CENTRAL OTAGO

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 31, 6 February 1913, Page 3

CENTRAL OTAGO

VISIT OF NORTHERN M.P.'s. SOME IMPRESSIONS. (it TELKGBAPII— SPKCIAL TO THE POST.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day.The members of Parliament who have been making an e.xtended tour of Central Otago and Southland reached Christchurch last night. Mr. Okey, M.P., told a Lyttelton Times reporter there that he was very pleased with Central Otago. In places the land was excellent. He had seen a field carrying its fortieth crop of oats. No manure had there been used, and yet the crop would average between forty and fifty bushels.' That showed the advantages of irrigation. He . held that the settlers should be reI sponsible for the irrigation schemes, and not the Government. At present it did not pay them to grow crops, for it cost £2 a ton' to cart them from Hawea to Clyde, and 30s a ton to rail them to Dunedin. Large areas could be irrigated, and the land already treated grew oats, lucerne, and fruit splendidly. Something in the soil made it ideal for fruit-growing, and the crops were very good. In the Hawea County the crops were taller than in Southland. The trip had been a most enjoyable one, and it had opened their eyes to the prospects before that part of the Dominion. WATER POWER. "One thing which impressed us all was the immense possibilities of water power," said My. Bradney. " With a good irrigation system it would be" hard to say what the futum of that district would be. The general fertility of the soil in Southland also made a big impression on us." The area under cultivation was immense,' and there was a general air of prosperity. It was evident that there was room for closer settlement. ■ Mr. Rhodes: That is so. The holdings are too large. Mr. Bradney: In Central Otago the people are of a very fine stamp; such a lot of the old pioneers remain. In the North the population is much more mixed. It was apparent that much money had been spent on roads, and. compared with the North, the country was. well roaded. Mr. Mander said that in Central Otago there is about 6000 acres that can be ■brought into use by means of irrigation I,'1 ,' and the place is designed for" close settlement. From Clutha to the Tuapeka mouth the railway asked for would tap 180,000 acres of settled country, which was good* for grain-growing and, sheep 1 farming, and would support an enormous population. LARGE AREAS AVAILABLE. Mr. Rhodes said : "There is ■ a considerable area beyond Alexandra that is Government-owned. It is producing Very little, because it is leased in large areas. Most of it would grow fruit well. In Southland I was impressed by the enormous area of available land— more extensive than anything we have in the North Island. All of it can be used, although the quality of the soil varies considerably." Mr. Bradney : "Irrigation is, in my opinion, not a Government question. The people should be given a legal authority to develop the water power. Some 'scheme of a co-operative nature might do, and perhapß the Government might give a grant. , We have had ample proof of the fact that anything can be grown on irrigated land. The settlers want a railway, but that is a question of policy. Such a line will have to be part of a national scheme. I am convinced that the Government of this Dominion will shortly have to consider the question of constructing railways where they are urgently needed, and that will necessitate a big loanMr. Rhodes : "You might mention the scarcity of trees in Central Otago. Beafforestation i should pay handsomely there. Many of the towns are in a state of evolution leaving behind them the character of a mining town, and feeling out for something new."