SPRING MORTALITY AMONG LAMBS. MRS PIPCHIN AND THE PENAL SYSTEM. THE BENMORE AND OMARAMA RESERVES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20833, 27 September 1929, Page 12

SPRING MORTALITY AMONG LAMBS.

MRS PIPCHIN AND THE PENAL SYSTEM.

THE BENMORE AND OMARAMA RESERVES.

TO THB -EDITOR. Sir —.Your • .correspondent “ Callow,” writing in your columns ' on September 23 about the mortality in lambs, quite clearly does. not know what be is'talking about, and I question' if he is a firmer, anyway. _ In my experience there is no loss of : big, ■ fat lambs if the rams arc not turned, out till, say, the last week in May, and X believe this will hold good for a great part, if not the whole, of North Otago. I have' carefully taken note of the deaths, and the earliest and biggest, usually,'arc those to die, quite irrespective ’ of what grass. they are on. I 'hive had a .heavier loss iu a big tussocky paddock, ' with plenty of native grasses, and fescue, etc., than in a neighbouring paddock recently sown, out with cocksfoot, clovers, etc.. As a rule, a lamb, is running about in perfect health one day, and the nest day .it is stiff and dead when , you see it. I have even found a lainb that had quietly passed away in'-its sleep', without any con-, vulsivo . kick, or, any movement at all. Last year a few. died after a.few days’sickness, and there were a variety of symptoms in these lambs. Tailing the lambs has never made any' difference. A great chase round with a' dog has not promised’ well. A fine big, strong lamb did, say, 500 yards at top—by-'no means his- first, or only, run, and he, too, w-as cold and stiff next morning. • Most of the Jambs die in the night. Only on rare occasions do I .find one dying in the daytime. and there was no sign of any scour on those :T« found -dead this season.- Much more could., be ' written on the- many.symptoms noted, they are Varied and conihsißfc ' L' toid-a'.neighbdui;, who-.baa emu*

plained a lot about his losses, that he I would avoid the heavy. loss by a late lambing. He replied that this was known-already, but he preferred to lose some and- have -early Jambs. - In ■ 'my opinion a late lamb is better than no lamb at" all, and in an experimental small lot of 110 ewes I did not lose" a single big lamb from this pulpy-kidney. trouble. I am quite sure that investigation, on the right lines will Rive Rood results, and the Central Otago farmers are undoubtedly doing: the right thing in making cooperative -experiments, and it is to' be hoped that they will carefully record all signs, symptoms, etc., that are noticed. The North Otago and South Canterbuiy farmers would be ■■" well advised to do likewise, and.perhaps we may learn why the late lamb is immune. • At the present -~ moment I knew the loss can bo avoided by lambiug the'ewes: late, but I have no idea why or how they come to.be im-• mune.. ■ . .. ' -,, Last year I had four of the big early lambs die as late as shearing in the last week.in November.. These all had tutu symptoms, although there is no tutu on the place. These were exceptionally late, as usually all the dying is over by this date.—l am, etc., ._„... J. B. Chapma>-. waitaki, September 24.

