The Western Star. (PUBLISHED WEEKLY.) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1874.

Western Star, Issue 51, 31 October 1874, Page 4

The Western Star. (PUBLISHED WEEKLY.) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1874.

O-Fall the “Nuisances,” rabbit nuisanc*. and all other* included, which prove so annoying to oar country settlers, perhap*. there is none more annoying to than the “Thistle Nuisance.” We are not quite sure, that any of the various legislative amendments which have been enacted for the avowed purpose of “ eradicating thistles’* have been of much use to the settlers generally, and we knew that in certain individual instances, they have themselves proved both asourceof annoyanee and expense. However that may be, it should be widly known and remembered, that there is now in force in this part of the province, a very stringent enactment of this kind, to the terms of which all whom it aiay concern will do well to take good heed. We allude to the Thistle Ordinance, 1862,” passed by the Provincial Council of the late province of Southland., This Ordinance has lately been brought into, operation within certain defined boundarys (given below) by a Proclamation by His Honor the Superintendent which appeared in a recent issue of the Provincial Government Gazette. We indicate a few of' the main provisions of the Ordinance for general information. Section 111.,, provides a penalty of “ not less” than ten shillings, nor more than thirty shillings for “-every day v thistles are allowed to grow on land, the owner, or occupier- of which, has previously been served with seven day’s notice to destroy and eradicate them.

According to Schedule IV., the owner or occupier- of land abutting even on a public road is brought under the opera tion of exactly similar pains aud penalties with respect to “ the half of such road adjacent to his laud, and bounded by the middle line of the road” as if he had suffered thistles so to grow on land in his tenure or possession.“' Section V 111.,. is short, albeit, capable of proving the rovers© of “ sweet” if strictly and impartially carried into effect. We quote it entire, it reads as follows : The occupier of any laud upon which shall be found any noxious thistles which shall have run to seed, shall be liable to a penalty of not le-w than £5, and not more than d 620.” Now judging from the limited sphere of our personal observation we are inclined to think, that the chief difficulty’would be pot to find “ any,” land upon which “any” thistles had run to seed, but to find any land where at least “ aamo” h id not been allowed to do so. The above are the main provisions of the Ordinance now in force, and the limits within which they are inforced are thus described : —All that parcel of land in the Province of Otago bounded towards th.© North by the northern boundaries of the Aparima and Oreti Hundreds; towards the East by the Oreti Ever; towards the South by the Ocean ; and towards the West by the western boundaries of the Jacob’s River aud Aparima Hundreds.”

To our very energetic representative Mr Camming, the distinct is mainly indebted for the Ordinance, being brought into operation at the present time, and we can only hope that ail the good results anticipated from it by one so well able to judge, may be fully realised ; though for ourselves we have our doubts. The grounds of these doubts we shall probably refer to in a future issue.