KAWHIA HARBOUR.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 832, 30 July 1910, Page 10

KAWHIA HARBOUR.

. Sir, .Yqur aptly-nimed : correspondent, ! 'New- Chum;"" is "'-altogether at sea when he states that Haivhia liao oO feet on the outside bar, giving 40 feet at springs. No doubt someone told him this, and lie believes it, but that is no reason why such utterly misleading, information .should be' disseminated through the press. As a matter of fact, tile depth of water on the .Kawhia bar has varied a good deal .during late years, and at the present time there "is about .11 feetn at low water spring tides',' which, with a rise of'] 2 foot, gives about 23ieet'at the top of high water. Within the last twelve months a vessel drawing S)ft. (Jin. has touched' bottom'-iu' the alleged channel. - The harbour is,a magnificent one, and is destined to servo. an immense . area of good pastoral country, but-until the Government 1 acquires the Native lrinds .which ■ encompass the whole harbour and block - settlement, the settlers must continue to carry on their pioneer work under./tlio gravest disadvantages, Twenty-six ■ years have passed since the Crown bought the lato Air. Charlton's small freehold' and laid out-the township of Kawhia, selling the sections at enormously high prices, but since then apparently nothing has boon done in the way of securing the Maori lands having frontage to tho. harbour, and the settlers have only the satisfaction of. knowing that their, labours are enriching- their. Native-neighbours and each year .making tli<i position more difficult. The natural advantages of the harbours of Kawhia and Raglan, and of tho -smaller one of Aotea, which lies between them, will be better appreciated in days,to come. ' Each of them taps large tracts of good land, but, unfortunately, tho difficulty of Native ownership keeps back the development of the Kawhia and Aotea districts.

if only politicians would 'unite in formulating' and making law a scheme for the acquisition by tho State of all the Maori-owned lands now lying useless and blocking progress, what a blessing it would be to New Zealand.— I am, etc., F. P. CORKILL. New Plymouth, July 27, 1910.