The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, DECEMBER 29, 1902

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 705, 29 December 1902, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, DECEMBER 29, 1902

“.WHILST WAIROA SLEEPS.” A letter that deserves wide publicity lias been written to the Wairoa Guardian by Mr David Whyte, jun., who frankly gives his old friends some advice that should be heeded and promptly acted upon. He states that on every hand New Zealand is advancing rapidly—all except Wairoa. “Right up to the borders of Wairoa,’ he says, "even the steady-going sec‘;;;y of the inhabitants, the farmers, are**showing an fWljvity that far exceeds anything yet shown lij' IllC business men of Wairoa. In the Moliaka district the farmers are getting telephones laid on to their homes, and at Tinirolo, that rapidly-pro-gressing district, all the settlers are in telephonic communication with the Gisborne Bureau, besides having a private bureau of their own, by means of which they are able to communicate with each other by day or night.” He explains that owing to the constant refusals on the part of the Government to assist the settlers in that part ei the country- td

get telephonic' communication with tiie outside world, ihe .settlers combined and erected a private line irom Kangaroa to Tmiroto, a distance of twelve miles across country, the usual distance by road being twentylive miles. The total cost oi this twelve miles oi telephone was £ls, or £1 per mile, including labor, etc. The settlers then sot branch lines run into their private houses, thus

forming a Tinitoto bureau. Each .settler pays the postmaster at Tiniroto lbs per annum for connecting them, and in this way a Tiniroto farmer is able to stand in his own house and do all his business with the business firms of Gisborne, or with the farmers of Poverty liay, because all the leading farmers of Poverty Buy are connected with the Gisborne Bureau. The amount of travelling expenses (bus saved to Ihe farmers is enormous, besides the time saved, which is a great consideration. Mr Whyte goes on to snow that one of lhe most important considerations is that tho telephone keeps the farmers in constant touch with the markets ol the world. li a dealer comes round to buy stock, the farmer can at once ring up his friends in town and find out the exact state of the market, thus saving perhaps £1 per head ou iiis cattle, or Is to 2s per head on his sheep. One farmer in the Wairoa district last year was advised to get a telephone put in to his farm at a cost of £25. He thought sheepfarming would not run such expenditure, and so he went on in itis usual way. Iksold his wethers shortly afterwards

to a dealer, and found out a fortnight after that he could have got £IOO more for his wethers it lie had only known the true state oi' Ihe market. Thus ou one sheep deal he lost £75 more than the telephone would have cost him, or, in other words, he could have paid the cost oi construction of the telephone and had £75 to the good out of only one sheep deal. How much could he sated to eaclt farmer in five years’ transactions ? “ Farmers of .Wairoa ” (appeals the writer) the commercial world outside .Wairoa have vou at their mercy so long as you are isolated. You must break down this harrier yourselves, or you will continue to be their prey. The cutside world won’t help you, if you are

not content to help yourselves. What is the first step that should be taken in this direction ? Get yourselves connected with the telephone bureau at Tiniroto, and you will thus be in direct communication with the whole of Poverty Bay. Construct this telephone yourselves, making it a private line, and don’t let the Government take it over from you, because the cost of construction in the first place is so small that you would not feel it ; and, in the second place, it will he your own, and you will not require to pay if you wish to ring up another farmer, Imt could he in touch with each other all over the Wairoa county, and as far as Haugaroa, free of cost. You could buy and sell stock amongst yourselves without moving from your farms; vou could sell your freezers in Gisborne, from your homesteads ; and the cost would he almost, nil. The cost of construction is only £1 per mile Therefore a wire from Tiniroto would cost £BO to Frasertown,or £1.01) to Wairoa. This would lap Ruakituri, Opoiti, Marmnaru, and intermediate stations. Between iiniroto and Frasertown, exclusive ol both there are twenty farmers, and this means that Ihe telephone could he constructed for an average of £5 per farmer, and if subscribed to pro rata would make the proportion to each one such as would never be noticed, let alone felt. Branch hues could he run from the main line to Hie farms. The branch line irom Tiniroto to Mr Whyte’s homestead cost only £2, exclusive of labor. This is a distance of 23 miles. Then a like main-line would connect at Frasertown from Waikaremoana, which would cost, each of the farmers up that, road not more than £a The only additional cost would bean average or 10s to £1 per annum as fees to the postmasters for connecting at ihe bureau. Mr Whyte’s nailing words to Wairoa, based on his observations in the South Island,are Form yourselves into a combiualion to push your own interests, taking no notice of arguments brought to hear on you by the vested interest holders from outside, and show a united front in making your demands to headquarters in Wellington, and you will have all just demands met ; hut ii you remain silent you will get nothing, no. matter who is the member representing you, because the crying child will always he attended to, and one policy of the present Government in the allocation of surplus funds is to let sleeping dogs lie. Just one more example from Tiniroto. Mr Walter Whyte stood at his telephone in his house, rang up a settler 30 miles beyond Gisborne,ami bought 71) rams right out. He then rang up his adjoining neighbors, and disposed of those he did not require before lie left the telephone. This was an appreciable saving in time.” Dealing with railways, Mr Whyte writes “I am thoroughly satisfied that a through railway from Napier to Gisborne can he procured if gone about in the right way. The people must combine and make the demand. The writer concludes by referring to the splendid natural resources of Wairoa, and again urging the people to show more energy in pushing the district.