The Daily Telegraph. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 1884.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3969, 9 April 1884, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 1884.

A telegram from Auckland that wo published last Saturday deserves (something more than a passing notice. The information supplied by the message was to th< effect that an English syndicate hac purchased a block of 40,000 acres of land a Taupo for £32,000. The negotiations, thi telegram went on to say, had been conductet by cablegram at a cost of £750. We shoul< liko to know where this land is situated In common with many other Hawke's Ba; residents we are pretty well acquainted witl the Taupo district, and wo confess that w< know of no block of land of the extent o -10,000 acres that is worth buying for anything but a special purpose. It has no yet been discovered in this eolonywhethe: the Taupo desert can be turned into anj special purpose that would offer remuneration to those who might undertake the venture. The English syndicate may hav< something in -view that -will turn in i profit, but it is to he hoped that the profii is not looked for from the re-sale of the land to people who will know nothing oi what they aro buying. It would be a mosi disastrous thing to this island if that were the case. There is no land in tho whole d the Taupo district that can bo agricultural in its character, and our fear is thai the 40,000 aero block has been purchased under an impression to the contrary. There are few parts of New Zealand that could be made to look better on a map than the East Taupo county. It might be described as grassy plains, well watered by running streams, bounded by swelling downs, and backed by magnificently timbered ranges. On inspection the grassy plains would bo found a barren waste of pumice, on which there is scanty vegetation of rushes and manuka scrub. The streams are there, and so are the swelling downs, on the latter tho soil is as bad and as worthless as it is on the Hats. There is plenty of timber and of good quality on the ranges, and that is all that can he said in faver of the district. There has been more than one attempt made to occupy tho Taupo country with sheep and cattle, but it lias always failed, for tho soil—if pumice sand can be called soil—is too poor to support a pasture, or even to grow a vegetation thaiwill nourish live stock. At Tapuachamru, and also at Opcpe, some paddocks have been sown with English grasses. At these places a foAv tussocks of cocksfoot aro pointed to with commendablo pride as showing what can bo done with pumice. Across the Taupo, or Kaingaroa, plain the traveller will notice at the foot of each telegraph polo some slig-lit evidence of yr.ass seed having been sown there. This sowing was done in tho rain hope that a rich sward of ever-green grass would be formed around each pole, and so protect the wood from the encroachment of fire when the periodical burning of the rush vegetation takes place. In former days—we do not know what is dono now—the Constabulary used to burn tho rush off in order to get a new crop, tho young shoots offering some sort of food to the numerous mobs of horses running wild on the plains. Of late large droves of sheep have passed from Hawke s Bay to Waikato, and it is just possible that along the road there may be some sign of grass hut this cannot bo taken as any proof' of tho power of tho soil to produce a Dermanent'of pasture. What we are afraid of is that the English syndicate spoken of may have bought the land with a view of founding an agricultural settlement. It is probable that in these times there would not be the slightest difficulty in tho Old Country in disposing of the whole 40,000 acres in " farms "of 1000 acres each. Tho liberal advertising of a flattering prospectus would soon havo tho effect of bringing out here a few small capitalists anxious to bettor their position and improve the prospects of their families. We know what tho result would inevitably be ; they would all be ruined in tho course of a very.short time if they were insane enough to settle on tho land, for which they might have given a high price in London. If, on looking at their inhospitable "farms'- they wore wise enough to abandon them, they would cherish such an opinion of the colony that would do it more than enough injury. New Zealand cannot afford to deceive intending settlers, and therefore it is that wo trust the English syndicate has not bought with the intention of establishing a settlement. i