CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10084, 20 March 1896, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE SHOOTING SEASON. TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—l regret to see in your columns that the committee of the Acclimatisation Society, after having worked for many years for the good of sportsmen in general, are getting hauled over the coals, and accused oi selfishness, etc., because they have not fixed the shooting season to suit a number of shooting men who want to go pot-hunting at Easter. The committee are also abused because they did not, at a few days' notice, alter the hour of meeting to suit some members who have suddenly taken a great interest in the Society, although up to the present they never turned up to meetings or helped the Society by their advice. Some of the movers in the matter took so much interest in the game that they did not even pay £1 last year to qualify them to vote. Now, if the committee have made an error as to the number of ducks there are to be shot, surely such enthusiastic sports" could let the ducks have the benefit for one year, and matters can be arranged differently next year, for sportsmen have had their innings it the ducks for many years free of charge. I certainly think more might be spent on protecting game, for it i? shooting out of season is the cause of the scarcity of the game, boys and young men being the principal offenders. If, perhaps, a larger reward were given to anyone gaining a conviction, it might help. How would a gun license do! Then duck-shooters would also have to pay as well as shooters of imported game.—l am, etc., An Outsider.

STEAMERS WHISTLING TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—l beg to draw your attention to a matter that to the travelling and carrying public is a source of perpetual annoyance. I refer to the steam whistle shrieking on the wharf indulged in by every incoming and outgoing steamer. The results of this practice are only too often not only the cause ol great annoyance to drivers, but to the public generally, whose lives in case of an aocidenl or a runaway on a crowded wharf are in danger. I myself narrowly escaped losing a valuable horse on the wharf through this apparently useless and nonsensical custom. I am pleased to note that the Harbour Board has expressed its intention of taking action on the subject. It is a question that demands investigation, and I trust the Harbour Board will not let the matter drop.— etc., Carter.