A CORRECTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2481, 15 December 1868, Page 3

A CORRECTION.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE LYTTELTON TIMES. Sir,—ln the report of Mr Hall's meeting at Prebbleton, which recently appeared in the Times, I am erroneously said to have moved an amendment. The error, no doubt, arose from my sitting next to the mover, Mr J, N, Tossirili, The correcting of this mistake will oblige Tour obedient servant, JOHN CAMPBELL. The Manse, Prebbleton, Dee. 14. THE WAI.tfAKA.RIRI. TO TUB EDITOR OF THE LTTTELTON TIHES. Sir,—lt appears that in spite of the protective works, the river Waimakariri will have its own way; it is now running in a large stream from the embankment near Mr M'Lean's; most of the work is gone. The bed of the river is about on a level with (he plains. This afternoon the water was quite clear, running in several gullies, making its way to the Styx, Several of the streams point to the embankment for their outlet; and as there is a course opened to receive them, now the river is without a fresh, what will be the result when there is one ? Who can tell ? Last week it was within 6 inches of overflowing the highest ridge of land, the only obstruction to its flowing down upon Christcbnrch.. Mr Carter is hemmed in on three sides out of four by the water. Since the protective work lias bee:) done, the bed of the largest stream has made its way through the embankment. If it continues making south for a few more chains, not all .the labour of Canterbury can stop it. I hope the Government will see the necessity of attending to it at once, as sev»ral crops have been already under water from last week's fresh.

It is much easier to lead water than to !top it, and I believe that if those sand and ihimrle spits, which turn the water upon the plains were cut through, much would be done ;o keep the river in its proper channel. ' if our obedient lerrant, J. W. PUILPOTT St Albans.

CATTLE TRESPASS. T0 TUB EDITOR OF THE LTTIELTONIUIKS. I take to be some very he Ordinance at present ... force In be France of three miles, a man may cuarge JSfta-driving 500 sheep the same disnever get the smaller number to the pound a Xit is absurd that the driving fee Lfeve .mount to £5 for such a distance, i indeXorany distance which has now Z S Celled to : reach a pound ?woutd »y, let to Wring fee appr«.ma e UuSr* r powiWeto wnaUprofo.™ to UUUirrBUUOUV iicwiliiuwm»i««ii - ■, v»..

