BANK NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2545, 24 December 1902, Page 56

BANK NOTES.

Liberation of Fry and Angling at Ashburton. — My old and esteemed' friend Mr A. H. Shury, sends m© the following, under date the 17th init. : "The Ashburton Society are again turning out 20,000 rainbow trout, 10,000 in the Ashburton, 5000 in the Rangi£ata/»nd 5000 in" the Ratoia ; and as these' fry are now from 2in to 3in in length, they »hould So well. The Canterbury Society are also putting 5000 into the 'Rakaia. This makes the Canterbury Society to have turned out into the Rakaia 10,000, and 1500 krearlings; the Ashburton Society— into the Ashburton, 20,000; into the Rakaia, 10,000; Into the'Rarigitata, 10,000^a tbtalof 50,000 fry «md 1500 yearlings; _grand total, 51,560. * ' JPorty thousand rainbow trout turned oUt for -the season is not a bad output "for -a <B(Jciety whose total income up to the pre» eent^seaion has never exceeded £133 from | -KBglers' Jicenses. They have- also erected a j tut at Ashburton, ana- h*ve fenced sheep- i ,-jproof paddocks at Rakaia, Ashburton, and , -'stangit*to.. -They also'propose to put up 1 Urats at Rakaia and Rangitata for the con- , .▼enience of anglers, and only wait the formal | consent of the 'Minister in terms of the i Fisheries' Conservation Act: There has j been better fishing in the Ashburton than ■ ■ny other river that I have heard of. Dur- j ing the last' week or .ten days' the silveries j have bef n running, and occasionally takes I of 12 to 20 fish, averaging from 31b to 81b, have been frequent; but in addition to these, many large fish have been taken. No one takes much notice of fish up to 51b. Marsden got 14' one day, including one of 81b, then Pilbrow got several (14 or 15 fish tap to 51b and 61b), and Gf. Kidd got 19 fish, running ' from 31b to 171b. Then D»wson got 4 fish, including one of 13£lb; G. "Kidd 4 fish another day of 101b, 141b, 51b, md 61b; M'Olury got several of 51b . and 61b; Eade, a boy, hooked and landed | i l4lb fish, foul-hooked through the tail, and | Was over three-quarters of an hour landing it. 'Ricknjan got 9 fish, including an 81b and a 141b fish ; Knox got a 14-pounder, and . to crown all, Berryman got a fish~l9lb 2oz, length 32|in and girth 22£ in. What is extraordinary is that many of the men are quite new to the work. The Rangitata has not -been wished much this year, and as far as r have heard the fish taken are few an email. The Rataia has been more fished, trat the bags made have not equalled those | ■■taken from the Ashburton. Last week Thompson got, 14 (largest 91b), Young- 9 j " fish, Huston 12' (running to 61b),' Carruthers got 7 on Saturday (largest 91b), Dawson 5 ,fish, Cook 7, Walker 2 (largest 91b), and >'Bhury 5 (largest 61b),TJennettl. -Seven others 'came down from Ashburton to fish, but the .river came down also, and they went home "iempty-handed. Returning,- they met two 'more from Greenstreets — a 33-mile drive — -'jandHhey camped for the night, as it was itoo far to go back. Some Christchurcli men gpt 10 or 15 fish each, running about 31b to 71b. If the committees of all societies were elected by anglers only, not £>y 20 or 30 subscribers, many of whom •re not anglers, the fishing would soon be improved in our rivers. I am told jthe rainbow trout are natives of ifche Rocky Mountain streams, in America, «nd are taken in snow-fed rivers up to 16!b land 201b each. My authority for this is POr Burrell, of Methven, who has only recently arrived from America, and who has taken rainbow of -that weight there. As they are natives of snow-fed rivers, ther fehould do well in the Rakaia and Rangitata." <I have taken the liberty of excising one or itwo caustic jemarks of my corespondent on certain contributions to the angling column. .They may, or may not, be merited, but -in any case the law is so peculiar on the sub- ' .ject of newspaper libel that I am compelled to cut them out in order to be safe. ~ J - 8.) - - . n The Upper Clutha.— Not many in Cromwell are votaries of that "elegant leisure" which found such an exponent as Isaac Walton {writes the Cromwell Argus of the 16th inst.). The leading reason, we believe. Why the delightful pastime of ang'.mrr is no£ more taken advantage of here maj K» found in an idea that there are few trout in the Clutha, ana 1 where they are, they are too difficult to get at owina; to the ever-pre-Eent great volume of water. Most people who have taken a cast in this classic stream "hook it," forgetting the philosopher's remark that true ability lies in the faculty for ".taking pains." Last week Messrs Stephenson and Jamleson quite reversed the prevailing idea «xl banked 5 beauties with

