who assembled to hear tho excellent and highly proficient music discoursed. Tho action of the council had tho effect of' causing some fivo or six hundred people to congregate round the doors, and an unseemly scramble for adraittanco to tako place, whereas had the doors been thrown open half an hour earlier there would have been 110 commotion whatever, lloport says that a few Nonconformist ministers are pulling the ropes, with tho view of totally prohibiting these Sunday concerts, but I hope our Mayor will not hesitate to put his foot down, and not give them a hearing. That tho music 011 Sunday evenings is appreciated is shown by the fact that somo two or three thousand well-dressed, highly respectable citizens attend them, and they have every right jo consideration. All those religiously inclined who desire to attend church may do Soj and probably have made up their minds before • 7 p.m., so that tho opening of the doors, any timo after that hour cannot affect tho churches. I trust that some councillor with a little backbone and a liberal mind will tako tho matter up and givo the public and orchestra justice. The latter are to be commended for giving tho public an opportunity of hearing tiie works of the best masters at a nominal figure, and I think tho council should second tlicin efforts by subsidising them.—l am, etc., ■ RATEPAYER. .October 23.

THE CRAZE FOR INSPECTORS,

Sir,—ln tho Napier "Daily Telegraph" of September 25, an articlc appeared 111 connection with tho Arbitration Bill then before the House in the dying hours of Parliament, in which Mr. Ell took an activo part in Advocating definitely to increase, the ■number of conciliatory commissioners. This was strongly opposed by Mr. Dillon, who urged that with the myriads of inspectors and conciliation commissioners the Government would soon require a Board of Conciliation to keep the inspectors in order. It must be admitted that Mr. Dillon expressed tho moral force of his conviction, and his memory probably carries his mind back to the days of provincialism, when tho Hawke's Buy province was represented by tho late Sir Donald M'Loan and his successor, tho Hon. J. D. Orniond, and ono stock inspector acted single-handed with efficacy, viz;',' th 6 late Mr. Gavin Peacock. That ofiicei superintended tho erection of a boundary fence between tho Wellington and the Hawke's Bay. pfOvih'ciaT districts from the Pacific Coast extending- far into tho interior, with assiduity, and diligence, and saved the Hawke's Bay province from tho discaso known as scab in tho sheep flocks, though in many instances in tho. Wairarapa district flock-owners wcro absolutely ruined by being compelled by law to boil down their flocks. But Hawke's'Bay can tako tho credit by the efficiency of ono mail of having avoided the scourge. • This officer faocd swollen and bridgolosf! rivers occasionally, r.nd placer of accommodation wcro few and far apart. Whereas now 110 fewer than seven stock inspectors can 1)0 counted in about tho same area, with, additional veterinary surgeons, oach and all receiving substantial salaries and supplied with the most modern comforts. First-class railway carriages aro provided, while tho local journals gratuitously acquaint, tlicm of the public sales. They are very seldom noticeable, however, at such gatherings. In the faco of all this army of public officials a largo runholdor not two miles from a Government township in the central district of Hawke's Bay did not see a stock inspector 011 his estate since' tho days of the late Stock; Inspector Mr.. Pasley, which counts back to aliout twenty years ago. A little rush is mado at public sales in tho months, of'-February and March to pick that vermin familiar to. sheep known as lice, hut what about tho breeding grounds? What a farce it is. It sharpens ono's memory-10 think of the system perpetrated once in North

Britain by tho "pot-hunters," who were always caroful to avoid, utter destruction of tho foxes so as to have tile fanner to bear the burden of supporting the hunter and hounds. Pid it ever occur to the majority of tho general public the analogy between a continuous Government and a rock that gradually gets colored with barnacles. The myriads of inspectors that Mr. Dillon refers to represent tho barnacles. 1 quite agree with liiin in his prediction that 'the Government wbuld soon require a Board of Conciliation to keep the inspectors in order. 51 r. Dillon's prediction has almost conic true already.. It is an open secret now that certain subordinates jn Hawko's Bay are loud in censuring their chief for not performing his duty to their satisfaction. Certain inspectors are accused of inconsistency in dealing with owner's of stock alleged to be diseased. It is laughable if such a thing is;.to be laughed 'at.' Tho ship of Stale was never so much in need of being put on tho slip than she is at the present t:'mc. But if :Mr. Dillon did not adhere so continuously to tho barnacle policy, or rather say the barnacle Government, his expression might bo, taken with more sincerity.—l am, ctc.j : UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS. Hawke's Bay, October 20.

