WAIHEMO.

Otago Witness, Issue 1583, 25 March 1882, Page 13

WAIHEMO.

IFROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

March 20tb

A public meeting of sottlers in this district was held in the Schoolhouse, Green yalley, on Friday, 17th March, to take into consideration the best means of dealing with the rabbit pest. There were about 30 persons present— a large attendance for so thinly populated a district-and Mr W. Bayiey was voted to The Chairman said he trusted that the result of the present meeting would be more successful than the one held a year ago for the same purposo, and hoped that there would be a " long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether," for if not, in a short time the Bottlers would be ruined. MrF T>. Bell explained that last year, when, after a good deal of troutle, the boundaries were settled, maps got, and everything ready to havo a rabbit district proclaimed, it was intimated from Wellington that the Act was about to be altered, and so matters wore stayed, and wo were now to come under the new Act, which was not yet in force, but was expected to bo brought into operation immediately. Ho roid that he would put on men to kill tho rabbits, and do all his power to lessen the evil. Mr M'Leod was called upon to state his views. He considered it was timo some systematic effort wore made, and moved— "That the chairman b« requested to write to tho Inspockor at Wellington and request that he will bo good enough to sond an inspector at as early a dato as possible to visit Waihemo and Burrounding district, and have the Act put in force at The motion was seconded by Mr M'Donald, and A. D. Bell, T. Dent, M'Donald, Mathcson, Watßon, M'L»od, and B»yly were appointed to wait upon the Inspector when he comos and show him over Mr' Dent' moved :— " That so long as tho district ia proclaimed a rabbit district the tax on dogs should be half-a-erown for each'dog."

Seconded and carried. _...... An amendment to the offoot that three dogs for each person should be allowed freo of tax, the rest at 10a each, wa6 rejected , ... . , „ „ The Chairman uientionod that he held tho same opinion which ho had exproßsed at last year's rnoeting, that man alone was not able to cope with the pest ; and he conßidoired that wo ought tft bring the natural enemies of the rabbit to bear upon them, and so keep up the balanco of nature. Mr Bayley read from the Witness part of a lettor by Mr Ward, of Rivorsdale, advising, " from positive experienco, tho introduction of tho Inflw monsoon? ; w jjjch befog

equally as bloodthirsty as the,,woasel|sof the same family as the ferret, weasel, polecat, t0., , a nd when taken young is easily tamed, beiog fond of its mastei, and is invaluable in the barn and amongst cornstack* where rats abound. They aro io be had at any of the bird-fanciers in Calcutta. Price, aDjut nine annas -anna, ljd." „ Tho meeting, with few exceptions, were quite a?ainst tho proposals of the Chairman, as ono por?on Baid they had enough o( posts already, and another wished to know where the natural enemies of these creatures were to be found should they, too, become a pe?t. During the evening several ppoakers mentioned that while willing to give the new Act a fair trial, it would be, they thought, desirable to get the Act altered so as to correspond in a greater dogree with the old Act, and havo such a matter as this managed locally. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings.