The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1906. EAST COAST GRIEVANCES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 259, 6 November 1906, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1906. EAST COAST GRIEVANCES.

Tor the cause that lack* astistance, 1 For the -wrong that needs resistance, £ For tlie future in the distance, , And the good that we c_u do.

We have received a communication from Whakatane cabins attention to the ' many disabilities under which our East Coast district now labours; and we venture to believe that we will be doing a public service if we direct the notice of our readers to the facts thus put before us. We need hardly say that the cry of the Bast Coast is for settlement and development. Auckland district . contains certainly the most valuable country still unopened in the colony: and it is much to be regretted that . Government has not yet realised the many advantages that must accrue to the whole colony through the estabbshment of adequate means of internal communication in this part of the world. At present it is proposed to open a new mail route from Rotorua to Whakatane via Te Teko; and it is considered by all who know the country that this will prove a boon to the whole district, not only from the com- , mercial point of view, hut through the inducements held out to tourists to , explore this region. But Government has requested the Whakatane and Opotiki County Councils to contribute a heavy annual subsidy—£loo, to be subsequently reduced to £50 —in support ' of the road. The local bodies contend with great force that it is the business of the Postal Department to maintain ' the postal services, and that such burdens should not be thrown upon a district that has always been., neglected ] by them in the matter of roads and bridges. And we believe that there is 1 ample evidence to show that Government money sunk in opening up this district and bringing it into touch with the larger centres of population would be a remarkably good investment ' for the whole colony. To take first the less important aspect ' of the case. The road between Rotorua and Whakatane when once it is put into proper order should prove an unrivalled , attraction to visitors and tourists, li • passes along the shores of the great lakes ' of the thermal country —Rotorua, Roto- ! iti, Rotochu and Rotoma; and it subse- ] quently finds its way through splendid s forests crowded with magnificent ferns J and indigenous trees. The grades are so good that it would be possible for tourists to get from Rotorua to Whaka- . tane and back—s7 miles each way—by ; motor car within the day. The beauti- i' ful valleys around Whakatane and Ta- i. neatua are well worthy of a prolonged . stay; and the opportunities for fishing : —fresh and salt water—and for excursions to Whale Island and White Island —this last a perfect inferno of thermal activity—should soon render these locali- | ties extremely popular as tourist resorts j when once the indispensable means of I communication are supplied. But the claims of the East Coast j district are by no means confined to | such relatively unimportant advantages, j The country between Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty, and more especially district around Whakatane is potential- I ly one of the most valuable patches of | unsettled land in the North Island. The Rangitaika Swamp covers an area of | about 75,000 acres, of which 10,000 acres have already been partially drained. When this land is once properly brought under control, it will prove one of the richest dairying and maize growing districts in the colony. For flax growing alone this swamp might become a source of untold wealth. But the borrowing powers of the local bodies are necessarily limited, and at present they can do little to cope with the difficulties they have to face. The Crown tenants in the district have already approached the Rangitaika Drainage Board with a view to raising £6000 for the purpose of diverting the Rangitaika from its present course at a certain point, and turning it straight into the sea. This operation would drain off the water from a large ai£a of rich alluvial flat, which would become so valuable for grazing purposes that the Board would easily be able to borrow £20,000 or £25,000 to complete the drainage of the swamp. What has already been done in this district by small settlers in spite of the isolation to which they have been compelled to submit is a suilicicnl proof that under more favourable conditions public money invested in draining, loading, and generally opening up this country will ultimately secure a handsome return. As in most parts of the North Island, so in our East Coast country, the present system of Native Lands tenure stands in -the way of development and settlement. " Why," asked our correspondent, " should the hard-working settlers of the colony be taxed for the benefit of the natives, who enjoy the advantages of the unearned increment, the benefit of the roads, railways and bridges, and yet do not contribute one cent in return ?" There is certainly a great deal to be said for this point oi view, as also for the protest against the injury done to cleared land through the immunity of Maori lands from the operations of the Noxious Weeds Act. Of course, the only reply to these complaints is that the land originally belonged to the Maoris, and that they, therefore, should enjoy exceptional | treatment. But there can be no doubt i i

that under existing circumstances the locking up of large areas of valuable land in native hands is preventing the progress of settlement, and this more especially in the district which we are now considering. The demand for flax and farming land is very keen around Whakatane, Taneatua and Opouriao; and active inquiries have been recently made from Wellington, Canterbury and Westland by representatives of syndicates anxious to secure some portion of this fine country before the rush for settlement begins. Already the settlers, in spite of all their disadvantages, have done a great deal without State assistance. The Opouriao cheese factory and the Taneatua butter factory have already made a name for themselves, and the bacon factory which is to be shortly established at Whakatane should provide the local farmers with another acceptable source of revenue. Tbe Bay of Plenty district contains within itself all the elements of prosperity; but it needs urgently some direct means of communication with the outer world. When the railway connects the Whakatane district with Gisborne on the one hand and Kotorua on the other, the East Coast country will assume the position that it ought to hold as a centre of settlement and a producer of national wealth. But railways—alas!—take a long time to build in Auckland province; and in the meantime, we would urge once more upon Government and upon our Parliamentary representatives the necessity for applying a fair proportion of the funds available for such purposes to the work cf providing roads and bridges in these secluded but potentially wealthy and deplorably neglected districts.