The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1881

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 739, 9 April 1881, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1881

When the first prosecutions under the Rabbit Act were argued in our local courts we expresssd an .opinion that the practical issue oi all actions would ■be to sustain the verdict of the Inspector, Mr Warded has; more than once

subsequently stated in Court that the onus of judging- what 1 constitutes efficient steps'rests entirely,'with the Court, and that the, opinion of,the Inspector was not iii any Wjr .conclusive in determining a case. Any defendant who could satisfy the Court that he had taken efficient steps, would obtain judgment, even though the Inspector's opinion was antagonistic 'to him. Of course Mr Wardell was right in his interpretation of the Act, but none the less were we correct in anticipating that the verdict of the Inspector would, as a rule, be upheld. In the many cases which have now been heard in our courts the result has invariably been a conviction, and just as long as competent men are employed to inspect wo may expect to seo convictions recorded wherever prosecutions ' are instituted, The moral of all this -is that landowners must secure good' Inspectors by electing capable trustees, and that the Inspectors, when once appointed, must be regarded as experts in the matter of destroying rabbits, Farmers must yield to the wishes of their Inspector, and though that officer has nominally no status under the Act told itisnothis.pkce.to give advice or direction for the destruction of the pest, he is actually an authority as to the best means of extermination, and any proprietor of land who takes what an-Inspector considers to be efficient steps will certainly be exempt from the annoyance of legal notices and legal proceedings. The case decided on .Thursday was certainly a hard one. Mr J.Y.Smith, the defendant in it, actually sought counsel from tlie Inspector, but-probably from a change in the office which shortly afterwards occurred—he did' not receive that assistance and co-operation from the inspecting officer to which he was, in our opinion, entitled. The consequence was he acted on his own judgment inthemethod which headopted for destroying rabbits, The new Inspector took a different view to that which Mr Smith held, and the magistrate while giving the defendant credit for taking active steps to exterminate the pest, held that his judgment was fallible in one particular point, and fined him. Morally in this case the .responsibility lay with the Inspector, and not with'the landowner, This case however is an exceptional one, In the majority of instances brought before the Court the Inspectors have been right, and that they are not more severe than they have occasion to be.l is evident from the fact that rabbits are not decreasing rapidly in this dis-1 trict, It is indeed an open question question whether they are not, .on the whole, increasing. It is quite evident to us that many landowners in the Masterton district are not taking efficient steps to clear off rabbits, and it is imperative that they should be compelled to do so as soon as possible. Many persons resent the visits of an Inspector to their properties,'and, instead of making him a friend and assistant, they force him to assume a hostile attitude towards them. We hope tho vexatious and expensive proceedings which have engaged the attention of the K.M. Court on so many occasions will gradually teach landowners to regard liabbit Inspectors as their friends, and to treat them as such, The law compels men to exterminate rabbits, and the Inspector is the person who will punish them for breaking the law, or assist them in keeping it. The latter is decidedly the more sensible alternative. The moral of the whole question is " obey the Inspector ". If this officer should bo'incompetent there is a legitimate method of removing him. If he is competent his opinion should, be respected, and his advice followed. Going into the KM. Court is simply a waste of time and monev.

The Wairarapa Hospital Committee meets at 3 p.m. to-day at Messrs F. H. Wood & Co.'s office. The next meeting of the Committee of the proposed now hall at Kuripuni will ho held on Monday evening next, at-7 p.m. The cricket match commenced last Saturday between Greytown and Kwuta ; whiti, will be concluded this afternoon. The much decried colonial youth are hot at any rate devoid of British pluck, On Wednesday last at tlio Groytown school a little boy ran agaist a post and hurt himself, on which, without saying a word to anyone, he quietly walked home, His mother, seeing "something serious was wrong, called in a medical man, who at once informed her that the child's collar bone was broken,. We are glad to bo able to state that the patient is progressingfavorally, It is reported that there is a likelihood of that dangerous construction known as the. Black Bridge being replaced by anew one. The toll gate (to. be, most probably, on the Greytown side) will neces-. sarily require a new house to be built for the keeper, which will we trust, be an improvement on the one which has had to bo used hitherto.

MvT. W. Pilcher, carrier, of Wellington, has filed a declaration of insolvency. ■ Mr Morton, of the English High School, Wellington, notifies that he has a vacancy for one boarder.

