MINISTER OF LANDS.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 79, 10 April 1901, Page 4

MINISTER OF LANDS.

Is replying to the deputations that waited on him on Monday evening, the Hon. T. Y. Duncan said that it gave lr-n pleasure to meet the deputations and d'seuss the matters that were of vital interest to the district, with a view, if possible, to effect improvements as far as they could. Of course it depended entirely on the amount of money that was placed at h s d’sposal as to how much he would be able to give them, because they must understand that their district was not the only one in the colony with bad roads. He could assure them that there were others quite as bad, and some a good deal worse, and it would be only want of money that would delay the work. He knew, of course, that it was no use to put settlers into a district and expect them to start and occupy their lands to advantage when they had no means of communication. (Hear, hear.) Of course as far as a pastoral district was concerned, ; f they had good summer roads he d : d not tb " : so much about it r because generally the work of pastoral districts was done on the roads iu summer. The summer was advanced somewhat before the wool could be shorn, and pastoralists would have time to get it to the port during the summer months, and that was the time generally when they ccried back what they requ-red for the coming season. But when they came to districts that were engaged in dairying, and work of that k' id, they were more iu need of winter roads, because dairying started very early in the spring, and iu some places it went on all the winter, and therefore was doubly in need of roads as compared to merely pastoral districts. But the main reads should be put in hand, because communication was required even in pastoral country, and the Government was doing all that it possibly could to assist ; n this direction. He might say that during the last year the estimates were considered very carefully, in the light of the wants of each particular electorate, and there were four or five that got almost the bulk of the votes, because of their need ; but altogether they were inadequate to meet demands. He thought himself that he could spend, during the next two years, at least =£2,000,000 to advantage, and then the wants already urged would not have been satisfied. But they would have to do these things just as they could, attending first to those wants most urgently required, and work on to those less needed afterwards. They would see by the estimates that thew district had not been neglected. .Thenmember, the Hon. James Carroll, had carefully. endeavored fair distribution on the estimates, and he believed that he had succeeded fairly well, and he hoped that duriug the coming year he would succeed as well, and that the principal of those things that had been asked for by the County Council would be attended to. With regard to the railway, it was not in his department at all, but as both Mr Carroll and he were in the district now, they could easily bring this matter before the Mmister for and the Mmister for Public Works, f-i the first instance, and they would be able to tell him what the ideas and wants of the district were with regard to it. They had, he thought, made a very fp-'r start, seeing that it was only a very short timesince there was a movement to get the railway for the Gisborne district, and he was not at all displeased with the progress made. Then the timber had been held out as an incentive to carry the railway to the interior. They would have that carefully explored and reported on. Ho had also given instructions to the Commissioners of Crown Lands in the various districts to carefully prepare an estimate of the timber in each district, its locality, quantity, and value, so that in future they would be able to offer to conserve the timber of qualities that would be requ-'-ed, and very much required, very soon, as he believed if this wanton destruction went on for a few years longer .that they would find themselves almost out of the useful timbers that they required. As soon as this estimate came in, of course, he would be in a position to go into the matter, and they would stop selling timber land and conserve it as well as possible, so .that it might hold out until the time that the new growths would be able to take the"’ place. He did not think it would be so very long —in 30 years, at any rate, timber grew in the colony (European timber grew much more quickly here than at Home) — to grow timber fit for saw-milling purposes. During the short time he had been going round the country this year he had seen larch at Botorua and Kaingaroa, where it was growing very well indeed.. And on the Waiolapu hills, where the hot springs were, he had seen; larch Bft high that had only been planted four years, and he thought it would have taken at least six years at Home to grow the same height. It was a very useful timber, growing -'nto use very speed'ly, and seemed to outstrip the others. At that place they had many kinds of wood on trial, arid this outstripped them all. They were growing among other trees American redwood in good quantities. The object of this plantation was to test the various sorts that would be most suitable, the most valuable, and that were kkely to grow the best. Then those that grew best would be thinned out first, r id the least valuable trees would be left. There were Several places in the colony where this tree-planting was goiug on, end they intended to push it further, because there were many parts, such as the Rimutaka Mountains, near Wellington, where the land was not fit for anything else. There was a great deal of land about the " Kaiugaroa Plains that was not of very great value at present. It might be improved, and become worth someth-’ng later on, when it was sheltered by timber. At present it was an open stretch of bleak, open plain, with nothing on but a few wild horses. They had been trying grasses there to see how they grew.' Some grew fairly well. Cocksfoot had taken hold, and several other native grasses. In a few years he thought there would be some settlement even aloug that plain. But this timber business would have to be carried on so that by the time the original is denuded the new class of timber will be ready. The telephone was a matter that should be attended to, and some effort made to get telephonic communication as far into the interior as they possibly could get, because they knew the difficulties, there, especially in winter time, : when the roads were closed, and it was bad enough for the doctor to have to find his way without; but it was worse when they had to send a messenger all the way for him. He considered that the establishment of this means of communication was only the due of the hardy pioneer settlers of the back blocks. Their inconveniences were numerous, and this convenience ought at any rate to be extended to them as soon as possible, and he would assist any person ;to get communication of this kind. With regard to roads and bridges, that was rather a large order, and it was doubtful whether they could fill them all in the first year, but they would endeavor to do as much as possible. There was certainly something in the point of issuing authorities for the expenditure of grants earlier, and he had done his best this year to have them out earlier. There was a good many of the authorities out very soon after the session rose, : but it took some time to consider the large number of items they had to hunt up and get out. In future, however, he 'intended even to get them out more quickly than in the past, and to that end had set a man apart to look after roads and bridges. It would be his business to superintend these matters, and to have the authorities out early, so that local bodies would get to work in the early summer. One month’s summer work was, he knew, worth two of winter on roads. He thought that they would not have to grumble much in the future about this matter. In the past delays had been caused by the piling of all these duties on one man, and the work got behind in spite of him. The separation of the department of roads and bridges would, it was • hoped, improve this ■ matter. He warned them that Wairoa was going to compete ■" with them as a distributing centre, strenuous efforts being made at the present time for the improvement of the harbor. The Wairoa people were, he believed, in a right way to get; an outlet. Tolago might also strive to emulate them, and they would take away a bit of this port’s trade. If they could, he was-sure that Gisborne , people would not grudge them their chance. He certainly would I