The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. SATURDAY, SEPT. 17, 1892.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3157, 17 September 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 17, 1892.

Equal and exact iiistice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

Tiie Codlin Moth Bill is in the hands of members. It provides for the appointment of Inspectors and the division of the colony into fruit districts; a Board to consist of five members is to be appointed for each district. The taxing powers of the Board are limited to 2s per halfacre. Inspectors are to be appointed by the Boards for cach district, and a Chief Inspector by the Governor. • The payment of this last ofiicer is provided for by additional taxing power up to Gd per acre. IS r o district is to b-j declared clean until the expiration of one year from the date the Board shall report that no moth exists. The Bill provides for the yearly inspection of nursersies, and a report to be made to the district Board. If, on inspection, they are found to be unclean, they are quarantined, and a penalty of from £10 to £20 is proposed for removing trees therefrom. Owners of orchards are bound under a penalty of from £1 to £10 to give notice of infection, and to root up diseased trees under a penalty of from 10s to .£5. The Bill imposes penalties ranging from 10s to £10 for removing infected fruit within the colony, and any person introducing diseased fruit into the colony is to be liable to a penalty of from 10s to £5. The Act applies to several other pests, of which are enumerated mussel scale, woolly aphis, shot hole fuivus, peach curl, oidium, mildew of grapes, grape vine rot, bla.-k spot of grape, phylloxera, red spider, cherry and pear-leaf slug, and scab of apples and pears. It will, no doubt,'be urged by the opponents of ■the Bill that it imposes fresh tax - i tion, -.I'd vexatiously interferes with the industry of individuals. It also

provides for a number of penalties for breaches of the Act. This, of course , , will bp, made tin; most of by thosf who doubt the ullienuy of the measure, or object to being compelled to take steps, not only for thuir own immediate benefit, but a l B0 —which is of more importance — for the protection of tho industry of their neighbours. It follows, bowevnr, as a matter of course, that an Act which prohibits certain acts or imposes duties must impose penalties, in order to secure, obedience. All the considerations of cost unci interference, with liberty of action and liability to penalties, sink into insignificance 'x-.fore the two amin questions—ls it possible to stamp out the diseases'? If so, Is the proposed measure calculated to do so 1 It is to us tolerably manifest that in the absence of concerted action the diseases dealt with are calculated to destroy our fruit trade, which, owin« to the fitness of our climate, should be one of the most prolific sources of wealth. We are etrongly opposed to every interference with the liberty of individuals to pursue their own avocations according to their own ideas, but liberty becomes license when, its exercise inflicts an injury on individuals or the commonwealth. As regards the Bill, tho cost of administering it would be very triflini; and not worthy of a second thought, provided the machinery it, sets in motion is calculated to prove effective. Of one thing we are quite clear that the Bill should not have included such a long list of pests, as it is manifest that each requires different treatment to effect a cure, and some are more infectious than others. We presume that the clause quarantining nurseries only applies to the particular class of trees effected. For instance, a man who is suffering from grape disease would be at liberty to dispose of his truit and other trees. We quite recognise that the Bill will render the invasion of disease into a nursery more disastrous than is now the case, and it is possible that a man may suffer unnecessary loss by the quarantining of his nursery for twelve months after the disease has disappeared. It is possible that he might discover the scale or other diseases in its earliest stage, and by stringent measures at once stamp it out. He is by the Bill compelled under penalty to report to the inspector, and no discretion reets with that officer; he must place the orchard in quarantine for the full period. We do not pretend to possess the technical knowledge necessary to pronounce an opinion as to the necessity of this provision, and if we were, the Bill deals with so many diseasss that it is not reasonable to suppose that the same precautions are necessary in every case. We fear that the inclusion of such a large catalogue of parasites aud diseases is calculated to and will endanger the passing of the Bill. If it had simply applied to the codlin moth, we believe that it might have been so framed as to have led to the eventual disappearance of the insect. In its present form an attempt has been made to cover so much ground aud to deal with such a number of dissimilar pests and diseases that notwithstanding our strong opinion that legislation is necessary as regards the codlin moth pest, we should be extremely surprised if the Bill in anything like its present form came into operation.