The Bay of Plenty Times Saturday, Febbuary 26, 1876..

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume IV, Issue 382, 26 February 1876, Page 2

The Bay of Plenty Times

Saturday, Febbuary 26, 1876..

; "THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES SHALL TEACH ME SPEED." , KING JOHN, ACT IV.

The progress of. a- special, settlement, such as the one in existence at Katikati, must naturally be watched with interest by those who have a regard for the welfare 1 of the district at large, as the intimate business relations that may be expected to spring, up, between the special settlers and the older settlers in 'the district must daily increase in importance as the advancement- o£ the settlement proceeds. And though it is early yet to form" any definite opinion as to the wisdom of the institution of "this SGheme of special settloment- and- the- adaptability, of the settlerß who under its- provision have come out to settle on tho land, by the action of -whom the result will eventually be decided, yet a sufficient periQd has • elapsed, since the arrival of the Katikati special; settlers- at' TAURANGA. to 1 allow- some idea- to> be- fornied whether the first steps taken by them

have been such. as to permit a' prognostication of : their ultimate success. Judging by what has already, been done by the settlers, " the largen-p.or-tion of whom have already settled down on their.la&d, biiilt. houses to live in, and commenced to till the soil, a reasonable hope maybe indulged in, that a very fair start has been tnade ; and, though the man/ difficulties incidental to farming life may not perhaps be plainly felt by .the settlers until the capital which they brought out with them has been expended in the outlay necessary at the .first onset of their career, yet the careful management and determination they have exhibited up to the present time, give every hope that when the real battle has to. be fought they will be quite ready to meet the. encounter. The active interest taken by the Tauranga residents in the welfare of the special settlers on their first arrival has, as might be expected, sobered down into the ordinary feeling entertained between good neighbours, but it is gratifying to know that some of the efforts made at the time to assist the settlers in their new field of labour and to ensure their ultimate prosperity, have not been without result. At a meeting held at Tauranga in August last, it was decided that measures should be taken to endeavour to obtain steam communication between Tauranga and Katikati, but as, after long waiting, there was no appearance of the steamer on the scene, the fact of its eventual arrival was rather problematical. In our telegraphic columns, however, news at length appears that a subsidy having been obtained from the Provincial Government for a steam service between Tauranga and Katikati, a steamer will commence to run on the Ist of March, her time of departure and arrival to dovetail in with the movements of the Eowena, our regular Auckland' trader.. The passage money and freight are moderate,, and as the service is to be performed to. the satisfaction of the Harbour-master, there is every reason to suppose that it will be a success. By the establishment of this regular means of communication, a want that has always been felt by the Katikati settlers will be supplied, and a. means of temporary convenience as well as aid towards eventual success secured to them-..