Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1867. THE THISTLE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 820, 22 January 1867, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1867. THE THISTLE.

The rapid spread of this noxious weed is becoming an evil of such magnitude as to engage the most serious and anxious attention of all classes in the community, especially

those who, from the nature of their occupations, are more immipiatery interested. Day after day we have communications from country residents, urging the necessity of. this matter being brought before *-the public in the most forcible possible terms; and therefore it is that, although we very recently referred to the subject, we again give it a prominent place in our columns. Unfortunately, but little practical result can flow from even the most stringent remarks upon this question. There is, at present, no Provincial Council ; the election of a new one will occupy some time; and, even after it is in session, much valuable time will be lost before a bill can be passed and become operative. Valuable time, indeed ! The procreative power of the thistle is perfectly marvellous j and, whilst we write, the down which contains the seed (innumerable in itself as the sands on the sea shore) is being blown over the whole extent of the province, not even excepting the town of Napier, in the streets of which large quantities may be seen upon the prevalence of southerlyweather. In many parts of the country ? as most of our readers know, there are large tracts of land densely covered with this noxious weed, to the exclusion of everything else; portions of the main road to the interior, to the utter astonishment of strangers, are lined on either side by a perfect forest of thistles ; sheep runs in some localities are being surely diminished in value by the rapid spread of this plant ; and the heart of the painstaking agriculturist is broken by the utter impossibility, not withstanding the most strenuous effort, of keeping his land clear. The question is not, however, of the reality of the evil, but as to what can be done by way of remedy. We believe this to be the only New Zealand province that has nothing in the shape of a Thistle Act ; and we confess to much surprise that, when the Provincial Council of Hawke's Bay examined the Acts of the Province of Wellington, with the view of selecting such as were suitable to the requirements of this province and rejecting the remainder, — the Thistle Act should have been in the number of the rejected. The provisions of such a law, if enforced a few years ago, would have been efficacious in arresting the evil, without involving any particular hardship to individuals. Now, we fear, a stringent Act would, to some, be a most serious matter, on account of the enormous expense that the eradication of the thistle from their lands would certainly entail. On the other hand, a large number, including many holders of freehold runs, and all the agriculturists within the province, cry loudly for an Act of the most stringent nature, as the only means of saving them from destruction. To such, it is matter of life and death that the eradication of the thistle should be made compulsory; and they will not rest till an Act be passed calculated to reach all resident proprietors, as well as absentees and native owners. The difficulty consequent upon finding the money, which will be felt in some cases where a large expenditure is inevitable, being once got over, no one will regret the compulsion which was brought to bear, seeing that expenditure so incurred cannot fail to be amply reproductive. We commend this matter to the earnest attention of the Executive, whioh is still in existence although the Provincial Council has ceased to be. We would suggest to their consideration whether a bill should not be at once drafted and published in the Gazette — a course^, which every government should pursue in cases where it is at all practicable. No better means could be adopted of eliciting public opinion and of thus guarding against the evil of a hurriedly framed and Jill-digested law coming into force.