KING COUNTRY TOWNSHIPS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 11, 4 January 1907, Page 3

KING COUNTRY TOWNSHIPS.

In a recent letter to Mr W. Jennings, M.H.R., the Native Minister stated that a Land Purchase Officer had been instructed to purchase the interests of the Native owners at Paemako, Taumarunui and Matiere, providing they were prepared to sell at a reasonable price. This is a satisfactory announcement as far as it goes, but the mere bald statement may mean either very little, or a very great deal to the district. In any case, the. fact that the township lands in all the KingCountry centres, are in a most unsatisfactory condition, cannot be too strongly placed before the authorities. Everything considered, it is high time the Government adopted a comprehensive and workable scheme for dealing, with the various township areas. The present state of affairs is hardly a credit to a progressive Government, and the recent land sale at Te Kuiti should have been the means of enlightening the public as to the demand for suitable residence sites. A few years ago, the whole of the township lands could have been purchased for about £8 an acre, and the sections recently disposed of under the hammer, though in a less desirable position than the Native lands, realized an average of about £3O an acre. Any signs of awakening to the necessity for statesmanlike action by the authorities, will be widely welcomed, and it goes without saying, that settlers in the different centres will do their utmost to assist in every manner possible.