A JEOPARDISED INDUSTRY.

NZ Truth, Issue 123, 26 October 1907, Page 4

A JEOPARDISED INDUSTRY.

"Truth" has pondered seriously of late m an attempt to define the exact position occupied by the Acclimatisation Society amongst the nuisances and tolerated evils m the Dominion; for the history of the Society re 7 veals it to "be- a body whose operations are •detrimental to the best interests of the people. The Society justifies its existence by introducing into this country animals, birds and fish, for the special delectation of a favored class, and as this young country is starting out on democratic lines, and purposes continuing on democratic lines till the end of the chapter, any body of men who attempt to introduce the wretched class distinctions of the old. world should bte sat upon with great enthusiasm. Already m the Wairarapa special sanctuaries, which should be closely peopled , by sturdy settlers and their children, are • set aside for the breeding of 1 imported deer, and the natural industries of the country have to go to the devil because the alleged pollution of the local streams will interfere witb/the health of trout placed there for the "sport" of the leisured few. In the Wairarapa deer have increased m numbers to such an extent that they are a menace to the countryside. No fence can keep them out, and the best jumper m O'Neill's circus is a fool beside the youngest fawn, which can clear any obstacle devised by man to keep the imported curse from his cultivation. Season after season .rape crops have been eaten down to the roots, and farmers " have been deprived of other winter feed and compelled to send their sheep to the freezer at a dead loss. In fact, the position became so awful m the Wairarapa that many of the country's backbone pledged themselves to shoot the antlered pest on sight— young or old, buck or doe, 6-pointer or 14-pointer, m season or out of season — and to blazes with the regulations. Prosecutions were instituted by the ridiculous Society, but the delinquents cither got off or the penalty inflicted was a merely nominal one, and the smouldering anger of the farmers did not break into flame. This is one aspect of the Society's mischievous op-

erations ; another one has special reference to the trout placed m New Zealand streams for the benefit of the Hinglish tourist and the few favored local Johnnies who can say "Haw" with a more or less correct intonation. Nobody objects to anglers exercising cruelty to fish with an artificial fly, so long as this form of "sport" doesn't interfere with the well-being of the community and offers no menace to our industries ; but when we find an important industry jeopardised to furnish amusemient for the insane travelling person m a check suit, and the wealthy local aristocrat who has sufficient leisure and capital to enable him to "whip the beastly stream," doncherknow, it is about time that this democratic Government stepped m. and demanded an amendment of the Acclimatisation. , Society's regulations. These dispassionate remarks are inspired by the case m Wellington Magistrate's Court against William Burt, who was recently proceeded against by "the haughty Society for permitting sawdust from his mill to fall into the Mungaroa Stream, thus endangering the health of the delicate trout m the vicinity. This is the second time that Burt has been proceeded against, m a similar manner, and he is afraid that -if the persecution continues he will 'be compelled to close his mill and throw a number of men out of employment. It might ip_e explained that the works are situated m the fork of the Narrow Neck and Huia streams, which are tributaries of the Mungaroa, and unless he erects a wall as high as Mount Victoria 1 it is difficult to prevent some of the sawdust from getting into the water, although he was pretty successful m hanging on to the multitudinous particles until a tree stump turned the river on to his sawdust heap and undermined the bank. He shifted the barricade back from the bank, but allowed some sawdust to remain between the fence and the water, and the Society's ranger, who has to do something for his screw, spoke to him severely and hauled him before the Court, which imposed a fine of 40s, with Court costs 14s 6d. Burt, however, had to visit the city twice m connection with the case, and the experience has been a very costly one for him. "Truth" heartily commends this case to the notice of our legislators, the large Democratic section of whom are never tired of pointing to Massey's attenuated following, and characterising it as the remnant of the black Tory land-grabbers m politics. Particular attention is directed to the fact that the information was laid under a section of the Fisheries Conservation Act, 1884, introduced by the superior landed persons, who wouldn't soil their hands with such a common occupation as sawmiiling, and who reckoned . that any industry other than sheep-raising could go to the demned demnition bow-wows, as •Mr Mantelini would say, if it threatened to interfere with the awfully jolly and exclusive pastime of trout deception. The Liberal G-overnment repealed the iniquitous property tax and other Tory measures, but it appears to have overlooked the above pernicious enactment, which enables the Society to make drastic regulations, to the detriment of valuable industries. By the way, experts say that sawdust is not harmful to trout, but even if it was unpleasant, for the fish, this country wants the timber and the employment for the workers, and to Hades with the trout.