■ be j viz,, compensation for the loss of tim ■ sustained in driving to the pound, butjeti, b . no more, At present, it is the direct in • terest of a Btnall farmer who is fortanati i enough to live in the neighbourhood of shee) ; »nd cattle runs to leare his cropped lane : either unfenced or insufficiently fenced. Sucl a man may, and often does, make as mucl before breakfast, by impounding a floek 01 sheep, as he would by a month's hard labour Some are of opinion that a man should nol be allowed to impound at all from unfencec or insufficiently fenced land, with a crop, growing on it, inasmuch as it is a trap sometimes designedly, and even avowedly st for the cattle grazing in the neighbourhood but perhaps the necessity to put up a cattleproof fence, immediately on cropping new land, would too much deter labourers and small capitalists from entering upon new farms. I would therefore give such an occupier an effectual means of preventing trespass by allowing him to impound cattle; but let him derive no profit from their trespass, so that it should be his interest rather to fence his land securely, and make his living by legitimate farming, than by impounding his neighbours' cattle, At present the law says that the occupier of such hind Bball not be entitled to recover damages, and at the same time awards him excessive damages by fixing such preposterous driving fees. There is another matter relating to pound fees which also strikes me as requiring alteration, or at least further definition. The Ordinance says, " for every head of cattle there (hall be charged a fee and so much for food for enry day or fractional part of a day during which such cattle shall be impounded." The poundkeeper naturally continues this in the manner most favourable to himself. Thus, if a horse be impounded late at night, and taken out early next morning, the owner is charged 2a for the erening, and 2s more for the morning, as if the animal had been in the pound for two whole days, whereas he has only been there for a few hours. If the clause were made torun thus—for every complete day of 24 hours from the time of entry till release, and for every fractional part of such a day there shall be charged so much, this apparently unfair charge would be avoided. Again, it has come to my knowledge that where animals the property of different owners have been advertised together, each owner upon releasing his cattle has been charged with the whole cost of advertising up to that date. In this way the last person who releases his cattle pays the whole cost of the advertisement, which may amount to upwards of 30s, What the others have paid goes, I presume, into the poundkeeper's pocket. Now I think 'that most people will agree that the primary object forwhich pounds were instituted was to afford the farmer a ready means of repressing trespass and relieving himself of strayed cattle, but that they were never intended, either to inflict needless loss upon the owners of such cattle, or unduly enrich the poundkeeper, I would suggest therefore in this case that poundkeepers be instructed to incur no unnecessary expense in advertising, and to apportion the expense actually incurred in as fair a manner as possible amongst the several owners. More explicit language appears to be needed in the definition of what constitutes a sufficient fence, also perhaps the enumeration of other fences than the kind mentioned, also a rule by which to discover in all cases which is the "further" side of a sod bank. The regulation that wire fences be kept of a white colour appears unnecessary, as whether a white wire or black one be more visible depends altogether upon the back-ground; besides in laying down any regulation as to colour, we are assuming, which I am not quite sure we have any right to do, that a bull's eye is precisely like our own. In connection with the trespass of cattle there is a matter which greatly needs to be legislated upon, especially in districts where there are tracts of land which either are not worth enclosing, or, from natural causes cannot be enclosed, and which therefore will always be occupied as at present, namely, as sheep or cattle runs. At present there is nothing to prevent the owner or occupier of ten acres of such land from keeping as many cattle as his neighbour who has 1000 acres, The larger occupier may impound, the smalhrone may do the same. The only limit to each person's stock is the total number the whole tract will keep alive, and he that can endure to see his stock in the lowest condition will gain the day. This state of things has already given rise to numberless disputes, and till some law is passed to regulate the depasturing of stock in such cases, there will be no end to them, I would suggest that whenever such disputes arise, that it should be in the power of the person who considers himself aggrieved to refer the matter to arbitrators, who should be called upon to declare what number of cattle the land of each disputant will fairly carry, but, as the grazing capacity of land may vary from time to time, either from improvement or deterioration, such decision never to be considered final, but the matter to be open to fresh arbitration at any future time, the cost of such arbitration to be borne, in all cases, by the person against whom the decision is given. In this way something like justice would be done, and there would be no inducement, without good reason, to reopen the dispute. Your obedient servant, A. C. GRAY. North Kowai, Dec. 5,1868. BOILING DOWN. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LTITELTON HUES.

Pin—Whatever may be its other resources, and doubtless as time goes on more will be discovered, few will dispute that the paßtoral interest still remains, and must for many years remain, the most important to the welfare of this province, and perhaps of the colony at large. The news, therefore, of the great fall in the price of wool is of deep public importance, and must have opened the eyes of mnuy who had hitherto been blind to the fact, that sheep-farming is no longer the lucrative pursuit it was; indeed, that it requires the utmost care to make both ends meet.

Without wishing to be an alarmist, it appears to me that in what manner the depressed state of the pastoral interest may be best ameliorated, is one of the great questions of the day. With small (if any) prospects of wool rising much in value again, it is a fact that the proceeds leave but the smallest margin for profit after the working expenses of a run are paid. Hot water washing, and greater attention to breeding, will in part remedy this, but as long as there is no certain market for stock, there is no certainty of being able to realize any reasonable profit from a run. Shearing will be over in a few months, and with the meagre prices to he expected for the clip, it will he more than ever necessary to find some other means of realizing money. ,

