ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1478, 11 March 1886, Page 3

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

The annual mesting of the Geraldine County Acclimatisation Society was held yesterday in Mr Aspinall’s office, Temuka. Mr A. M. Clark occupied the chair. The report and balance-sheet as below were unanimously adopted :—Balance-sheet; Dr. —To expenses incurred in prosecution for poaching, etc., £44lSs3d ; sundry expenses re fishing regulations, 17s ; advertising, £4 18s ; printing licenses, £1; balance in Bank, £2O 6s 6d; total, £7l 13s 9d. Cr.—To balance in band, £2 ; fishing licenses issued, 66 at 20s, £66; anneal subscriptions, £2; advertising, C. H. Reid,TOs ; costs recovered, £1 3s 9d { total, £7l 13s 9d. Balance in Bank, Feb. 28, 1886, £2O 5s 6d. Report: The Council in laying before the Society the annexed balance-sheet, desire to congratulate the members upon the successful issue of the past year’s operations. The number of fishing licenses that have been issued, viz., 86, show that the sport is increasing in popularity, and it is a matter for congratulation that such is the case, as the greater the number of licenses the less chanee will there be lor the operations of poachers. It is to be regretted, however, that the general public do not' support the Society more by joining its ranks as members. The toted receipts for tba past year, including the balance in hand on the 28th February, 1886, amounted to £7113s 9d, and the expenditure to £6l 8s Bd, leaving a balance to the credit of the Society of £2O 5s 6d. The expenses incurred in protecting the rivers from poaching, £44 13s 3d, have been undoubtedly heavy, but the action taken by the Society in prosecuting has been salutary, for during the past season there have been no cases of poaching recorded. The result of the past season •bows that the trout have increased to a wonderful extent, and are in splendid condition, The salmon lately liberated in the rivers Temuka -and Opihi, will, it is to be hoped, thrive in a similar manner. Those placed in Temuka have been frequently seen, in shoals of 20. and 30, by sope of our local supporters, and are reported to have grown to a considerable size and to have reached os far up the river as McCallum’s. Great precautions will have to be taken next season to prevent their being captured, and your Committee desire to impress upon all fishermen the desirability of returning to the water any that may be caught accidentally. In all, some 8000 have as yet been liberated —1000 in the Opihi, 1000 is the Temuka, and 1000 w the Bangitata. There are still some 1500 to 2000 yet to be liberated, your Committee §rp jnfprtped. These are at present in {.he charge of Mr Farr, of the N.C, Acclimatisa, tion Society. The sincere thanks of the Society and of all lovere of the gentle art are due to that gentleman for the care and attention bestowed by him in bringing the fry down from Christchurch and liberating them in the rivers. Your Committee record with pleasure that they .have had a communication from Sir Julius Vogel intimating that the Govern: pent prppoie to sllpt to the Society from six to seyen thousand of the salmon ova to arrive by the lonic. The Committee are ip treaty with Mr "Farr to hatch out and rear the fish until fit for liberation, when they will be placed in the rivers best adapted to them. Some expense will be incurred in doing this, but it is the only course to be pursued, as at present your Committee have had no means of erecting the suitable appliances for hatching the ova, end it is somewhat doubtful, owing to the liability to floods, whether a suitable site can be obtained in the neighborhood for such a purpose. Any expense that may be incurred will, how, ever, be borne in tfie first place pro rata by all the Societies''who are {leaving their'share

of ova with Mr Farr, and it is understood that this expenditure will subsequently be refunded to those Societies by the Government. The lonic may be expected to arrive shortly, and it is to be hoped that the ova will arrive in a healthy condition, as your Society are led to believe they are of a different species to those already liberated. The thanks of the Society are also due to the Hon, W. Rolleston, M.H.8., for the action be took in getting the regulations passed in Council and gazetted. He assisted the officers of the Society greatly iu doing so. Your Committee would suggest that it bo a recommendation to the incoming Committee that the sum ol £2O now lying to the credit of the Society at the Bank of New Zealand be placed ss fixed deposit for 12 months. It is unlikely that there will be any occasion to draw this money until next year as all liabilities to date have been fully paid. There is a'so a sum of £5 5?, an amount recovered ss a fine in the B.M, Court, to be refunded to the Society ; this, together with the outstanding subscripwill be more than ample to cover all liabilities to be incurred between then and next October. Messrs Barker, Twomey, aid Meyer, in accordance with Buie 4, retire from the Council, but they are eligible for re-election. Messra Meyer, Nicholas, and Twomey were elected to the Council in the room of the retiring members. It was resolved that Mr Bollesten be requested to draw the attention of the Government to the desirability of giving the Sooietr power to issue licenses to shoot native game. Attention was drawn by the mover to the fact that native game were slaughtered indiscriminately by all persons, and that unless some steps were taken by the Government in the direction proposed the native game would soon be extinct.

It was also resolved that the Society dissent from the action taken by the Government in prohibiting the importation of weasels and stoats for the destruction of rabbite and that J&£r Rolleston be requested to convey this expression of opinion to the Government,

It was resolved that the opening of the shooting season for native game be fixed for the lit April, and that for imported gams for the lit May. After a vote of thanks to the Secretary and Chairman the meeting terminated.