CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1455, 13 August 1883, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE RABBIT" QUESTION.

| TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY. |

Sir,—Far. the last month the leading' topic has been "Scab." This of late has subsided, and the Babbit ■Question js. now • coming; to_ the fore. Will this, too, be«nine days' wonder, »ud;wrll the Gqvevniijen'i deal with it as they . hayo dpne . with the scabf-By ■'appointing ,a new insp&toi:}find tfiirik they have taken eraiiient fijesisures' an<T ; done them!'' There is"a' proper and efficient way of: dealing-with the rabbits, as well as scab, in the North.. Island; It mpans i the expenditure iof nioney to jceep tne 1 pest within bounds, if nofc to, stamp it out effectually, and .it.is -only in a, small portion of the Wellington pro-

vincial district that the rabbits abound. This expenditure is quite warrantable, us shewn by ' the statistics of Mr Teschmaker, as quoted by the Rev J. C. Andrews' letter to the jfost of the 7th, in which he shows that the country is at the loss of .£1,500,000 per annum by the rabbits. The loss by scab #t the present time is estimated at <£200,000. The greater of' these losses are from the South Island, as the rabbits abound.from end to-_end. Query—What will be the" effect if the rabbits are allowed to increase from end to end of the North Island ? The Government should assist freeholders: bordering on Crowii'Lands :: . infested with rabbits to fonce them in with rabbit-proof fencing.. This, would have, the effect of causing such CrownLands to be fenced with a ring fence.- • The bulk of Crown Lands in this island aro forest, and the rabbito would, readily take the poisoned grain, should be no argument for the Goyo'rnment to say, because tlioy could not" aa. Marlborough in the' South that they would refuse assistance altogether, inthe North. Moneys derived from fines under the Sheep and Kabbit Acts which now go into the Consolidated fund, should-with the.,overplus of sheep rates, since the abolition of the Provinces with the accumulated sheep rates before the abolition of Provinces (which;is nothing very .considerable), : , ought to form a part of the expenditure ' : eradicating theso pests. When New ' Zealand was first colonized,'the r only vermin.,tbo.colonists had to .contend ~' with were Maoris and mosquitoes, since' " i then we have .imported jrabbits,. tCftb,: r r. lice, -ringworm,'-sparrows; larks; and ahost of other abominations, and.,we ," i hear of a late importation of weasels 'and stoats, and see a letter soliciting " the .assistance of the Government towards importing.; all sorts of vermin. Surely the advocators of these new abominations must take 1 it for granted that they live entirely on rabbits, ' and have no partiality whatever for birds • and young lambs of which there, are not a fey. . This method of importing vermin for the extermination of rabbits is too utterly absurd for further comment,.as we have only to" domiiaVtS A the enormous proprogating propensity '' of the rabbits, as compared with any other noxious animals, and . refer ,to, v; Australia for the result. There we find that until the last few, years when.,phosphorus came into voguo, • the rabbits wore increasing to an alarming extent, notwithstanding that: T : they had natural enemies'from the first, such as snakes, iguanas, eagles, hawks,, native cats, tiger cats, - dingoes, devils, tigers and others. The ' ' enormous taxes that New. Zealand is at present saddled, with, felt morebri :! * account of its •infancy and distance from foreign markets, together with" the . decrease of stock from rabbits, will, if the Government do not leave., . off playing with, .railways' for, posterity' ' ami grapple with the present, have the effect of driving the people out of-the country. .-The result of such a step , must be palpaple to all. Agitation is only formidable by virtue of what is, . reasonable- in its demauds, and Parliament rarely lends to the claims of reason and justice. Sonic pressure has almost'always to be put in to see the »'ight, so I strongly advise the public to urge the Government by " petition," Y\ by _" address," A by " remonstrance," until efficient measures; are taken by; ", theui towards the fencing of Crown Lands and laying,poison. .. : 1 .'' I am, etc., . ■.. Fences;and Phosphorus.