Unanimity amongst runholders in carrying out any scheme for their mutual benefit lias always been difficult to secure, but it is this very unanimity and combination amongst them, which I would now, through your columns, urge upon them. Why should not a company be formed amongit them, or rather companies, in the respective districts between the large rivers, for the purpose of boiling down their surplus slock ? If such a boiling down establishment were started by individual enterprise, I feel sure it would be well supported, but as in these days men are not so willing to speculate, why should not runholders join amongst themselves and so increase with certainty the annual returns from their properties. The details of such a scheme could be soon satisfactorily arranged. I earnestly hope all well-wishers to the country will assist in rescuing an interest of such vital importance as the pastoral from collapse, and will combine and see, if by some such plan as I suggest, the prospects cannot be greatly improved. I would also urge the publication in the papers of any information with regard to the preservation of meat, and the supply of the English market. Such information and plans cannot be too well ventilated, and if only all combine to give the community at large the benefit of their ideas, and join with a will in proposals for the general Kood.ltrustwe may even yet see a revival from the present state of langulshmeot under

exhorbitant interest and commission!, high rates of wages and excessive taxation, to be only met by wool at such low pricea, and tale of stock, in any number, at no price at all, Your obedient servant, SPES.

CITY CATTLE MARKET. JO TUB EDITOR OJ HIE LTTIELTON TIMES Sir,—l am very glad to see the subject respecting the cattle market brought forward again in the City Council. In my opinion, it is one of the principal things, if well carried ont, that will help to make the city of Christchurch. What will the city be without agriculture ? And of course the agriculturists want attractions and accommodation; and, if they cannot get it here, they will stay away more than they do now, and seek it elsewhere. What will ever the railway be without agricultural produce ? There is now a train just left for the south 10.45, without a single passenger, and as we have now a good plant, we only want the traffic to keep it working to pay for the enormous outlay. What is the means or the way to do it ? Why, to afford facillity to the farmer to send his produce cheap, and establish a cattle market near the Railway station, where lie can send his cattle down, and drive them from the trucks into the pens. The same thing has been done in four different towns, I know in England, and in one instance at Cirencester. That spirited nobleman and agriculturist Earl Bathurst, has given his splendid walled garden to the Agricultural Society, to be converted into a cattle market; being close to the town and close to the station, The Agricultural Society has made a splendid market of it; formed pens for horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs; auction sales are held at certain hours for any stock not sold privately; the annual Cattle Show is held on the tameground—in fact it is not only a boon to the agriculturist, but to the town and railway company. Is not the same thing wanted here at once? I should say yes, and I think that every one who had the prosperity of Christchurch at heart will be of the same opinion, and jf any money is borrowed by the City Council, it ought to be for this purpose. Every year it will be of greater advantage, as I hope to see more farmers, more stock, and a better sort, to send by rail, and we are sure of more consumers when we look at the rapid increase of population in the last month, and the large number of expected emigrants that are coming out. And where is such a suitable place for a market as the land between Colombo and Montreal streets ? Where, at a very small expense, could a siding be placed on the railway and cattle driven, as I said before, from the trncks right into the pens, without going into the c'ty, or even the suburbs; not only that can they be brought both north, east, south, and west round the belt, without the danger or trouble of driving them into tha city, but the paddock is sufficiently large for pens, and, also, to allow cattle to graze for a day or two, without being cribbed up for days without food. And I have no doubt but every man who is a judge of cattle would prefer sending sheep, pigs, cattle, or horses by rail, if at a moderate price, to driving them on the road in all seasons, particularly when we know, that on their arrival, they are not in a condition for sale, or to show to the best advantage. Many other places may be preferred by some, but if you look at our future prospects, when I hope before long to see the railway opened to the north and, also, to the Malvern Hills, where is such a suitable place as the one pointed out, particularly when I would recommend every small farmer to keep some sheep f If they are no profit in immediate cash, it should not be forgotten how they consume the weeds on a farm, and help to manure it at the same time, No man cru farm so well without them, and when that is more general we shall have far better mutton, and worth as much as it is now—not such horrid skin and bone as is now exhibited at some of the shops in Christchurch. Your obedient servant, CLOD.