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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 67

Chapter I

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Chapter I.

We may well assume that man was cursed very early in his career, for by no other assumption can we account for the [unclear: urity] of cursedness we at present possess. We know that we lose by [unclear: ant] of unity, by selfish and paltry divisions, by trying to believe what [unclear: e] know to be lies, and by disbelieving the truth. We hear of the soon lying on its back when it is going to be bad weather; we hear of weasels and stoats running down rabbits, and though we know something of the latter's comparative speed, we assume the contrariety to be [unclear: rrect]—through that pure commodity—which seems to be a peculiarity of this Rabbit Question.

We know that a million pounds would have been well spent ten years ago in confining the rabbits, that it would have paid the communities immediately interested to have spent it out of their own [unclear: ockets], but that it would have paid New Zealand better, because the crippling of its people is the ruin of a country."

Canterbury, in fact all the rest of New Zealand, knows now that it [unclear: a] going to lose the profits on its staple products—not all on wool, but [unclear: n] frozen meat, &c., and its prospective extensive dairying; but above all, it is going to lose profitable occupation for the people it requires. We are all divided about political fads, and squabbling about paltry Railways, while the backbone of our country is dissolving before our [unclear: yes], through pure cursedness. So that one may be pardoned for [unclear: ttempting] to draw attention to this purity, and save the time that [unclear: heorists] may waste a hunting their fancies.

With other unfortunates, I set myself the task, long ago, of sending [unclear: he] rabbits to live with the moas—exterminating them, no less; but while I was busily engaged on the job, they ruined me, and they are not gone yet, but increasing and extending their territory. I gave [unclear: hem] up several years ago, but there are hundreds at them down here [unclear: et], just in my tracks. The Rabbit Department in particular seem to [unclear: e] dead on for exterminating them on my lines.

I am a disinterested reporter now, so that my testimony may be [unclear: ken] without any salt at all, but I would earnestly recommend the [unclear: experienced] not to accept any single report about rabbits, but to always have at least two reports before them, so that they would explain each other, like the following:—

Clippings from Victorian papers, about April, 1886.—"The days of [unclear: he] agile rabbit in Victoria appear to be numbered. Mr. Buchanan, page 4 in the Legislative Council recently drew the attention of the Government to the extraordinary disappearance of the pest in the [unclear: s] western province, and in the Colac district, without any [unclear: effort] made by residents to exterminate them. All this havoc is [unclear: caused,] believed, by a disease that has suddenly and unexpectedly made appearance amongst the rabbits, and is sweeping them away whole Mr. Buchanan inclines to the belief that the disease is [unclear: tubereul] and he wants the Government to have the matter fully inquired [unclear: in]

Telegram—"The rabbits around Colac. The Babbit [unclear: Inspect] Colac says that there is no tuberculosis there. The rabbits [unclear: ha] reduced by the efforts of exterminating parties."

And then comes the sequel in the Melbourne Weekly Times, [unclear: of] May, 1887:—

"Landholders will have to pay dear in the future for the [unclear: lari] those who are supposed to administer the Babbit Act. There is [unclear: e] prospect of the rodents being as numerous during the ensuing [unclear: sp] as they were three years ago. It is pleasing to notice that there probability of an extensive area of station property in the [unclear: wes] district being subdivided and submitted to public auction."

The above may be rather amusing 1,000 miles away, but it [unclear: be] rather flat when we know that such comedies are enacted every [unclear: d] New Zealand, while the rabbits are flourishing.

I claim to possess considerable "business ability," for [unclear: I] cultivated the task of lying with discretion and of gauging credulity of my listeners. I confess to having reported favourably all the methods of destroying rabbits, honestly sometimes, [unclear: but] with the sole object in view of getting rid of them, land and all. [unclear: In] succeeded; but the frozen meat furore and the poisoned grain [unclear: te] me to invest again, and here I am, dear reader, "stuck on [unclear: a] And you may depend upon it, I would not mind lying at [unclear: every] tunity, and for an indefinite period, if I could get anyone to give back my money for this howling wilderness. I would write letter the papers, I would breed ferrets, or any mortal thing I [unclear: would] preference to rabbiting, or dealing with the abominable [unclear: wretch] any shape.

At first, I reported favourably on the digging out [unclear: process,] thought "dogs were the things," but presently I got a [unclear: most] reactionary fit against dogs, and I pinned my faith in traps. [unclear: I] went out and set 100 traps myself, mostly in holes. I [unclear: caught] rabbits, nine rats, the house cat, and an idea—a sudden [unclear: awaken] the fact that bunny was not the innocent creature I had [unclear: always] him to be. "Why," said I to my man Tim, "they don't seem [unclear: to] the holes." "No," said he, "the burrow is only a refuge [unclear: from] and dogs, and may be from snow." "And they seem," said I, "[unclear: to] what a trap is." "O yes, if they can see it. I have been [unclear: a] the rabbits all my life, and they often surprise me, even now."

page 5

There was a revelation! I often heard of such things before, but [unclear: ever] felt their force until I caught that idea. I soon lost faith in [unclear: he] traps and started a lot of men to shoot them at 4d a tail. Then the [unclear: ullies] resounded with fusilading from morn till night, and on a calm evening a smoke hung round the brows of the hills. The rabbits got [unclear: inner] of course, so did the grass, and so did the sheep. This I found [unclear: o] awfully expensive and unsatisfactory, that I hailed the poisoned [unclear: rain] with delight. I proved to my own satisfaction and to the satisfaction of a purchaser, that bunny was "off this time." Then I spent such a happy year, until my evil genius and its apparent cheapness, [unclear: mpted] me to invest in my old place again, and as I said, I put my [unclear: nger] in it, for I never could muster my sheep afterwards, and things [unclear: ent] from bad to worse. I found that the poison was only effective [unclear: hile] my sheep were starving; that the rabbits scorned it while my [unclear: eep] were thriving, and that the export of frozen meat had not raised [unclear: e] price in New Zealand. I found that where only one rabbit was [unclear: spected] there was likely to be fifty; and that when I imagined I was [unclear: ly] losing a few pounds, I was losing as many hundreds.

