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districts, and they now paid towards the Pastures and Stock Boards. They desired that the Crown should 

 now pay towards the destruction of rabbits also. He thought that they could now bring in a resolution 

 to the effect that any abandoned Crown land should be taxed on the basis of one sheep to 5, 6, or 7 acres 

 whichever they chose or it might even be one sheep to 10 acres. This would do away with the 

 necessity of having these Crowu lands valued. It would be a rough and ready but a very simple way of 

 assessing the taxation. Many of the gentlemen present had found it difficult to know how farmers and 

 others would be brought in unless their lauds were valued. He thought there again they might bring 

 forward a simple way of getting over the difficulty by providing that any cultivated land be on the basis 

 of 1 acre to one sheep. According to the Act, as he read it, any man who had cultivated his land would 

 be required to pay as if he had laid it down in grass. He would like Mr. Taylor to tell them whether it 

 was not the case that it was intended that those words should be " laid down in cultivated grasses." They 

 could not say laid down in ordinary grasses ; that would not be "laid down." Ho disagreed with the idea 

 that cultivated lands should be taxed as if laid down in cultivated grasses. They should not be taxed any 

 more than if the land were in its original condition. In order to prevent valuation and its attendant 

 expense, it would be a fair and reasonable thing to say that any cultivated laud should be equal to 1 acre 

 to one sheep, or t acre to two sheep. He hated the idea of valuation. Men of fads were going round 

 and valuing the land at 1, 2, 3, or 4 per acre. Ho thought his scheme would meet the views of the 

 people who held cultivated lands, and would be cheaper and less cumbersome to work. 



Mr. TAYLOB explained that the intention was that the assessment on cultivated land would be 

 what it would carry if laid down in cultivated grasses. 



Mr. ALISON (Canonbar) thought that if it were " laid down" it would mean something that was put 

 there. They should omit this dangerous clause. Ho might have to pay at the rate of ten, fifteen, or 

 twenty sheep to the acre. It would be better to be sure than to be sorry. He would move, " That in clause 12, 

 line 31, the amounts levied under the rate shall be proportionate to the stock returns; and to that end, the 

 llabbit Board shall, in the first instance, strike the rate as a rate of so much per sheep, but not so as to 

 exceed one penny per sheep in any one year ; that any abandoned Crown lands shall be taxed on the 

 basis of one sheep to 6 acres, and ia cultivated land on the basis of 1 acre to one sheep." 



Mr. ATKINSON seconded the resolution. 



Mr. ALISON (Canonbar) said that he would cut the resolution in two First, "That line 32 be struck 

 out with a view to the insertion of the words, ' the amounts levied under the rate shall be proportionate 

 to the stock returns.' " 



Mr. ATKINSON seconded the proposal. 



Mr. FLANAGHAN (Gunbar) said that the very best agricultural land in the Hay district was the worst 

 grazing land, and the worst grazing lauds were sometimes the best agricultural lands. He said it might 

 cost a man 2 or 3 to the acre to clear land that would not carry a sheep to the acre, and by this he 

 would bo taxed for his industry. 



Mr. GIBSON (Hay), speaking to the motion, said he would point out that they made their stock 

 returns on the 3 1st December each year. The number of stock a man returned on the 31st December meant 

 the number that this country could carry. There were some men who made a practice of having no stock 

 on the 31st December. There were other men who carried in a few mouths in summer only all the 

 stock they could carry in the year. That would be the difficulty. He thought, .taking everything into 

 consideration, although a person might be appointed who would have to make a sort of assessment, the 

 owners should contribute to this rabbit fund in proportion to the number of stock their land would carry, 

 independently of any returns, because the returns showed neither one thing nor the other. He proposed 

 as an amendment, " That the tax should be based upon the number of sheep or stock the holding was 

 estimated to be able to carry." 



Mr. GORMAN (Berrigan) had much pleasure in seconding Mr. Gibson. He agreed that in many 

 districts many men would have no stock at all, and he had known some of their worst infested areas held 

 by mortgagees, which had nothing but rabbits on them, and he presumed that they would make no returns. 

 This clause as it read here would suit very well. He thought that subsection (i) should stand. If they 

 elected men to the Board they should have confidence in them. These men would know the circumstances 

 of the district. 



Mr. OATLEY said he might state one fact here. Speaking from experience, there was some land 

 they had had valued by different people as to the carrying capacity. The average was from 8 acres to a 

 sheep down to 2. If this proposal went forth it would give a great deal of trouble. 



Mr. CUMMINO (Hillston) rose to support Mr. Gibson's motion. It would be very unfair taking 

 sheep only. In his district there were abandoned runs as well as abandoned Crown lands. There were 

 6(5,000 acres in one lot, and they would escape taxation altogether. 



Mr. BACON (Brewarrina) thought that the last speaker did not grasp the full extent of Mr. Alison's 

 motion. He wished to provide for some assessment of Crown lands which were unoccupied. He would 

 point out that in the most particular thing the assessment of rent the stock returns were the basis by 

 which the Chairmen of the Land Boards were guided. They must know that when rents have to be 

 assessed there is a great deal of trouble between the Crown Assessor and the owners. Were they going 

 to have a Court to assess the carrying capacity of each holding? He thought that the only possible basis 

 that it could be done on was that of the stock returns. They were the only safe guides to go by. It was 

 really not worth while doing it in any other way. 



Mr. ATKINSON would suggest that they could arrive at a good understanding on this point without 

 going to the expense of having their land valued. Let the members of the Boards in the different districts 

 assess the carrying capacity. Those men, living in the district, would have a very good idea of the carrying 

 capacity of any particular run, and therefore it might safely be left to them, with a right of appeal and 

 the right to bring evidence in support of their appeal. 



Mr. ALISON explained that his motion was simply to adopt the process that had been adopted, and 

 was now in force, under the Pastures and Stock Protection Act. 



Mr. DILL (Hay) rose to support Mr. Alison's motion, and in doing so would like to see certain 

 words that had been made use of altered. He thought that rather too much was being asked from the 

 Crown. He was thoroughly in accord with Mr. Alison's motion. Only recently he was on a run which 

 had been abandoned. It was thoroughly fenced ; there was a comfortable homestead and a woolshed on 

 it, and yet it had been abandoned. He had seen millions of acres which would not carry one sheep to 

 20 acres. 



Mr. 