TO THE EDITOR, Sir, —As one who for over eight vears has been engaged in the after care of our prisoners—a task rendered difficult in New Zealand by the absence of proper organisation and subsidy—may I indicate a definite defect; in our present penal system? • I do recognise, and with deep" thankfulness,, the efforts lately made to extend the successful system of probation. But in the main' we still use, in this country, the famous old Pipchin way with offenders. We try to quel], repress, - and suppress all the normal, powers, good -" with bad, instead of so developing the good as to help them master the bad, and training gifts, .tastes and talents in directions socially useful. . May I illustrate with three instances from the life? and alas, in two of them, from the death also. A few years since. > a young "habitual criminal," —A. let us "■■ call him—in trying to escape from Mount 4 Eden. Gaol, was shot,and killed. Let me'" hasten to say I blame no person for it; the system demanded the shot what- -■ ever iteresult." Another, 8., after a year of liberty, was .convicted, mainly, on his past record (the evidence being circumstantial nnly) of an offence or which it , now appears he .was, not the perpetrators '■ and in despair "of ever escaping otherwise from the system's clutches, took his, own '" life next morniug. ', A third, -C, in the . attempt to break gaol, haß lately been shot : and seriously injured.' Is it not tunc that we began to think whether it ■ Js only these young men ..who required j alteration ?" All three had Bome unusually - good qualities. ■ A, who was a sch"oolmate ; of one ■of our ■ younger University professors, was,-so the latter has told me, the nearest approach to a genius he has", ever met. B, I knew. very well myself," and respected for many reasons; fhe-was '.. also one of. the warmest-hearted and most sympathetic lads I have known. C< whom •'"• I know but Slightly; has;certainly, marked abilities,-.and his. own-decided code o'f honour. The offences of all three- involved -money ~only, > not persons.' -And, -'•' finally,, every., one of these/ adventurous - young , dare-devils—they were ■■-.nothing"--? worse—had .already been in, the hands,of our Pipchiuesque Penal System from " the time of their teens—some .nine ' or "'; - 10 years—and-this was all it with and for,them!:.The injury it did : theni. all far outweighed the injury thev . had done ..us. Can .vre then really call its operation justice?. Itecentlvthis "same queer instrument of ours has found itself .-.■' unable to penalise in . any way. a" man- - guilty of years.-of cruelty: to his" wife, a.far worse offence, than. anjKof. those of r% '.?'■ .or C. Him,: our Mrs Pipchin ~ loftily-ignores. Them'she has destroyed.""= How came she so to fail? Because she persisted, to the bitter end,,in using only her old weapon, repression, on natures ""usually forceful, and needing most care- : ■ Jul help in_their development,.which was lopsided. She never dreamed of managing, them, through their good points,, jn- . *tcad of simply hitting' at their fault's. . • let I have mysejf seen' this succeed, over and over again, now; in cases deemed hopeless "■• bjr'.the'.prison .authorities. I have seen it succeed, once, even, in prison itself; on- a. rare occasion" wlien •it was really "tried.. ' Last' year, another, boy of '" 18, D, was -declared; like. A; B t and C. by Dame. Pinchitv fo' be'an' Habitual—criminal: and. Jike them, consigned to " 'N? 6 cf-=ifany of the worst of our offenders - at Mount- Eden of whom actually wrote to me. in'-protest/by the way! .He, is getting nonc-of the 'vary ,\" special training he so sorely needs.- Is he to end. like these, his predecessors? Theresas been much criticism of late ot the Pwsqns Board, a body which has Si* t^ T de ? ld a g°°4 d eal on insufficient . data. Would not, Sir, some better results •'■' be obtained,if wc had an observationc.entre,.in each of our cities; to which per- -' sons could be sent after conviction, but- - ; before sentence, "when the. latter presented : - the least difficulty?- There .thev .could -•' be detained for some., weeks', ;until studv .: '■ by the members of those psychological' cftmcs which we have been promised, and: : by other .experienced social.workers, resulted jn.the-whole human situation.beingsummed up, and' V recommendation for!. treatment made, on which- the court eould then base its sentence? I am certain that we should then have far better results, at a far less coat! in air ways, to the community, because so much more-" would be_ known of the individual concerned, of hi 6 go 0u poiuts as we u as his ;. bad, of his capacities"' for proper be- ■ haviour, of his gifts and. talents, and of'-'"-the-means really ne-aded for his reclama-' tion and-due development. We do plenty ■; j of laying down the law. .to our offenders -..'•• and, by. itself quite often it does not have thn effect we design. But a little application,- by;.ourselves, of the Gospel. -would often haw surprisingly good effects, - Anyway; we really do not'wanteds we—. " ; to make - criminals out. of. high-spirited • young-sinners, and.finally deny them the.- - right even to live. Yet that is what we - : have done/ and arc'^till'doing.—l am. V- : 1 <*£•'., ;■..:■ . "8.. E. BAiraKAN. " . Clifton,' Suinuor. ■ - ''.-

- TO THIS - EriWOR. SinV-.-Mr Anderson bases his objections id subdivision of the ttenmore' 'null Omarama. reserves on . the pica of hardship and sentiment, and poru'oula'rlv mentions Mrs Shanks and ■; Mr Fraukliii. • Surely it must be a hardship also to Mr \Vardell (his son-in-law) to lose his piv?e<> of this reserve (about 4500 acres), lie will then only have something-like 30,000 acres to carry;on with!■ This must be a' case ■ for' 'sympathy. Mr Anderson evidently ■ favours' large holdings and docs . not believe too much in--the.-residence clause.---He himself holds two large runs' ' and his two-, sons one each—alV these properties adjoining. It seems hardly, : fair toi appoint a man with his interest to make one of a party to subdividethese as he cannot possibly' ' - have an unbiased.mind.. Shanks holds two runs (apart from the reserve). One ie in the name of his brother and he is exempted from the obligation to live on it.. This property carries about ' 2000 ewes. If-this gentleman has been, and ■ is' still, struggling for - a living while wool and lambs have been ~.: at the prices that ha*e ruled in the past V. few years, how is he going to make a " living intheface of falling prices? Would . it not be better if he.started in anotheV line of life? Mr Franklin's case is' n : . matter of sentiment only. He will re-" "-' ceive'.fuli; recompense for kisVproperty. " Mr Livingstone, has stated that he in- -' tends to'have the motion respecting sub-: , division rescindedif possible at tbVe next \ Land Board meeting. " We have no fear • that such live.members, as our present '■ " commissioner and his associates will allow such a thing to-come to pass. A man holding such views as Mr -Livingstone cannot have. the interest of the country ... or his i people at heart, and his place as one of-the administrators of thefland laws - would perhaps be better, filled by. - a younser and more progressive 'mind. If-- • the Ward Government would enforce the '-_'■".' residence clause, there would.be at least 20 or more. settlers in the Upper Waitaki alone, all holding good blocks. May the Land Board carry on the good work it ; has. started.—l- am, etc., . v . :' . „''■■" -■.... .Progress. '."

Kurdw. September 23,