NO GAME AVAILABLE FOR RELEASE IN WANGANUI DISTRICT

Wanganui Chronicle, 6 May 1949, Page 6

NO GAME AVAILABLE FOR RELEASE IN WANGANUI DISTRICT

“The society is in a very healthy state financially in spite of the fact that the expenditure exceeded the revenue by a small amount during the past year," said the president, Mr. H. Manguson, at the annual meeting of the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society last night. The society had been unable to find a means of spending its surplus funds because of its inability to secure birds. “We had tried very hard, under dillicult circumstances, to get game birds, but our efforts were unavailing," he said. Local breeders, too, had been unsuccessful in raising chickens. The difficulty appeared to be in getting the game past the chicken stage. A certain amount of feeling existed among members, and even among some members of the council, regarding the revenue from shooting being spent on fish, said Mr. Manguson. The money that was being spent on fish was not money that belonged to the people who paid for shooting licences. During the years from 1926 to 1949 the revenue collected by the society from shooting licences was £2754, of which £1695 had been spent in game birds and £786 in ranging. During the same period the revenue from fishing licences was £7Bl, of which £559 had been spent, in procuring fish to stock the streams. The whole of the society's surplus funds came from opossum revenue. The revenue front royalties and licences from 1926 to I. was £1798, of which £159 had been spent in gift trees. "We now have an energetic fishing committee and we should be very grateful for the work its members have done," said Mr. Manguson. It was hoped to stock the lakes around the coast with fishing in the future, and it was hoped the experiment would prove successful. The lakes were the breeding places of eels, but it was hoped to stock them successfully. In this activity the fishing committee had done very good work. The following officers were elected: Patron, Mr. James Allison; president, Mr. H. Manguson; vice-presidents, Messrs L. Shepherd. A. L. Nalder, J. Dunlop and F. M. Banks; council, Messrs F. Allison, H. R. Beauchamp, A. H. Coe, F. G. Griedrich, V. Horrocks,' A. F. Healey, P. G. James. J. O'Kane, M. T. Quinn, L. W. Young, J. Sheppard, A. Bell. G. R. Jones, K. Scott K. Prouse. J. Ruscoe and Gardiner; solicitor, Mr. R. S. Withers; secretary and treasurer, Mr. W. M. Falcon er.