The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, FEBRUAPY 11, 1929. A MINISTER’S IMPRESSIONS.

Hokitika Guardian, 11 February 1929, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, FEBRUAPY 11, 1929. A MINISTER’S IMPRESSIONS.

It is not surprising to find the Hun. •Minister of Labour and -Mines (.Mr W. A. Yeitcli) impressed hv his four of the West (oast. Of course. Mi' Yeitcli was not a stranger to these parts, and as a man of the world lie knew something mi what the pioneers lmd done (o relrieve the country lor settlement and industry I mm forest and river. The West Coast, because of its outstanding natural features—the dense hush. | numerous rivers, rugged country, mid ! broken surface—has not been easy of | settlement. It was cut oil' from access I by a mountain harrier or a rough sea route. The Coast for long years was something apart from the rest of New Zealand. The magic of the gold field-' drew population here in. the face • of great transport and transit difliculties. and the lure of gold has been responsible in retaining the population. Put all the time the pioneers forged ahead with their accepted lot of settling the country. In the short life of the Coast —a span of little more than six de-cades-—groat work has been done iiy the people in opening it; up and settling it producing towns and settlements, industries and great undertakings, in every way credit.a hie to the labour and industry of the people. Air Witch was impressed with what lie

Miw nml iil.so with the spirit of the people, lie had to don I with many deputn Lions, mid these nil made demmids, wliieli, of acceded to, must count in the further advancement of the district. The Minister says lie regards the district as enterin'!; on an era of renewed prosperity, f rom what he saw in his somewhat hurried four, he 'felt there were several directions in which almost unlimited progress can be made. That is a largo fact to ncknewi edge, but Mr Veitch acknowledges i. wholeheartedly, and he says, coupled with the optimism of the ]>coplc. there is going to be a great recital within a reasonable time. We should say that having arrived at that attractive view, I here is every reason why the Covernment with which Mr Veitch is so prominently associated, should extend itself to hasten the time of the revival, .lust at the moment the Dominion is in need of such a fillip in general conditions as a means to surmount the quicker the difficulties of the unemployment problem. There is thus every justification for the policy ol the Government being so shaped to assist the (.'oast, and provide an outlet lor more labour, and the greater prosperity which the Minister visualises is at hand. Mr Veitch touched upon the Okarito harbour possibilities as one of the latent possibilities to create renewed prosperity. With the great store of timber wealth, to say nothing of its mineral wealth, the Okarito district must be the scene of greater exploitation in due season. The sooner the harbour is improved the quicker will the timber developments come to pass. Great quantities of fine timber have been destroyed and lost already for the sake of settlement, because there were not facilities for export. That loss is going on year by year. "W ere the harbour improved, the loss would he ar rested, and instead industry would step in, mill the product and exploit it. Capital is available for such an enterprise if the means for ready export were available. The Minister is certainly on firm ground when he ventures the opinion that renewed prosperity will be realised, and Okarito harbour improvement is one of the chiet factors in sight to bring that to pass in the region of the Coast affected. Mr Veitch, too, was impressed with the glorious scenic beauty the (oast possesses, lie repeated a twice-told tale in extolling it. but his praise justifies the fullest representation to the Government for more attention to the tourist resorts of the district. "Westland as the chief part of the Coast can well sit up and take notice of the impressions of the visiting Minister, llis views and outlook as to the luturc are encouraging, and should give the people greater heart to persevere in their self-imposed task of bettering Westland, and making it more and more a- greater’part in the general prosperity of the Dominion as a whole.