THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1907. MINISTER FOR LANDS AND THE KING COUNTRY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 25, 12 April 1907, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1907. MINISTER FOR LANDS AND THE KING COUNTRY.

According to the published itinerary of the Minister for Lands, that gentleman is going to devote very little time to the King Country during his tour on behalf of the Land Bill. After his arrival at Auckland, the Minister will proceed to Te Awamutu; thenceforth his movements are of little interest to King Country settlers, as it is more than doubtful if he will touch the district afterwards. Considering the immense stretch of good country embraced in the Waitomo, Awakino and Kawhia Counties, and the large interests held by the Crown within those boundaries, it was hoped that Mr McNab would have at least spent a few days in finding out the potentialities of the district. It was also widely recognised that good was likely to result from such a course, and the settlers would have had confidence established from the desire of the Government to become acquainted with the requirements and prospects of the district. The apparent neglect of the Minister cannot fail to further impress the people with the idea that the Government is only anxious to avoid a district, the requirements of which are so strikingly demonstrated. For some years past, ever since settlement on Crown lands has been going on, the settlers have had to contend with the worst of pioneer conditions, until at last they have begun to clamour for improved facilities. Inefficient railway services, painfully primitive post office accommodation, ragwort and pest-invested Native and Crown lands, shockingly bad roads, to say nothing of the Chinese puzzle presented by the land tenure of the locality, is rather a formidable list to face, and Mr McNab may perhaps be excused for not wishing to face, in person, all the sins of his colleagues or predecessors in office. However, settlers are a long suffering people, and even an attempt to grasp the situation, with a view to betterment, would have been welcomed, and appreciated. The exigencies of office make many calls upon the Minister's time, but, to the Minister for Lands, it can reasonably be said, that the requirements of the King Country are most urgent, and a proper grasp of the existing conditions, just as essential to. him as the most prominent features of the Land Bill.* The loss of a speech on the Bill is not to be regretted —it has been circulated throughout the length and breadth of the colony—but the loss, both to the Minister and settlers, in other respects is great, and we trust Mr McNab will apply a remedy by making a special visit at no distant date.