" the fly. Many young men who find time 'hanging heavy on the hand" might secure a delightful out-let for their skill on the Clutha, and might even there find "sermons an stones." Some Southland Rivers. — The Centre ; Bush correspondent of the Southland Times ■ writes as follows: — Fishing in the New River so far this season has not by any means been a success, the river having \ been too high all the season for taking anything like good baskets. The Otapiri and Lora rivers, on the other hand, are yielding great baskets to those who ply the gentle art on their banks, and baskets from 20 to 50 spotted beauties are very frequent. The most successful anglers on these rivers are the Messrs Baird (2), Steward (2), Sutherland, M 'Donald (Centre Bush), Sharp, Duncan, Lockerbie, and Wilson, all of whom have. landed capital baskets and in a very brief space of time. The Lora and Otapiri, I am told, are simply teeming with trout, most of which run about lib in weight, and, being game, give capital sport. Of course, it Is all fly ■ fishing on these rivers. The Hororata. — A Hororata correspondent of the Lyttelton Times writes : — The rain in the back country had the effect of" raising the Hororata River, making it unfit for fishing, although a few good baskets have been obtained with the fly. Recently large ; numbers of shags were to be seen watching the river, but the price paid for their heads should induce anglers to keep a look out for them. Some Big Fish from the Ashburton. — The Timaru Post of the 17th inst. records the taking of some big fish, thus: — An Ashburton angler, Mr H. G. Berryman, •succeeded on Thursday evening in landing what is said to be the biggest fish ever caught in the Asbburton River. It turned the scale at 191b 2oz. The fish was 32in in length and 21§in in girth. It was caught with a phantom soleskin whitebait, ai the mouth of the river, several others falling to the same angler. Mr Rickman ako secured a very large fish in the same locality, weighing 141b, and measuring 31in by 17£ in. Liberation of Trout in tlie Mimihau and Wyndham.— On Saturday, 13th inst.," 32,000 young Lech Leven and brown trout were liberated at different places in the Mimihau and Wyndham rivers. A trout weighing 151b was caught in the Opawa River by Mr T. J. Ball, of Blenheim. Angling Competition ,in Canterbury. — The result' of th» angling competition held under th© auspices of the Canterbury Anglers' Society was made known yesterday. The folowing were the results: — Bait fishing — H. N. Webb, 14 fish, aggregating 181b, the best fish weighing 3ilb, first prize and cup (Selwyn); D. CuSack, 6 fish, aggregating ll£lb, best weighing 3|lb, second (Waimakariri) ; G. F. Whitesides, 6 fish, aggregating 17|lb, prize for best fish, weighing s|ib (Rakaia). W. Maine, with 4 fish, weighing 101b (Rakaia), J. Corser, 2 fish, weighing 4-|lb (Waimate), and J. Hinds, 4 fish, weighing 441b iSelwyn) >lso exhibited. Fly fishing — Dr Moorbouse. 7 fish, 4£lb, cup and first prize ; W. Billins, 4 fish. 3^lb, second prize and -prize fcr best fish (Kaiapoi). The contest took place- between 12 p-m- on Monday and 12 p.m. on Tuesday, the competitors being allowed a choice on any river in ! Canterbury. Unfortunately, the weather j set in wet, and 'the rivers were consequently \ discoloured, and 'altogether unfavourable for I fishing. As a Jesuit the baskets were unusually scanty, and compared very unfavour- , ably with the results of the previous com- ■ petition." The first prize baskets then ac- • tually weighed more than the whole catch j exhibited yesterday. About 40 fishermen j entered foi the competition,- but many did j not go out on account of the wet. Out of I those who braved the elements, a large proportion did not exhibit, being satisfied that their meagre baskets would not bear comparison with the other competitors' displays. As a matter of fact, however, it was stated that at least four other unexhibited baskets were actually larger than those placed under consideration of the judges. — Lyttelton ! Times, of 18th inst. j The Validity of a Trout Fishing Lease.— I It has been settled by a recent decision of . the First Division of the Court of Session \ that an heir of entail, who is in possession I of the entailed estates, cannot grant a lease . of trout fish.ings as a separate right which j will be effectual in a question with any succeeding heir of entail. The ground of decision was tbat euch a lease was equivalent to an alienation of part of the entailed estate, or at least to the constitution of a burden or debt inconsistent with the entail. While in a sense a license or permission to fish for trout for a term of years for a pecuniary consideration may be called ' a. lease or tack, it is not a lease or tack in the proper sense, like a lease or tack of land. Lord Kyllachy, in.dealinjr with the argument •that, a lease of trout fishing by an heir of entail in possession was valid against succeeding heirs as being an ordinary act of administration. «aid, "On that point all I need that is that leases of trout fishing are certainly in no better pc6ition than leases of shootings; and as to these, it has never, so far as I know, been suggested that a lease for 21 years could be supported as an "act of ordinary administration." He suggested that if the tenant of a farm obtained a ioint or even an exclusive right of troutfishing within the bounds of his farm that might be valid against heirs of entail as -being an accessory of the lands leased. At the same time his lordship expressed an opinion that, under the Entail Powers Act, 1836, commonly known as the Rosebery Act, an ordinary lease of salmon fishing is within the powers of an heir of entail in possession, and so is biding on succeeding •heirs of entail. The First Division of the Court of Session practically endorsed Lord I Kyllachy's opinion. The Lord President ob- | served, "The right of trout fishing is not, 1 like that of salmon fishing, a feudal estate ; j and consequently what is called a lease of ; trout fishing is truly only a grant of the personal privilege of entering upon lands and angling for trout therefrom. It is, libs the rif?ht of shooting, merely a delegation of a personal privilege, not capable of being made real, and not binding, even when fol- , lowed by possession, upon a singular suci cessor, nor. in my judgment, upon a suc1 ceeding heir of entail." Similarly Lord 1 Kinnear observed, "I agree that, whatever ' may bo thought as to a lease of land with the urivilepes of- trout fishing as a pertinent of the lands, a lease of trout fishing as a separate- right, apart from a grant of land, 1 does not fall within the Rosebery Act."— 1 Southland Time*.

I While 3500 coal-cutting machines are used in the United States mines there are les3 than 400 such machines in British collieries. The Cromwell bakers have raised the price . oE bread to lOd »er Wb loaf*