The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3,1930. MAGNUM OPUS.

Hokitika Guardian, 3 October 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3,1930. MAGNUM OPUS.

The . great work now in ha,ml in connection with the R,inin Flat dredging proposition and electric power scheme to which reference was made yesterday, should have a tonic effect on the community at a time when what is regarded as a slump period is enshrouding the district—in common with other places. The fact- that gold is the mam incentive to the important enterprise referred to, 'indicates that the precious metal still plays an important part in the district welfare. At the time when commodity prices are down, und surplus products are stored In considerable quantity awaiting u more favQurahlo, market, the recovery of more nnd more gold is o? the utmost value to the country- The added wealth goes at once into permanent circulation, for it is new money and in a. decided hplp to the economic situation of the-country. Because of this fact the Government is being urged to pay more attention to the fostering; of gold mining, and a policy in that direction would be one of the soundest; ways of endeavoring to meet the perplexing difficulty of providing more wealth for the national welfare. The Rimu Flat Dredge has been a steady gold winner over the eight years mining, nnd with the knowledge of hh value of the ground ahead, an enlarged dredge with better equipment is to be injsrtalled. This improved Imiacjhinery calls for more power, and the preparatory work ia now in hand nt Kan.ten Forks to establish two additional power sites. When the scheme in hand is accomplished there will be three hydro-electric stations within a comparatively short distance of each other. The extra plants will provide against possible interruptions. The present plant draws its hydro power from the water race fed by the lake, whereas the other two plants will derive power mainly from the Kanieri river. This large enterprise involves considerable capita] expenditure, and it is gratifying to feel that the prospects ahead of the enterprises in mind, justify so great an outlay. The industrial value of the undertaking is very considerable, and no doubt- when Rimu Flat is worked out in the gold mining sense, other enterprises will lie found for the utilisation of the power. ; It would he pleading indeed to see more mining taken up, because of the sterling value of the gold for the good of the country, and the strongest effort possible should he maefe to win over the Government to a definite gold mining prospecting scheme, so that likely localities up and down this highly mineralised West Coast might be proven. A cold rush at any juncture- would have a magic effect on the Dominion, a net at the present time nothing more opportune could occur. It is evident that from Rimu Flat more gold will be drawn with the improved plant, and that assurance is a guarantee of possibilities if similar enterprises are taken up on the proper linos, b'o far ns the works now in hand are concerned, there can be nothing hut praise for the enterprise displayed. U is born of a careful study of the prospects, and the plans arc laid accordingly. The district must be gratified indeed to sec so great an enterprise launched and developed on the lines now in hand, for it means the piodfiction of wealth in the future, in the recovery of which the industry created will be of all round value .

A study is being made of fho land resources of (New Zealand through the Department of Scientific aiul In dust rial Research and some useful in formation is being revealed. It- k important of course to treat land as a factor iii ihe national development with the special consideration it deserves. The uses of the land of the Dominion and the products are of first importance in regard to the national welfare. Land gives the main wealth of the Dominion, and the export of the products give the return in money on which the general prosperity i,s based. The Department in it sireseardi work has set about a standard of measurement of the land utilisation in New Zealand, and this is both interesting and instructive. Taking the animal use-, a unit is declared to he one I «heep, and a. .horse or a cow is regarded as equivalent to five pigs or seven sheen. On this ‘basis all the stock of each County in the Dominion has been reduced to animal units. The comparative table which has -been prepared is baped on the animal units (equal to sheep in number) in relation to the carrying capacity per 1,000 acres of occupied land. On this basis the survey at once discloses the paucity of use of much of the land in the Dominion. The highest cnpacitv land in use is Taranaki where, in the Whimate West County, 4118 units to the 1000 acres occupied occur. The rich dairying lands involved account for the high figure. In the adjoining County of Hawera the unit measurement is 3405. being almost all baser] on dairy cattle. Those two examples show the benefit of dairvlng from the economic point of land utilisation, nnd the aggregate result is disclosed by the wealth which the large dairying centres are responsible for. While this is so far satisfactory, it is not pleasing to learn that. Westland Conntv oecm.oie.s a rather conspicuous position at the extreme end of the list. Though not the lowest, it is the second lowest for the Dominion, its return being 180 animal units per lflrr occupied acres. This disclosure should excite the determination to make more productive use of the land available here. Time and again reference is made to the almost fallow land in the district, due to the large | areas held. The full use is not made even of the cleared land which is. often allowed to be overrun uith noxio’’s growth, and so fall to be of little or no value, hut still held and counting as occupied land. The branches of the Farmers Union might well turn attention to t-his question. In every district there are examples of land held not for use, hut to harbour noxious weeds. Something should he done in a systematic way to bring such land into use, and the result would be to give dairying and stock raisng generally a greater fillip, while there would be the satisfaction that the land was being used for greater capacity and so adding to the general wealth of the community,