AS OTHERS SEE US.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 October 1921, Page 4

AS OTHERS SEE US.

Report of delegates of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce accompanying deputation from tho Progress League to the West Coast, September, 1920.

We were unable to inspect the Otira. tunnel, hut other members of the delegation travelled through. They reported that the work was proceeding as fast as possible, and the fullest numbers of workers employed. Wo were informed that the Railway authorities have found it necessary to recast their estimate of the requirements of the tunnel on a much larger settle than was at first, anticipated. Tt is expected that the line will carry the whole coal supply, feeding the districts from Oninnnt to Waian (North Gauterbttrv). Four trains each way will he provided, hut we think this will he found altogether inadequate to transport the large amount of goods that will in a few years require to he carried. The contract for the electrical works has been lot to the) English Electrical Co., which has contracted to complete the works in eighteen months at a cost of £300.000. The bottom of the tunnel has to he cleared,, the rails to he laid, and the approaches made before th<> trains can run. and it is estimated that two years will see this desirable work completed. Canterbury will then have direct oommnnieation with tho West Const south to Ross, and north as far as the Tnangahtta Junction, twenty-eight miles from Westport. Front Otira. we travelled through byroad to Hokitika., hut there is not verv much of interest beyond the scenery which is well-known. The land in the Teremalcau valley is not very extensive, and the hills are rather steep, being only useful for timber growing. At Hokitika we were met by the Progress League and representativs from all public hodis. A good feeling exists between Canterbury and Westland, and consequently the hospitality was most cordial. Our importers ran look for growth of trash- as soon as the tun. ne| is finished, and goods can ho forwarded by that route. Oil the following day the deputation was shown over the \raltnra butter factory. The district is a good dairying one. and with closer settlement and improved cultivation will become a prosperous dairying district. Generally speaking, gold mining is at an end, and iho dredging at Humphrey’s Gullv is at a standstill. Wo visited Kokatahi Valley, where there is a large area, of rich Hat land, which requires little for good cultivation and' good farming. The holdings arc too large, and consequently little eull.ivation is being done.

The land would carry a much larger population, and produce greater wealth in hutter-fat and fat stock if it wore sub-divided! Tt consists chiefly of a rich flat, growing rushes. 'Hie sheep are clean and healthy, and. contrary to expectation-, lung worm and scour were tin! particularly noticeable. Cattle owin' to Ihe mild elitn-ite. stand Hie winters well. There is a large lime area near the head of the valley. which could, he utilised to supply tlie wants oT tile soil.

The following day we drove through Ktinieri and Ritntt Flat, where an Anicliean Company is building a dredge for thl' purpose of dredging a large alluvial flat. A hydro-electric installation has been carried out on true American lilies. We travelled tbromdi to Ross to the terminus of tlie railway at- present constructed. I lie rivers are being bridged as far as llari Hnri, where there is a large area of rich land of the finest, quality. The dairy factory is a thriving concern, and the district will become very prosperous; hut, cultivation and lime are much needed on many foldin'- Furl her smith the rivers are not brill-ed. This is very inconvenient for traffle, and for transport of produce to the rail-head. The Tattle Wanganui. Waitnngi and Wniho rivers are had crossings, and w,. should join wiHi the Westland people in urging the loini'h'lion »f the bridging of there nr. ers. Ome stock and produce can he transferred to the railway the district will i»r<K r ro«K Lv loans and Rounds. At present, sleek is railed U> Otira. driven over the Bass and railed again to Cantmfnuv. Tn one Instance ten tons of lint tor were eorte/l over Arthur's Pass ,„„1 railed to Tvltellnil. Some of Ihe settlers were eaviiw 810 to .011 per ton to transport their goods, whilst south of Waiho tlie whole country is slmt to nil industries owing to the* waul of roads. The land front Ross to Waiho is first-class, and of fairly large area. We were much struck with the extent, the enndilinn of the stock, and the genera] possibilities of stock-raising and dairying. Canterbury farmers wntllifi do well to look over the Con.it before going to the North Island to hnv land.

