NOXIOUS WEEDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13641, 10 July 1906, Page 4

NOXIOUS WEEDS.

The prospect of action being taken by the Government with tho view of coping with the nuisance caused by the existence of noxious weeds in large quantities on Crown and Native lands will be hailed with a. considerable amount of satisfaction by land-owners. It has been felt by settlers, upon whom the duty of clearing their own lands from weeds that are held to be noxious has been enforced, that they have had a distinct grievance in that the waste lands of the Crown, river-beds, railway reserves, and other unoccupied lands have been permitted to servo practically as nurseries for the growth and dissemination of the seeds of these weeds, This sense of injustice has prevailed keenly in all parts of the colony where large areas of land have remained in the hands of the' Crown, and expression was freely given to it during last session of Parliament when a private member's Bill, which aimed at increasing the liability of local, bodies in connection with the suppression of the pc-st, was under consideration. In the course of the discussion upon that measure stress was laid, not. unreasonably, upon the great hardship suffered by settlers who were required at great expense to keep their property clear of weeds which were introduced by seeds carried "by the million" from Crown and native lands, and a direct imputation of serious neglect on the part of the responsible authorities i/as contained in the assertion by a Ministerial supporter that a railway accident at Chaney's Corner, near ICaiapoi, by which two lives were sacrificed, would not have occurred if the AVnimakariri River had not heen so -choked with noxious weeds as to cause a flood on the railway line. From both sides ofthe House the Minister for Lands was assured that a vote of a large sum of money would be readily granted for the purpose of clearing noxious weeds off the Crown and Native land?, and it would seem that the Government realises the necessity for taking steps with this object in view. Plainly, the best method the Crown can adopt to secure that the lands shall be effectually cleared is to have them settled. But the nuisance has reached such dimensions on some of the Native lands that, it is suggested, it would be impossible to secure Tenants for them while they are in their present condition. In such cases there is probably 110 alternative to the preliminary clearing of the lands by the Government with a view to their being subsequently leased, and it may fairly he contended that, as Sir A. L. D. Fraser, the member for Napier, urges, the cost of effecting tlm clearing should be made a first charge upon the rentals that would be received on behalf of tilt- Native land-owners. The proposals for coping with the nuisance 011 the less seriously infested Native lands strike us as equally feasible, and we do not doubt that the increased rentals that would be obtainable for ordinary Crown lands of average quality, after they had been cleared of weeds, wotdd amply recoup the Government the expense which itwould have to incur in putting the lands into a. condition fit for occupation. It is, at anyrate, a relief to know that the question has been receiving the attention of the Cabinet- and that there seems some likelihood of action being taken this year to cope uitli the trouble.