SYKE'S SUBURBAN SALLIES,

Sir, —Tho reports appearing in Tim Dominion the last 'lew mornings of Bill Syk'es's' doings in; the suburbs stirs up the blood of; my forefathers within me, and I feel that one word in season is better than two out of season. The culprit may read this cll'.nsion, and maybo take naming. Somo dajys ago a pair of .lino rascals called at my house duniig the sifteriiooii, prcstiiniibly bottles, and when my. wife informed tlipin we were strict, adherents to that beverage which is drawn lroln tho Wainui-u-matu ltdservoir tho brutes became abusive, and insisted on searching tho outhouso and pantry to satisfy their curiosity. Now, sir, my wife is a nervous woman, and not accustomed to tho ways, language, and bearing of Sykes; in fact, has often repeated her determination not to "call" on their family under any circumstances whatever, so that, when I arrived homo somo couple of 'hours later, : she was so ill that I immediately had to send for a doctor, and if ho charges me 10s. Gd. ,a visit I reckon those .two gelitlemen of the road aro gbing to run mo into a nice littlo account, as well as getting aWay with somo of my l'arm implements and a sack or ttvo which my grocer , gives . sixpehco each for when returned to him. Now this is the tip for tho wholo of Sykes's family. I don't mind so much what this searo is going to cost mo in monoy; tlittfc I can square up in'a few years' timo' by working olf a "dead horse," but to think, that two'bulking, good-for-nothing, loafing brlites should creato a nervous breakdown in my wife, and so eventually compol mo to move into town, and, maybe, restart a lifo of purgatory—i.e., a Wellington boardinghouse life, then I kick, and kick hard.- I havo a few toy pop-guns at homo —one I have already cleaned —and also somo relics of the Boor War, and I am going into training right away, in anticipation of a sul'priso visit front one o£ Sykes's family, and what ; l cannot do with the aid of a number nino boot at tho end of a past goal-kicking leg, then a knob kiri, commanderred from some poor black devil iii: Africa, will aid me." It will bo, a matter of extreme satisfaction to flatten out such cowardly ruffians as war with defenceless nervous women. I know it is against tho law to use firearms, but if tho law won't help mo and minq, then I shall help myself, and the Lord help him' I catch helping himself to any of my things. Thcro are not many, I can assuro you, but they arc mine. Hawkers, bottlemen, light-weight potato vendors, and such like had better steer clear of my place in future, as I'll get my pound of flesh from ono of that family, if not from two of them. Apologising for space, and hoping you will insert in your valuable paper for the benefit of tho Sykes's family, I am, etc., "LOOKING' FOR SCRAP." October 23.

HOW THINGS ARE DONE IN WELLINGTON CITY.

Sir, —A great outcry was raised a short time ago when it was proposed to lease to sports "clubs portions of the' Town Belt, though under stringent conditions. Will you kindly inform myself and others who gavo authority to a syndicate of wealthy wen to practically take possession of,. and actually destroy portion of, the Botanical Gardens, at the head of the fine gully at the southern end'of tho gardens? Were the Reserves Committee of tho City Council awaro of what was about to bp done, and did they sanction it? If they were awaro, or not aware, was the matter of tho proposed spoliation mentioned at any meeting of the council, and if so, how is it that nothing ever appeared in either of the newspapers? Is it true that this wealthy syndicate is to bo allowed to cut a road-through tho gully in order to increase the value of their land?

Surely tho citizens, who have been so apathetic in tho past as to allow tho taking of large portions of the Town Belt without a murmur, are not'going to continue their folly. What' an awful botch has'been made of Anderson Park. It will be years before it is finished, and then will lie a wind-swept place. Again, Kelburno Park, another miserable attempt. How is it that nothing started by tho City Council is ever properly finished? All estimate is given for one work,' say'£7ooo, when £8000 has been spent it is found that another £2000 is required, and so on, and so on. Who is to blame for all this? The present Mayor gets the credit for the miserable Kilbirnie tunnel, but surely ho was not in offico at the tihio.. How was the sum, of £1000 proposed to bo paid to Mr. Winder for something, loss that point 5 of a perch of land, ascertained,' and was it really necessary that it should be taken? How about tho opposite corner over •vhich a fuss was made," and 110 money paid, yet tho trams run round. Has Mr. Fisher, M.P., anything to say 011 these matters?—l am, etc., PAUL PRY, October 23.