THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1907.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 21, 15 March 1907, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1907.

In giving voice to some of his impressions at the conclusion of his recent tour of North Auckland, the Minister for Lands stated that the astonishing feature of his trip was the fact that very few complaints were made about land administration or roads. Mr McNab also gave it, as his opinion, that Taranaki was worse off, in the matter of roads, and the settlers of the " garden of New Zealand " laboured under greater difficulties than those of the north. The

reasons given for the opinion were, that the Taranaki country was more broken, and that there was a great deal more traffic on the roads than those of the north. It is to be hoped that Mr McNab's sympathy for Taranaki, in the matter of roads, will be extended to the King Country when he has completed his tour of the district. Probably, if his visit occurred a few months later, the sympathy would rise unbidden, and the surplus would be directed personally, from the fact of having to struggle through .quagmires from one centre to another off the line of railway. It cannot be denied that much has been done by the Government in the matter of road formation in the Rohe Potae, but the work still to be accomplished is the making of the roads fit to travel over, and to the settler this is undoubtedly the most important part of the question. The settlers are willing to do their utmost, but in a huge, sparsely settled district, it is a matter of impossibility for those who are already on the land, to complete the roading for the benefit of future settlers, and Native owners of unoccupied land. In order to do this and exist, the present settlers would require to be making double the returns, or more, than farmers in closely settled districts. And this is just what they are not doing. Breaking in new country means a large initial expenditure of money and labour, and the back-blocker Irequires all the assistance he can obtain. That the district is sparsely settled is not the fault of the settler, and the Minister will hardly find the King Country residents so well satisfied with the land administration as their neighbours of the north, and complaints in that direction are not likely to be few. The Minister for Lands is not responsible for the roads, nor is he, according to Mr McNab, responsible for the administration of land until it has passed into to ownership of the Crown. Still, he is responsible for the settling of the Crown lands, of the King Country, and it is his obvious duty to do his utmost for the welfare of those who have taken up sections in good faith, and have to bear the brunt of the pioneering work, for the benefit of those who are able to wait until the track has been well trodden, and the existing conditions no longerjspell hardship at every turn. Nothing but good can result from the fact of Minister's visiting the district and becoming acquainted with local conditions, and a hearty welcome will be extended to Mr McNab in the various King Country centres. In the past, one of the chief disabilities under which the district laboured, was the absolute ignorance of both Ministers and private members, with regard to conditions obtaining in this part of the colony, and the King Country was as carefully avoided as a plague stricken area or a haunted grange. It is important that settlers should bestir themselves, and not allow the opportunity to pass of making known their many and various wants. There are numerous complaints to make, and, of course, some sentiments in the other direction to express, but Mr McNab is evidently influenced by grievances in numbers, and Ministers should not be allowed to suffer vain regrets.

PROPOSED NEW RAILWAY.

The application for the removal of the restrictions on the Native lands concerned for the purpose of constructing a railway between Lake Taupo and the Main Trunk railway, which came before the Maori Land Board this week at Te Kuiti is another evidence of the industrial progress being made in the colony. The proposed railway would open up a large extent of virgin country, and under certain conditions would undoubtedly be the means of sooner or later bringing into settlement a large area which would otherwise be lying idle. The immediate object of the promoters of the railway is of course the working out of the timber along the route of the line, and it is to be hoped that after the interests of the general community have been properly considered and safeguarded, every opportunity of carrying on the work will be granted to the promoters It is a well established principle, and one that has been generally reduced to practice in New Zealand, that all lines of communication in a country should be owned and governed by the people, and it is to be hoped that, in granting facilities to the Tongariro Timber Company, this principle will be upheld. From the facts stated, the Company proposes to lease the land over which the line will travel, for a period of 50 years, and so far as the Native owners are concerned, the conditions attaching to the proposition are highly favourable. However, there are other interests to be considered in the matter, and before any steps are taken towards completing the present negotiations it is to be hoped the fullest and closest investigation will be made, and the terms of agreement will be such as to give the Government all powers necessary to conserve the interests of the whole community. This can be accomplished without in any way cramping the enterprise of the Company, and, in future years, when the work of the line will be the carrying of passengers and farm produce, instead of timber, there will be no vested interests to consider, or other complications to unravel, by the people, who will be vastly more concerned than the Company which proposes to use the line in the meantime.