He took it that "more representative bodies" meant more representative of the vital interests that 

 were at stake the interests of the large man, the interests of the small mail, the interests of the general 

 taxpayer, and the interests of the people who owned the Crown lands of the Colony. How had that 

 recommendation been carried out r 1 In this Bill it is proposed to place the matter in the hands of more 

 representative bodies, namely, the Rabbit Boards which it is proposed to constitute under section 5 of this 

 Bill. Complaints had been made against having two Government nominees on the Boards ; but when it is 

 considered that the State controls over 2-10,000,000 acres, and will have to provide a large sum for dealing 

 with this pest, he had yet to learn that that great land owner should not have at least a minority 

 representation ; and it must be borne in mind that this representation will also be of value in this respect, 

 that where the State is called upon to expend sums of money it will pay more heed to the request, 

 knowing that two of its own nominees are on the Board. 



The next resolution was, " That the Stock and Pastures Boards should be empowered to make special 

 levies for the destruction of rabbits and the erection of rabbit-proof barrier i'ences where necessary." 



Clause 12 deals with this recommendation ; but there is one little divergence, namely, the provision 

 with respect to half rates being levied on owners of holdings who in the opinion of the Boards are already 

 rabbit-proof fenced. This he was sure would be appreciated. It meant that some consideration was to 

 be shown to the man who had helped himself. 



The next was. "That the local controlling authority should have the power to make destruction of 

 rabbits compulsory in their respective districts." 



In clause 29 of the Bill it will be seen that this recommendation lias been carried out. 



The next recommendation was, " That the Crown should take steps to secure the reoccupation of the 

 abandoned areas of the Colony on any terms, provided that the destruction of rabbits was made 

 compulsory.'' 



This is a matter more for administration 'than for legislation, and it has been the chief aim of the 

 Lands Department to secure this result. Some 161 improvement leases have already been let on this 

 class of country, covering an area of 1,861,828 acres, on all of which the compulsory killing of rabbits is 

 one of the conditions. Then, again, in addition to this, large tracts of country which have been merely 

 breeding grounds for the rabbit have been dealt with on special terms. On the West Bogan one of the 

 conditions is the destruction of rabbits, and the same applies to the Pilliga Scrub, which has been 

 surveyed and thrown open for tender under improvement leases, and is slowly being taken up. So that 

 so far as that recommendation goes it has been carried out. It is hoped that some 3,000,000 acres of these 

 waste lands will be taken up in the next two years, on the whole of which the compulsory killing of 

 rabbits will be a condition. 



The next recommendation referred to " the free carriage of rabbits on the railways." 



This is also a matter of administration, and the Kailway Commissioners have endeavoured to meet 

 exporters to a very large extent, as rabbits are now carried by passenger trains at half parcel rates, and 

 on goods trains they are carried under Table A the cheapest rates ; so that, say, from Narrandera, a 

 distance of 318 miles, a ton of rabbits could be brought to Sydney for 1 6s. 10d., which was only about 

 one-third of a penny per mile. 



The next resolution, namely, " the abolition of the duty on netting," had also been complied with. 



The next resolution was, " That netting should be carried free on the railways, where empty sheep 

 or cattle trucks could be used." 



Netting is now being carried at sheep and cattle rates, which is as cheap as can be expected from 

 an undertaking conducted on commercial lines, 



The next proposal was, " That the State should supply netting to landholders, charging interest at 

 the rate of 4 per centum per annum." 



Clause 26 of this Bill was framed to comply with this recommendation. He had gone as far as ho 

 could in this respect, but he might be able to go still further, so long as the repayment of advances was 

 provided for. This matter would be in the hands of the local bodies, so that there would be no waste of 

 public funds. 



The next recommendation was, " That the compulsory fencing clauses of the Eabbit Act of 1890 

 should be enforced without inflicting hardship on individual owners." 



From a perusal of the Bill, it will bo seen that this has been done, provision being made in clause 

 26 which will obviate the infliction of undue hardship. 



The next recommendation is to the effect " That where barrier fences are constituted under the 

 Pastures and Stock Protection Boards, they shall remain the property of those Boards, and provision made 

 to ensure their safety." 



Legislation in this direction is proposed in clauses 20 and 22 so as to give effect to this proposal. 



Then followed a request " That power should be given to the local authorities to proclaim that 

 certain adjoining holdings should form a group, that such group be fenced, and that the destruction of 

 rabbits be carried on simultaneously within such fence, and to apportion the cost amongst the owners 

 affected." 



This is your own proposal, and it is given effect to in clause 43. 



The next was, " That the Conference having decided that the question of dealing with the rabbit pest 

 should be placed in the hands of the Stock and Pasture Boards, the Government should contribute 

 towards the destruction of the pest in the proportion to the area of Crown lands in any district. It was 

 decided that the matter should be in the hands of the Pastures and Stock Boards only until superseded by 

 more responsible bodies." 



In clause 32 it is set down that the Crown is to contribute towards the destruction of rabbits on 

 public lands in the same ratio to the rabbit rates as the Crown lands bear to the private lands in the 

 district. This provision precludes the possibility of any complaint that the Crown is trying to evade its 

 responsibilities. The Government will have to undertake the work on all the public reserves and waste 

 lands of the Colony which are at present a harbour for the pest. 



It would thus be seen that the resolutions of the 1S95 Conference had been carried out as far as the 

 proposals of this Bill were concerned ; and it seemed rather hard on him that the persons who framed those 

 recommendations should now condemn them. He did not profess to have a very great knowledge of 

 rabbits, but he claimed to be able to put the recommendations which had been placed before him into a 

 Bill. 



It 



