Taupo.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12975, 30 September 1905, Page 8

Taupo.

—rr* — ; " MAOKIA AND; THE GAiMiS LAWS. i_ ' '* (From Guv Own Correspondent.) The lake and the streams; nuMning into it are swarming' ] with | trout, some of very large r size. In • the streams the rainbow trout . give good sport, but in i He Jake jfche fish will \ not bite at aIK Ducts swans, and other gan^e 'a'b'ourid; and a sportsman should have a good \ time with either rod or gxxn. In this connection it may not be » amiss ' io.say something.-of the aspect of, our very stringent game-laws and the way they affect" the Maoris. The game-laws arc as much in force here as in Taranaki, and rangers aro appointed to sec that the law is not broken. Now, as T have' already said, the country is an ideal sj>ot for game of all kinds— there being hundreds of square miles of almost trackloss scrub, with swamps, streams, and' lakes, and 1 doubtles'a there are very many secluded" places . which remain unvisited by nmm from year's end to year's end. Nearly i all this land, aiid not only the land, but every ,• stream anclljake,. is the "property qi the Maoris, to do .with as they please. The . Acclimatisation' Societies, seeing what, a paradise for sport, the district is, released on the land' game of all kinds (there are deer on the Kaimanawa Ranges), arid liberated troiit iri the lecke. ) Also, they secured close season's, , not only for the game they introduced into the Maori's own country, -but also for the 'ndigenous game,, such ' as pigeon, kaka. qtc. Further, they not^bnly forba-de the Maoris to take any game except durng a certain season of the year, but also compelled them (or triecf.to) to !,ake out a license, i.e., to pay for i'ie u-ivilege of shooting on their own iands or fishing in their own waters. .Moreover, the birds were only to be <hot, and the fish to be caught with a •od. no other methods of sport beint? cg-itunatc Now, without going' into Jic old, old question of the Treaty of 'Vaitangh the Maoris put forward ■.ome strong arguments to show- that '.his Acclimatisation Society business s not only, very irksome, but very mjust. In the first, place the land U heirs, and the streams and lakes are heirs, aud it is actually in their powv to absolutely forbid the use of .'akc Taupo to' : the steamers now »lyinj? on- it. They did not ask- the -mkeha to introduce his fish into ' the j'uko, or his other game on to their" "ands, and as 'far as the lake is uncerned they are very sorrowful sas o the introduction of the brown' 'rout, for since its advent it has defroyed the native fish with which ;he ike Uhed to swarm. It may also fee' >marked in passing that the .brown ■rout in. iv the lake, at < any rati\ ' ot v sporting fish. He will not -isr -. a hook, and can only He caught by "spearing or netting,

vhich two i methods the pa- J ives, of course, are no I allowed to ( ise— it is so 'unsportsmanlike I' Now, when the Maoris go out to eaten Jish, or to get ducks or other game, , io so because they want them for food. They have no time u> spend an hour or so in 'playing' a »sh— when they 'strike' one (and it is tisually done with a hook) they want lini out in quick time so that they and /their family may have something to cat. Also, they do not al- , ways wait to shoot a big - bad flying—that may be good sport, but i\ j is not common sense when one's family may have to go supperloss t.:# bed —so they shoot to make a sure kill. A.gain, with regard to the «-!ose season for pigeons, the? season closes at the end of July, whereas the birds j are not fat, fit for food, until Aug- -j ust. They cannot understand then, if there must be a close season,, why i it could not begin and close a mouth later, so that they can. get the bird j when it is most suitable for use. It may not be known to many of your readers that the natives here are exceedingly poor— so poor that many of them do not know which way to look for food, and have to. depend upon the charity of their nvore fortunate brethren. Last year, the blight settled their principal source of subsistence— the potato— and it as surely no wonder that they feel indignant at the laws which strive to prevent them partaking of the rich supplies of food with which land and water abound, and that these laws are more honoured in the breach than in the observance >

THE WINNER OF THE CUP. The man who wins in the contest is \ admired by his enthusiastic Mends. He has worked hard to attain hit? superior power and deserves their applause ; but he alone knows what suffering the effort has cost him. Many a winner of the race gives the credit of his success to Chamberlain's Pain Balm. The ceaseless training which he undergoes brings stiffness and soreness of the muscles and often sprains and • swellings. One application o f this remedy 'gives immediate relief and for cuts and braises it has no equal. It is the favourite liniment among; prominent athletes. For sale by Veale and Chatterton.— Advt. When eggs are cheap presage ihem in Norton's "Premier" Brand, the only Egg Preservative Awarded two Fir,st Prizes.— Burgess, Praser, and Co., Wholesale Agents, New Plymouth -Adyt.,- , ; ;'._. '. .:,,./ .;<&.-. 'l