MR. MELDRUM'S DETRACTORS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 964, 1 December 1879, Page 2

MR. MELDRUM'S DETRACTORS.

[To the Editor of the Herald.] Sir, — I cannot assume that a want of knowledge of the subject led you into the commission of a gross injustice to Mr. Meldrum, which appeared m your issue of Saturday last. You accuse the late Sheep Inspector of " gross neglect of duty," and then proceed to butter the old gentleman by ascribing it to his "declining years, constitutional habits, and indifference." You also attempt to mislead your readers into the belief that the two informations, heard m the R.M.s Court, and to which you draw their attention, are the product of Mr. Meldrum's " gross neglect " of duty. Now what are the facts 1 Your own report of the case says, first : That Mr. Flexman was charged with " unlawfully abandoning infected sheep on a highway ; and that Mr. Doull*s fault lay m having " negligently suffered infected sheep to stray." Now, if you can shew m what way Mr. Meldrum is connected with causes which led to these informations, yon should doso at once. True, Mr Meldrum's infirmity — which years brings upon us all ; yourself among the number — may have prevented him from exercising that watchfulness which was his wont ; still, I cannot but think that you have gone unnecessarily out of your way to accuse him a priori, of a gross neglect of duty (which I take it to mean that he was capable of performing that duty, but did it not) and of attempting to fasten on him the responsibility of the informations alluded to. — I am. &c. , H. E Webb. [Many flocks m the Poverty Bay district are at this time infected with scab ; and scab m sheep means all but ruin to the sheep-master, It is too serious a matter to allow of " infirmity which years bring upon us" as au excuse for neglect of an important duty, and there can be no doubt but what there has been a great neglect m allowing the spread of that curse to a wool growing country — scab. To-day our cablegrams anuounce a rise of threepence to fourpence a pound m the price of wool, which if the rise remains will be equivalent to a sum of over £10,000 to the Bay ; but this large sum will be as a flea-bite compared to the losses which will arise from scabby flocks m our districts.^ Woolgrowers may be able to dip, scarify and eradicate the scab, but this will avail very Utile vvuere the flocks have to be returned to scab-infected runs. In Victoria it is different, because the country is so extensive that sheep can be placed on clean pastures. Here it is almost an impossibility. There must be no forgiveness whatever to any sheep inspector, whether from infirmity of age or constitutional habits, or who is lax through kindliness of disposition, who does not enforce the Sheep Act. It is not for auy of us to know about all things. Mr Webb certainly knows nothing whatever of the subject he writes upon. Had he been m the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday last he would probably not have written m the strain he has done. Our columns are open to Mr Meldrum, as he well knows, and we are quite sure he is better able to speak for himself than Mr Webb can for him. — Ed.]