I invested in exterminating machines that soon exterminated my [unclear: tience]. I went down to the men that were working them:—"Well [unclear: ob]," said I, "How are you getting on?" "O all right." "Are you [unclear: lling] many?" "Don't think it." "How is that?" I asked. "Because [unclear: ey] are not in." "And what in the name of fury are you blowing up [unclear: a] empty hole for?" "Well, sir," said he, "you told us to do them [unclear: l] in the face." "And where are the rabbits?" I asked. "Away in [unclear: e] tussocks, or anywhere except where we want them."

Then I invested in natural enemies to evade the Rabbit Act, for I [unclear: ve] experimented with ferrets, and I cannot see any other use in [unclear: em]. I put a vigorous rabbit into a twenty foot circular enclosure [unclear: d] left it over night to get accustomed to its quarters. Then I put [unclear: two] young ferrets eight months old, and I believe they would have [unclear: rved] to death before they caught and killed that rabbit, though everything was in their favour, and everything against the rabbit; then what chance would those ferrets have had outside? However, the [unclear: rrets] are answering my purpose now very well.

And here I may as well confess to another little game that I have [unclear: actised], and that is not very uncommon when opportunities offer, [unclear: will] show how hard the Act is to administer, and how difficult to [unclear: ive] John Bull anywhere. I met our Inspector in the village and [unclear: ked] him when he was going to give us a call. He said that he had [unclear: go] over by Mark's but that he would call to-morrow, and asked me [unclear: w] I was getting on with the rabbits. I told him I was liberating [unclear: rrets] and that I did not expect much more trouble with the rabbits, [unclear: it], I added, you had better come and see for yourself. Then I went [unclear: ne] and told Tim by what fords and gates the Inspector would come, [unclear: d] of coure Tim was off bright and early in the morning, with a [unclear: cruit] and all the dogs in the place, not to catch all the rabbits, but page 6 to scare them a little and make them hard to find. It was not fine at the Police Court that I dreaded so much, but it bowled [unclear: a] out so, and I had been to all sorts of pains to distribute [unclear: c] information about my success with the rabbits. When Mr. [unclear: Insp] came next day, he congratulated me on the scarcity of rabbits, sympathised with me for the poverty of my pastures, which of [unclear: c] was easily explained by a few fibs.

Our Inspector has the backbone of a gentleman, but then he [unclear: h] impossible duty to perform, so what wonder is it, that people [unclear: gro] him? He might as well be appointed for the suppression of mosquitos, with the means at his disposal.

An Editor in a recent leading article has the [unclear: following:—"] netting may be of use, but there can be no permanent [unclear: safety] the rabbits are destroyed." He evidently does not admit [unclear: th] destroy all the rabbits, the people of New Zealand with the [unclear: reso] at their command, might as well attempt the conquest of China.

I am about independent of the rabbits now, but not in exactly way I desired, and as if to aggravate its bitterness I have [unclear: found] at the eleventh hour, that I could have fought them successfully for my ignorance of their natural history.

I kept rabbits when a boy, and of course I knew all [unclear: about] but now, after fourteen years experience, I am beginning to [unclear: think] there may be something that I do not know; for instance, the [unclear: an] and proportion in which they possess mental ability and [unclear: here] instinct, are still indefinite subjects to me in their natural [unclear: his] A rabbit that we are sure never saw a ferret, and that we [unclear: pre] never heard of one, seems to take a ferret's measure in a [unclear: moment] to recognize an enemy, even in the smell of it. And I am aware a rabbit knows something of strategical engineering, and [unclear: th] another direction its stratagem has ruined the hopes of some of lords of creation, the Chief Inspector for instance. The [unclear: simpli] the device is only equal to its wonderful efficiency, not only befooling the Inspectors, but hundreds of others, with [unclear: as] interests at stake. This I propose to show from current [unclear: reports,] passage from the Chief Inspector's report runs as follows:—[unclear: "Sh] after the weasel's release, a diminution of rabbits in the [unclear: neighbo] was apparent." Mr. Chief Inspector took a note of [unclear: it.] weasels are efficient." Others lay poison; "which makes [unclear: a] sweep of the rabbits," and has continued to do so for six [unclear: succe] years. Some one up near Oamaru liberated ferrets in a bush; rabbits disappeared." Then a few people fumigate 90 per cent empty holes and "annihilate the rabbits" that may be miles [unclear: aw] the tussocks. Bunny undoubtedly disappears from a [unclear: locality] there is anything objectionable, and he may well be proud of [unclear: so] befooling us. This is the consequence of having the Island all in paddock.