Tim hush has been reserved for scenic purposes for ten chains on each side of the mild. hot. ww think this could he extended to thirty chains, as fires after the timber is cut may spoil what will prove to he a great State asset. Tho scenery everywhere is superb, and the district iu an excellent one for motor Ilfs. When the bridges are completed. no Canterbury motorist should miss a trip to the Franz Joseph glacier; it is an experience! that cannot ho mat'died in the World. The Okarito Tlarlsmr should prove a great outlet for timber, eat-tlo and pioduee if improved. The residents are asking for a Harbour Board area to be doelared. and they propose to build a breakwater at an estimated cost of £15.000. which would allow Dominionhound steamers to call. As the rnilwa.v to South Westland will be very expensive, wo think tho support of tile Chamber should bo given to the settlers in their endeavour to secure a Harbour Board. There is a dairy factory at Waitaln wile re the milk from .TOO to -100 cows is treated. Tho area here is not so large and the land not so good as further south. Wo could' travel no further south, than Wailio. hut we were informed that the land as far as the Fox river is of flic same quality.

The mines at Gieymouth were most carefully inspected. A large new mine is being opened tip at Ten-Mile Point, which will supply a. large' quantity of good brown opal when the seam is entered. The State mines wore visit'd, and a thorough inspection made. Tlio situation is not a gixyl one front a miner's residential point of view, hut the Government is putting in an else, trie tram to carry the miners to and from their work. We were much impressed with the size of the seams and tho quality of the coal. A new mine is also being opened at Dobson but they have not yet reached the isial. Tile land in the flrev Valley is vorv good in parts, but limited in area, and farming prospects are not very orieotiragng. The mines around Westport wove all carefully inspected. There are very large areas in tli Bailor (Jorge where tile coal is close to the. road, and the seams are thick, of hard semi-bitumin-ous coal. Mere the conditions forj minors would he very suitable. If the Boiler Gorge railway were completed, a

large coal-bearing area would lie opened "up, and many of our coal troubles overcome. Six miles of the Westpoit end are completed, leaving a gap ol __ miles, in addition to the four miles of formation up'the Roller Gorge, to )"' 1 ' up Canterbury with the larger Restport coalfields and their enormous wealth and possibilities. H OV<M ” l” deserved better oonstderaion at the hands of the Government this eertamlv does To our knowledge tins line fins been allowed to lie idle, eating it head off with interest The Westport-Inangid'ue P a,t r.., got; the Reefton-Tningahna id ■■ - ; ami plant is decaying and or ira.ilwav expendtitore and administration , a legacy Of political graft. | SlKVof'fo; the gooa efj ! country. Had a husmoss-lik P o n i fiecn carried out, there w. old haw been no shortage of coal " and these railways »« W been paying instead of deWnorat ng as tliev are now doing. ' mu ert accumulating. it is safe tn sa> thn this railway has doubled ,n cost since .1

; Tfie Westport and Stockton mines i are very highly developed <s;ncer„s but ! ,re short of miners. At Westport , 0 more miners could he employed wcw tliev available. The living conditions I are' much to blame for the shortage. , and there arc only two ways of increasing our coal products. lus , . import miners from Scotland. wliei conditions. we understand are .pur ; worse than in New Zealand, to wh,rn the Labour people should not object. New Zealand miners have gone to hi.,her and more congenial vniployment. The hoys go on the land or m trades and professions; why, therefore. ■ prevent others ill less fa von ml climates enniiip, out here to give their sons a chance tn obtain better cnnd.tums. Secondly.' better means of access to aml ' from the mines ought to he provide! . 1 Men should not lie compelled to live | a„d bring up families in such places as ' Denniston and Burnett's Face I hoy ■ <onld live on the flat land at the out 1 „f the hill in ideal conditions, amt m ronveved by electric ear to the pit . nwlt ,h on the hill. These measures seem to us absolutely necessary if "< are to relieve the coal shortage ' The land in the Westport and Bullcr districts is not of great importance We visited Charleston, and saw great beds of lignite of good quality outcropping from tlie surface. Ibis can : as no mining is neeas--1 satry. The seams are of great- thiek- ! ness. A line of nine miles of railway is all that is needed, and aTt unlimited tut uni v of coal can lie obtained very in-

expensively. This coalfield should go a long way to relievo household wants, and it can he landed on the Lyttelton wharf for 20s per ton. The coal is of giuod quality, similar to Kaitangntn. One coal mine shown to us eight miles from the rail head lias 00.00ft.000 tons, samples of which have been tested, and the miners with very crude tools, were prepared to put it outside tlie pit mouth at Ins per ton, which with the rail to Christchurch added at |As (id would make 2Ss (id per Inn landed in Christchurch. This is only one of the many instances brought, under our notice.