. An advertisement of Plimmer's new industry, the manufacture of bone manure, appears in Another column; '

At a late meeting of the luripuni Hall Committee, tho Bank of Australasia was appointed as tho bank of the promoters of the movement,

There was a good turn-out of tho Mas. terton Volunteers for the parade last evening. Under Sergeant Bezar there is a fair chance of onv local corps improving. He is evidently the right man in the right place.

Wo direct attention to the advertisement offering a welhknown hotel in this town for sale or to let. . The business is ft large and improvable one,, and to a man with capital would be a first-class investment.

The annual tea meeting to celebrate the "Wesleyan Church Anniversary, is announced for Good Friday in the Town Hall,- A public meeting will be held after in the Wosleyftn' Church at 7 o'clock. .• The hghting department of the Master.ton' Borough Council is again active, Its solitary Tongariro was suppressed some time back, but yesterday it was re-erected at the side of a. telegraph-post, in the presence Tof a M committee of the Counoil, A special parade of the' members of the Masjterton Rifle Yolunteers .who intend taking part in the review:, at .Nelson on Easter Mohttayi;wiJl.'be held in ; 'the school ■playground; 'on ; . v Mowlay\ and' Tuesday mornings at .6;a,ih'.', and oh Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. It is. more than probable that a good company will be got together in the Wairarapato attend the review.:'

The Wairarapa West County Council meets to-day,

Mr 0, F. Gawith advertises money to lend on freehold security. J. lorns & Co. Bell at thoir yards this afternoon store sheep, furniture, &c. Mr A. D. Cowan who for six months past haa been an inmate of our local hospital is not expected to survive many hours.--:, ■•" :■:'-.::. '■•_;.. ■■•■••■■ '-'-•'■

A meeting of the Masterton Town Lands Trust is convened for : Thursday next, to. receive half-yearly report, and elect two auditors.

Mr Fogden is we learn doing well in the'Masterton Hospital. A rumor that his arm had been amputated is altogether unfounded. ;Dr Hoakirig is still sanguine 1 that he will save the limb.

In our notice yesterday of a duet at the entertainment given in St "Matthew's B .?k°°J.' I r 9 om > Mias Morison's name was given j ih.place of if we should have said Miss Best, We understand that on'the next occasion .there .will- be:an' entire change of programme, 'and some vboalists who did not appear on the opening night, willgive their services.

L-Mr.O. Collins„of the Wairarapa, who has recently been compelled to shelter himself in the Bankruptcy Court, was charged a t Featheraton on Monday last 1 by Mr A. Armstrong, trustee in the estate with wilful and corrupt perjury. Mr Bunny appeared for the'prosecution, and Mr Edwards for the defence, The case occupied the whole day, and resulted in the accused being committed for trial to the Wellington Supreme Court. Ireland Brothers, Panmure Tannery at Auckland; the largest and most extensive in New_ Zealand, was totally destroyed by fire this morning. When it was discovered, the.flames had a firm hold of the buildings, and.nothing could be done to.save them, or the goods, stored in them, Nothing is known regarding, the origin of the fire. The insurances, so far, are unknown.. The total loss is estimated at £20,000. Among the property troyed were 6000 sides of leather, 18 bales of basils, GOO calves' skins, 3600 bides, 300 tons of bark,'and 3600 gallons of cod oil. The tanneiy, whioh did a large business, gave employment to 80 men.

The grand haka yesterday at Te Ore Ore was a mild fra.ud.for the extraction of a shilling or two out of unwary Europeans. There but it was of a very feeble character, and was scarcely worth the money- charged for the entertainment. Paora, tho prophet objected to dancing altogether. One of his aid-de-camps who among the Gentiles is known as "Johnny the Liar," explained:-"We travel with Jehovah to-day." But when they put into the old prophet's hand 70s taken at the gates, and stated that it wovdd have to be refunded, he sighed and relented. That fetched him I and he allowed the dance to proceed. Before, however, the festive Maories had worked up steam the sacred cowbell was nmg, and the entertainment was abruptly concluded.

_ We hear from reliable authority that it is the intention of Messrs Schroder, Hooper & Co. to make their first grand display of Autumn and Winter Millinery, Drapery, and' Clothing at the Hall of Commerce, on Saturday,.March 19th, consisting of. 71 packages and bales. As the bulk of their magnificient stock has been imported direct from the manufacturers, the public can rely upon obtaining all the latest fashions and designs of the season at extremely low prices. We would advise all purchasers and lovers of fashion to make an early call at the Hall of Commerce and inspect their stock. Thoir advertisement will be found on the front page of this paper .-[Anvil.