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constituted, he had set himself the task o? liberalising the franchise of the Stock Board not for the 

 purpose of constituting out of the Stock and Pastures Board another Board the Rabbit Board but for the 

 general purposes of the Stock and Pastures Act, and that was what he had pointed out to the Conference 

 all along, that to carry out their idea they would have to amend the Pastures and Stock Act and the 

 Diseases in Sheep A ct in order to give the rest of the taxpayers a franchise. That would not be necessary 

 if another Board were established to administer this Rabbit Act. Now they had set to work to liberalise 

 the franchise for the Stock and Pastures Board, and they had done so in such a manner, he was inclined to 

 think, that they had liberalised the apex and curtailed the base, and that when it came before Parliament the 

 whole edifice would topple over. They had liberalised the franchise reducing the minimum to 250 sheep, 

 and increasing the voting power from four to eight. Now, if that did not apply to the other functions of 

 this Stock and Pastures Protection Board, in so far as that dealt with Stock and Pastures matters, and 

 Diseases in Sheep matters, then on this basis they were constituting another Board with a different 

 franchise, and it did not follow that the men elected on the one franchise would be the men who would 

 be chosen on the other. AVhat he wanted to know was this : What was the position this Conference 

 intended to take up ? The whole thing was frought with difficulties. The Conference had set out with 

 the idea of placing the whole of the administration of this Bill in the hands of the Stock and Pastures 

 Board, as constituted for Stock and Pastures purposes, but as they had gone on they had lost that idea, 

 and had been working with a view of establishing a separate Board within the Stock and Pastures Board for 

 purposes of administering this Bill. (Members : No, no.) If that was not so, then why was it objected 

 that the Government nominee should not sit upon matters affecting any business but the rabbit business ? 

 Would he not be a member of the Stock and Pastures Board? If this combination were not given, his 

 contention was, that they were not placing the administration of this Bill under the Stock and Pastures 

 Board, but they were placing it under a separate Board, with a different function. Now they had got 

 themselves into this very difficult position, and it seemed to him that he was borne out in his contention 

 by Mr. Oliver. Mr. Oliver could not say what was the intention of this Conference. It might be, 

 looking at it from one standpoint, that the Stock and Pastures Board were to administer this Act. But 

 when they came to other provisions in this Bill he could only come to the conclusion that the Stock and 

 Pastures Board as a Stock and Pastures Board were not to administer this Act, that a Rabbit Board 

 which might be a Stock and Pastures Board, and might not be, was to administer the Act. He thought 

 the Conference should rescind the whole of the resolution, and go back to the Minister's proposal. The 

 Stock Boards would be the administering machinery, and it would only be where the people came and 

 asked for some other form of administration to be set up that it would be set up. 



The CHAIEMAN said that he would rule any discussion on the matter out of order. Why he read 

 this letter was to show the difficulties which Mr. Oliver had, and the difficulties that the Committee would 

 have, and he thought it just as well to take the sense of the large body of the Conference, as they were 

 there, as to what really was the meaning of that particular section of the Act which they had passed, 

 whether the Stock Boards were to be constituted as a separate Board, or, as Mr. Brown put it, whether 

 the Rabbit Boards were to be handed over to the Stock Boards, and the Stock Boards were to be 

 constituted with a new franchise. 



Mr. ALISON (Canonbar) said that he thought Mr. Brown had altogether mistaken what had been 

 said in the morning. The franchise under the Sheep Diseases Act would be altered. The Constitution 

 of the Stock and Pastures Board would be altered. In accordance with their resolutions those people 

 who were Directors under tho Sheep Act and under the Pastures and Stock Act would be the Rabbit 

 Board under this Bill for the purposes of this Bill, and then there would be the Government repre- 

 sentative who for the purposes of this Bill, for tho purposes of the Rabbit Act, would be called in. The 

 Government did not provide any funds under the Stock and Pastures Act, and therefore they should not 

 have a man representing them on the Pastures and Stock Board. It was their intention that when 

 rabbit business was to be discussed the Government representative should enter the room and discuss it. 

 They had not altered anything or proposed to alter anything except to liberalise the franchise. He did 

 not kuow that he altogether approved of it himself, but it was done and they could not alter it. They 

 did not propose that there should be a separate election for the Rabbit Board. There would be one 

 election for the Sheep Directors and one election for the Pastures and Stock Board Directors, and the 

 whole of these people formed a Rabbit Board, with the addition of one man for the Rabbit Act, and the 

 Rabbit Act alone, to represent the Government. 



The CIIAIRWAN then said that he thought this was one of the difficulties that Mr. Oliver would 

 have, and he thought that what Mr. Alison had stated simplified the matter, and it should be put to Mr. 

 Oliver that the Pastures and Stock Board were to be elected on the franchise of the new Rabbit Board, 

 so to say, but that they would conduct their own business as a Stock and Pastures Board for themselves, 

 and the Diseases in Sheep Act Directors would conduct their business, and the Rabbit Board would be 

 conducted by the nine members. If that was what the Conference meant he would be glad to have them 

 vote on the question, and he would convey their decision to Mr. Oliver. 



The Chairman then took a vote as to whether this view was the view of the Conference, and it was 

 carried. 



Mr. CUMHING (Hillston) moved that the following resolution be pressed upon the consideration 

 of the Minister " That the Government should continue to offer a substantial reward for a discovery that 

 would tend to entirely destroy the rabbit pest, and ask the Governments of other colonies to also con- 

 tribute." He thought that this matter was worthy of their consideration. Science no doubt would step 

 in one day and solve the problem, as it had done already in Europe with regard to the silk industry, which 

 had been saved by science, and in America the citrus industry had been saved by science also. He 

 thought that if this succeeded it would save all the trouble of this Bill or any other. 



Mr. FLANAGAN (Gunbar) seconded it. He thought it would be a very wise thing if the expenses 

 could be curtailed by some new invention. It would be a foolish thing if they did not ask the Govern- 

 ineut to keep on offering rewards for inventions that would deal more effectively than they could with 

 the rabbits. 



The resolution was then put to the Conference and carried. 



Mr. T. BKOWN, M.L.A. (Budgeraboug), then moved, " That Mr. Stevenson, the Secretary of the 

 Board for Exports, be now allowed an opportunity of addressing the Conference." 



Mr. ALISON (Cauonbar) seconded, and it was carried. 



Mr. 



