THE UNEMPLOYED QUESTION.

Timaru Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 1775, 8 June 1895, Page 4

THE UNEMPLOYED QUESTION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMARtJ HERALD. Sir — Being a constant reader of your esteemed papery -in -which' the unemployed question is often brqught; before the' public;' arid' schemes proposed tp assistriir Telteving the distress,. I think it would riot be oufof place to suggest one more that would, if carried out proiperly, relieve many at the expense of those who could weirafford it. One cannot help being struck with astonishment when trayel\ing^ through this,:beaufiful , country,, to .see'.eyery Riverbed and many 'roads alßapst 1 wcnp^ssaljle with gorse i gr'owirig' I ((ih'them, frontirig m lnauy. Anr ■stances on properties belonging to ;well-to-do farmers," runhordjei'S,' i and others, and even members /of ; some local bodies, who are wholly responsible for the disgraceful state of sorne 61 our 'public^highways entrusted tcj. their.care. The Act clearly states that the local body may, after the expiratiori: of fourteen Idays' notice advertise for tendeis-for the gorse-clearing to be done fit the expense of the occupier, owner, or mortgagee, as the case may be, and recover the cost of the work m a court pf taw. There are many Who can well afford to clear the gorse but, - neglect . to ' do sp, while others keep it ' dear. All should be served alike. No doubt you hjlve passed, by\ that; beautiful little property. called Koo'hobr;' land, .some of. the others close by said to .belopg .to .jJie Bank of New Zealand. Such owners should be the first to set an example to others. 1 hope that m no instance lias any member of our local bodies any ! goi'se growing on his boundaries. If so, I would suggest to tliein to get it done at oiice, and make others comply witli the notice. By so doing, work would be , found for many men m Timaru district arid elsewhere. Local bodies spend thousands' of pounds annually m the destructiori of small birds, m one way or another. But this gprse, nuisance^ncQurages the birds to breed in'prethan anything, as it is excellent shelter during the cold winter months aird sate ;ffoni : <:the' gales that blow most nestis outf of the.treqs at breed-, mg 1 time. ' I hppe .bin* Rpad Board • and County Council will wake up a,nd do their duty m this matter. ' They will ,be better deseryingof the thanks, which we 6we tb tliein.' -I riiay' say that suqh omissions of duty-all tend to trundle the; wheel ; towards -the abolition ''of local bodies,: as: we have hear,d mentioned lately. If this work so neglected now, iyas m the hands of the police 1 or a Government inspector who would be m a more independent position to enforce law, it would, not be so bad, as I am sure he would avail himself of the opportunity of finding work for many men, and the gorse nuisance would soon be a thing of the past. Hoping I have not trespassed too much on you space, I am, etc., ; . Mattock.