IMPORTATION OF CATTLE INTO WESTLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 84, 20 August 1868, Page 3

IMPORTATION OF CATTLE INTO WESTLAND.

The following report Ist taken from ilnnnard, Tho motion was mado on July T2, in the Mousoof Representatives s— ' Mr HoM/KfITON moved, that thoro bo laid on the table a tttatcment ohowing tho di trictn from which iho Importation of ontllo into VVi'Sthuul Is prohibited, together with copies of any corrcspondonco or oilier documents nlvlng Information aa to iho reasons wbiob Induced tho Government to advl o lilh Hxcclleiusy to Issuo tho Order in Council of tho •JJ3th of Juno, which prohibits tho removal ami transportation of oatilo from a portion of tho Provlnco of Canterbury Into tho Couniy.of WohUiiikl, In making tho motion, iho honourable membor i*td bo thought It right to bring iho subject roforrod to Id tho motion before tlio HoiiHO. Ho .was duslrotifl of ascertaining what Induced tlio Government to lsisiio in - ntructlous prohibiting tlio Importation at cattle Into VVoslland. Tlio maitgr was a serious one, as it concerned the ptfltorul inioro»t» of Canterbury, which woro of eonslderablo moment in that province There was a large mining population In Westlaud who, of course, had no objection to obtaining cattle for slaughter, It was well known that Wostland was not a pastoral country, thereforo it could do tho country no harm in taking cattle thcro for slaughter, It was only recontly that WoHtlaud cenHcd to bd a quarantine ground, It wan mild that the cattle imported into Wofttland from part of Canterbury wore in footed, but thoro woro othor infected dlstriots Irom which cattlo woro Ulcon Into Wcfltlandi Mo would bo glad to hoar from tho Government their rcut)on.-i for Inoiiliip; this order with respuct to tbo i'foviiioo oi Canterbury. Mr IlALii said that iho Qovornmont had no objection, if a fow words wcro added to the motion, to give tho information nought for, Thorn wan an old miying tiiatnow broome xwojit clean, anil tlui sumo romark would apply to now Superintendents. A short lima ago plcuro'piiLiimoula broico out in part of the rrovlncc of Canterbury. Tho liouorablo member bad just boon elected as Supi<rl»rcn< dont, and ho was vory onorgetlo in lilh eil'.>r<s to pi'ovout tho diiioiiKO sui'Qiidlng, for which ho desorved credit. In consequence authority wan granted to provont catilo movinir from tho northern puvtol Oantorbnry to any other part oi! tho province, This Infected district of Canterbury . abutted upon WoMtbuwl, and the flamo reason existed for koonlng Infootod cattle out of Wcßtland aa out of Canterbury. Thu honorable member had spokon of tho largo extent of pnntoral lands in Canterbury, and tho amount of oultlo grazing thori', but the to was also a considerable number of cattlo in Wosiland, and to koop them fr>>o from plonro'puoumonia wasaa essential to West land and an important as similar protection might be io tho Province of Canterbury, Although Woittlaiid might only possofls 0110 owe lamb, that was equally entitled to protection with tlio largo herds belonging to iho friends of tho honorable momber. Ho proposed to add Iho following words to tho motion !— " Alno for all proclamations and other documents rosirlolliiK tho removal of cattlo from one port of the Province of Canterbury to olhar poria of suoh province, together with any documonts Riving Information an to tho rea< hoiih of such rctmictioiiH," His honwrublo friend had Hated that Wosliand was an infected district. Ho was not awaro of plcuropnuumonla cxlflting in Westland. The reason why It Imd boon mado a quarantine ground was not bocauao of tho exigence of plcuroptioumonla, but to enable cattle to bo imported from tho AunU'aUau CqloiiU-h, 'i'ho documents connected with this subicot consistad of telegrams to and from tho Westlaud authorltlco. Tlio Government had no objection to the motion, Mr W, 11. IlAUiiiflON salt! the lion, member had spoken slightingly of the graz- | Ing carrlod on afc VVcstland. It was true that gra/.luir was not extensively curried on yet In \Vcnt)/u)(l, but thcro wuh a disposition bliowii In that County to take up largo trnctu of land ; for grazing. Tho restriction eomnlained of by the lion, member would not Inconvenience tho mlncm. Thoro was no scarcity of cattlo in Wcatland, an lurgo HiippllvH were obtulnod l»y sea-board, and wero not drawn from any particular place, A iitrong reeling had boon expressed by tho owners of small horde, and dairymon, with respect to cattlo that wcro nA'coted being Imported Into tho County of Weutland, Mr Koi.MCfITON would liko to inako one obflcrvation in reply to his lion, friend on the Mlnitterlal Bench, as tlio remarks he had mado did not moot bin objections. Ho dtd not think Iho lion, member had stated tho enno fairly. Ho know that (11 dealing with bis littlo cwo lamb, in that anil other cases in which ho had been

1 said to 1)0 mnking nn experiment, in coypoi'tvitifha waa to a great extent, guilty 1 of partiality, Tlio atato of the oaao as regarded tho provinco of Canterbury was, that a mob of infected cattlo wero brought from tho NorH), and tho Government took steps to draw a line round them on the watte land or , reserve on which they had been driven. It was necessary to include a much torpor district than tho immediate locality in which tho i catllo wero confined, in tho proclamation. A largo number of cattlo had nover been near tho Infected mob, but for purposes of iaolnttott it was necessary there should bo a larger extent of country proclaimed. Tho Government were mado fully awaro by the Provincial Government of Canterbury that they , had no intention to kcop tho restriction in force, any longer thaw wi\s> necessary to ascertain whether tlio dlso.no was thoroughly stamped out or not, and ih.it it wns tho last thing they thought of to tako any stops by i which wrong should bo dono to any interests In Canterbury or Wcslland, Tho motion as amended was agreed to.