i Til furt flir whole district from Oro.v , moutli tit thirty miles north of West- ' port, hy about twenty miles wide, is a I vast coalfield. whoso possibilities have i hardly horn touched. ! The I’eofton miiH'S wore (■arofully i**I s|ii'Hi'tl, and there arc cowl areas of semi-bituminous coal. Members will please note that our City Council (lid not come from the mines we inspected When the tunnel is open, the Keefton lields dill he a boon to Canterbury. This fact, was generally impressed upon the minds of the deputation. If such a deputation as the one of which we had the pleasure of being part could have visited the (Mast twenty years iipo, and impressed uponi the miiul of the public of tbs Dominion the great store of wealth on tlm West Coast, we venture to sav greater energy would have been exerted to force the .'o:n,,let ion of this most important. line. Tlio wist* of shipping transport has increased that there seems no doubt that, the railway will carry vast stores of coal ami timber to Canterbury. In return Westland will prove a .good market, for merchants, and we hope that our traders will take time by 'he forelock and he ready to cater for the wards of Westland as soon as the radn ay is OpfMl. There, are vast deposits of coal union,.lied, largo areas of timber yet to |„. ~,it. only requiring means oi transport to return great wealth. With coal at tile price it >* at the pit's month, it should uott he eostmg p| pi>]. ton in Christchurch. Between The pil and the consumer there ,s a I dillVrem-e in price, which the tail through the Otira will reduce. labour. Cnlil ft proper settlement is arrived at between master and man we'must not expect to fully the latent wealth of the Coast. Vaults an. It -.11 on one side, hut are mutual. Tim greatest (lilliei.lty is the housing of (he men and their families. A vunsiderahle amount of time is lost L> su.!:;;T :i;i. ~i„„. >- p™ “ d r," „„t insure the proprietors recen ,;; t from the man. In many cases tlm homes are mere hovels not lit for |,nan inhabitants, and although the mine owners have offered to build hotter houses farther away, the miners refuse t\> accept the offer, as it means a humor walk to and from the work. Once the trouble of home and social life is solved, with hotter environment ii'nd an easier mode of reaching work, a meat deni of the present unrest will lie settled The miners make good money, and where, as in flranity. hotter housaccommodation is found, there is ..renter satisfaction with their lot. and 1, ss lied Fedism is rampant. Tin'll' wore three aspects of the coal quest inn presented to us hy those interested. ~ , ~ 1. Messrs floil and and AV ebb’s idea ■of nationalisation, which is practically t„ h't the miners do as they please with the mines. •> The mines as worked hy the millers in Scddnnville, on a eo-oporation system. This Ims a tendency to rest riel the output or develop into an ordinary coinnany concern.

•X. Tlmt I lII' min., owners state tn tin' minors the ipianti.v of coal Miov ri'i|iiiro weekly, and minors will work as Imklv t-1 .'id the required amount as host they ran. and will guarantee the output. Tim chief products of tlio Const, arc coal, tiinlmr and gold, lmt as t.lio land is cleared tliero is a pleat future for dairying and cattle runs. As tlie climate is mild, tliero is plenty of rain, and feed, and very few frosts. panning. as developing at present, is ■very crude, and not two and n-linlf per cent, of tlie land cleared lias had a plough on it. It could, with proper

cultivation, yield twenty-fold its present output. There are also vast deposits of lime, marl, fire-clay, marble, and all classes of minerals, tlio former giving high grades of pure lime from 7 I per cent, to 1)0 per rent, ami suitid,le for cement. There are also great opportunities for the wood pulp industry. j Wo consider, in the interests of the ! whole community, this Chamber should urge the prosecution of the following works:--1 The early completion of the Otira works. ■>.. The completion of the Boiler railwav. ft. The erection of the whole of the a ithorisod bridges between Boss and Wailio. and' the AVaiho bridge, so as to (>--<■ll un larger districts south. I. -That the settlers he allowed to borrow £lo,ooo to open up Okarito Harbour, ami ho rated for the amount. The iotirney was a revelation, and the facilities give t,o us to see all sides and aspects of the different industries and probable industries of the future, also the working conditions of the miners and others, made a deep impression of the delegation. The possibilities of the future are enormous, and under a sympathetic treatment, a progressive Covernment.

and with the solution of the labour trouble, such wealth will he opened up that will surprise even the greatest eitimists as to the future wf the Coast. Our best thanks are due to our friends at Hokitika. Orevmouth, Beefton. and Westport, for their kindness in giving us every facility for seeing the industries and country under the best conditions and for making our trip "Cnerallv so delightful. (Signed) - F. Ik .TONES. H. J. MtBBINEB.