COMPARATIVE STATEMENT CUSTOM DUTIES.

Southland Times, Issue 3364, 2 April 1879, Page 2

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT CUSTOM DUTIES.

As uncommon interest is taken just now in the progress of the New Zealand Agricultural Company, we publish below another extract from the London Times. Our great contemporary evidently regards the undertaking with a great deal of distrust, and -is determined to act as mentor tof the British public. The Times Sl y s : _» Last' week, in referring tb the projected New Zealand Agricultural Company, we drew attention to what is called the "rabbit nuisance" there. The mention of that nuisance ' has drawn forth • a mass of such extraordinary evidence regarding it that we feel bound in the interests both of the 'colony and offthe investing public to recur to the subject. From this evidence it would appear that large tracts in Otago and Southland are*being rapidly brought to a state ,'of barrenness " by the action of the rabbits alone. Favored by 'the climate and by the nature of the, couutry, which" contains much "bush" and rockyland, the rabbits breed with a rapidity which defies ail the efforts made to cope with them, and it seems to be beyond question that they are to be found in large numbers on- those very lands now offered to the British public at the price of £1,070,000. There is, for example, one estate comprised in these-lands called the Okaiterua estate, which was sold the other year to parties who still possess some kind of lien, upon it at little more than;£l pei'.acre. That price represented a depreciation of some £25,000 on the estimated value off the estate a' couple of years before, and the" loss is attributable entirely to the inroads of the rabbit". Again, Mr George Meredi f h Bell, one .of ,the vendors to the projected Gompany, gave 'evidence before the Rabbit Nuisance Committee in 1876, regarding the condition of his estate in the Waimea Valley, which is right in the heart of tlie lands now offered to the company. It is an estate of 80,000 acres, of which 40,000 acres are freehold and about 5000 acres of it were then ploughed and laid i down in grass. Among other things, Mr Bell states that he had great difficulty in keeping the (rabbits out of the English grass paddocks, that tiie rabbits were destroying tbe pine trees and young fruit trees, and that it had been his experience in Victoria ' that whenever rabbits got hold of the land they rendered it utterly barren. He instanced one estate in that colony where it had cost 15s per acre to clear the ground of this vermin, *in addition to the enormous loss entailed by ihe destruction- of. stock and fertility. Mr Cowan, another run- holder in Southland, but not in any way figuring as connected with the projected company, states that on his .run of 29,000 acres he killed 26,000 rabbits in four, months, and that, the 1 cost, of destroying them was -3d per rabbit, while he got no more than l£d per skin for the skins in winter. Their presence on his land had reduced the lambing of his flocks by '2o per, cent. -There is an abundance of testimony to the same effect, constituting, in short, an overwhelming proof of the serious nature of this vermin plague," but we shall only hereciteonemore witness. MrW.J.jMudi.e Larnach, who is at' once vendor,*- vendor's agent, promoter, and director in connection with this projected company, made the following statement in the New -Zealand House of Representatives on August 17. 1877. We quote from the New Zealand Hansard : — ' From his ownfexperience^he could speak bf7 the extent.of the evil in the part of the country from; fwhich he came. "Whole tracts of countiy JhacU been rendered almost valueless . by. the -rabbit nuisance. Aj .ineasuref was •passed ;last year, but it had not. proved effective.: . . '■', From a return whichfhe held in' his .hand, honorable . members would be able toj form some idea of the extent of this e*H?7 On 24 holdings in the South during the last year no less than 1.059,000 rabbits were 7 destroyed. On the same runs there were .153,000 sheep less than; were; shorn previously, and these .-runs produced 1700 bales of woollessi than they did formerly. That .amount of wool, taken- at a moderate computation of £15 per bale, would bring a return of £25,000, wfiidh at 10 per cent, would represent a capital of £250,000.' Icis impossible. to disguise; the serious import of testimony snch : as: this, andiwe think the investing public has a right to know the full truth on this mattei;. Are the rabbits fewer on this land now thanthey were; two or> three years ago, or has the evil; increased and resulted in a still further depreciation of property ?,- From; alLwe hear the answer. to these i questionsfcan be, ; nothing satisfactory. 7 At any f rate,; after- looking at evidence such as we have cited it is hot too much to ask, bef ore the , public, is invited to give £1,000,000 "to a company ffor 'the purpose of buying land threatened or invaded ..bylsuch.apest, that; testimony jof;' a, different character from what the vendors now furnish t should jbe forthcoming as. to its. value ; and 'condition. Until that' testimony 'is furnished,.; and in a way that proves conclusive ? :the public .will do well, tO take care of its money.'-

- - March quarter, March quarter, 1879. 1878. Spirits' ... 3956 12 6 3564 7 8 „ NewZ. ... 22 2 2 Cigars ... 145 19 1 129 15 4 Tobacco ... 1007 14 3 1037 2 6 Wine 409 10 6 320 3 9 Ale (bottle)... 254 14 5 177 7 6 „• (draught) 25 0 0 32 10 0 Tea ... ... 708 16 580 5 0 Coffee ... 101 13 68 17 6 Sugar ... 1131 3 8 1698 0 4 Goods by wght. 1094 4 1 510 15 0 „ advai. 1665 3 0 2060 1 3 Other duties... 246 8 7 219 19 9 - £10,745 12 10 £10,421 7 9