THE POUNDKEEPER IN REPLY.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4543, 20 May 1889, Page 3

THE POUNDKEEPER IN REPLY.

TO THE EDITOR OF TUB TIMAHU HERALD. 5 ib, — With your kind permission, I would like to s»y a few words in reference to tho oomplaints and remarks mud a thereon about the poundkeoper, on Monday evening last. Messrs Scanlon and Hanson complained of being overcharged for their dorses when ia tlio pound ; but if thoy or any otljor person will rend tho schedule of chnrgpn, a copy of which i» printed on tho pound board, thoy would there soe that tho charges nmtie wore strictly in accordance with luo Impounding ActMr Hanson scorns to bo soro at having to piy 2j 6d for b notice whioh ho had not roCeived when the hor»o woi npplicd for. Now, tho poundknepcr is bound hy liw, if tinowner of animals i» known, to deliver or send by poit a written notico forthwith when anything romes to tho pound, but in Hanson's csso, tho constable having taken llio horse homo, and found no fine to tiiko delivery, brought him to the pound. This being so, I waited one hour expecting cvry minute someone coining to fctoh him. >V ono camo, so tho notico was written, find ported threo liours beforo any person cuino. Then a porfeot stranger eamo and wanted tho horse. It was n very dark night, so I told him to rornn agn n at sunrise next morning. In doing this my duty was quite clour, ns laid down in the ActNow, Sir, to pass on to Ids remarks ma'lo at tlm council meeting, some of which were astonishing, if indeed nof cilitulnlcrl to alarm ownors of utock in both town anil country. His Worship the Aluyor stilted Hint a largo revenue (£l9 in ono year) accrued from the tho amount mentioned was simply tho proceeds of sales held at the pound, and (mid into the borough funds to awuit being claimed by tho owners of the animals sold. Mont of tho money I belioyo haa sioco been cltiiined . Again, sir, Councillor Delanoy mnde the ab»tird usicrtion (hat a prope)'ty h,oldor i^ouli) ulmrgo what ho liknd for trospuaf", wheruas no person ('.in oluiin through the poundkoepor moro than 'it Od for trespass, oxcopt under clause 16 when fonccs have been damaged by calllo. Tho most outrageous statement made by Councillor Delanoy wa» that it was not o,

J 1 rare thing for an animal to go into the pound alive at night, and bo carried out dead next morning for want of feeding. This ussertion speeks for itself, for no man with ordinary common eense would believe that an animal would die in twelve hours for want of food. On this point I wish to say that it is utterly untrue, and a libol on the ', poundkeeper. During last week I have gone through the pound book containing all entries . for tho past sixteen years, and tho result is \ that fivo horses have died at the pound in , that time ; all of them being diseased and ', broken down, the veriest old skeletons which [ could bo picked up in tho district — turned , out to die or fare tho best they could, and no ! owner (although known) would claim them. Those horses were in the pound varying from eight to fourteen days each, and this proves the falsity of Mr Dolanoy's rash assertions. I am, &c, Wit. BtTTTEBWOI'.TH.