The Address-in-Reply.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 369, 17 July 1908, Page 3

The Address-in-Reply.

SPEECHES BY MR TE'JNINGS, M.P., AND HON. M’CAKDLE, M.LC The following extracts from the •neeohea of the above-named gentle-* m«o will prove interesting to our readers :

Mr Jennings, M,P. for Egmont said M • The present law with respect to native townships, inch as Tanmarunui, l’e Kuiti—(and I may add crysalf, Otorohansa and Kawhia)—and other centrw has been found to be unsatisfactory to Europeans, and the disabilities arising from this law will be removod.” Sir, the psychological moment has arrived, and it arrived at that time when the Prime Minister visited the Rffie Potae a fortnight ago. And here I must *ay, in answer to the criticism that has been levelled against the Premier by some hononrable members about going round the Country, that it V’.is the best step he has takon since he became the head of the Government, He came at the suggest iou of honourable members who complained that outlying districts were negleetod by Ministers, and who suggested that they should go from time to time into these outlying places where settlers are debarred from seeing Ministers and officials, owing to their isolation. It is the duty of the Premier and of Ministers to go round and see these settlers, and ascertain their grievances. I can tell the Right Hon the Premier and the hononrable the Leader of the Opposition that some of his own strong adherents told me that the visit of the Premier had softened to some extent their feeling against the Government—

Mr Massey (Deader of the Opposition).— You should see the letter I received to-night from one of your constituents, Jennings,—All right; I will be there at the proper time. In reference to removing the disabilities of settlers in these new townships— Tsuiuarunui, Te Kuiti, Otorohanga and Kawhia—J visited them long ago, in conjunction with Mr Lang and the late Mr Crowther. These pho s were to a large extent, Kainga Maoris nearly fifteen years » go. To day To Kuiti, Taumarunui, Kawhia and other places are large thrivi: g townships. Men and women are in the»e places to-day, doing pioneering work, and making homes for themselves and their t h '- dren, the same as my own and other pioneering people did sixty years ago. Under the preaent cond tions they are not getting as fair a chance as our forbears got; and I Congratulate the Government upon its proposaLto give them better facilities, bo tba they may improve the townships and them •elves. I know honest men and women who

*-re groaning under the disabilities the, .cist in many ways in tho King Counti • mow. they ask to be treated fairl ; improvements can be made in regard t lug and sanitary matters in those tow . ,owog to the present law. There a •. there full of ability, full of intel ” •»*-’ energy, and they are not gok. nfie<l with the present state of tel t'i- ’'remier he has don’ . f cist ’>g .hit some alto * regard to the«e na'e is another paragraph rj t- • I ..r- i n reg« rd io : ■ ne t---“chat tbe f i th -r «»te sjo>» i dt-ser settlemen will n- vigor nsl •ecuted.” Iu u nn.-ctmn wi h t ar ■ ject, 1 wish to p -mt ut ! hut unions the tv-vrrnm.nt are al ve rhe ne. e air, . f • io-e settlement gOiug forward, it will be a 1 M to the country generally. 1 do nor think it id right for 1 rge arene of native iaud to be taken up b. a few peoplv who ••re vnucipaung 1 eratione and fn-sh tegia- •» on. If th«t is to be he case, close settlement will ha e 9 poor show. 1 kn-w • th bis -lone at the present tme—lion Mr ( ar roll.— Mention wi . /ou?

.leanings.—ln regard to another para- > aph—in telation to b ack block roads and ti- eg—that indeed hue given great satisS.rtuD, and I am quite sure that this House I willingly gr-.nt the Government the million to be raised for these purposes, i bop> the money will be fairly allocated, an that the distribution of it will be in t>u b a way that there will be no great complttnta. It is too big a question for any paitisianship to be exhibited. As a cummeroial concern alone, if roads can bo improved and people can get their produce out, it will benefit the country considerably ; and this million pounds will be paid back fivefold. I congratulate the Government on its proposal to borrow one million, and I hope that £250,000 will be spent for the period of four years. 1 wish now to say a word in r- gard to education in sparsely settled districts. . ”

The Hon. W. W. M’Cardle M.LC. aaid; — ••Sir, there is something in the Speech delivered by his Excellency the Governor that comes home to me as most hopeful as far as our backblock settlers are concerned. I refer to the proposal to expend a considerable sum of money annually in order to give access to the backblocks. I speak feel ingly on this subject, because I have lived among those people so long, and felt with them in their hardships and difficulties, that any effort made by any Government to meet their wants meets with my hearty approval, for it is an action that will be of great service not only to the settlers themselves, but will greatly promote the general progress of our already wealthy young country. any Government that helps io that direction then, is recognising the best way to bring about the success and prosperity of the country. 1 also wish to say a few words about the great catastrophe that took pla e in the King Country through the dry summer and the subsequent fires that raged through the country. 1 am pleased to know that the Government readily came to the assistance of the settlers who suffered, 1 was in the district when the great fire took place. Many settlers lost their life’s earnings, They lost their grasses and their homes, and were sadly in need of assistance The Government gave that assistance by granting them grass seed free of cost. There is one fact which I wish lx> bring under the notice of the Minister representing the Government in this Council: there were men who, being free of mortgage, could not say to the Government that they were in a state of destitution, and could not find grass seed for themselves. If they had declared what was untrue they would have got grass seed; but a promise was made that in these cases—as for instance, where t was found that they provided their own «eed—some relief would be granted in th shape of a remission o' rents, f sh<>ul 1 like the Hon. the Attorney-G noral to bring this matter before his colleagues and to sue that this promise is kept. The whole face of tb* country was swept—grass, fencing, ■ id in some instances houses, as well as many sheep—and honourable members will ’■raliH* the stamina that the e<*tt*ers must who battled through it and Io ked forward with hope to re/ain their former position. The Government has invar abh re t.gnised the interest of the peo le, 1 believe, and especii.ily of three who are earnin, on th. g e.t pioneering industry which is so great in tbe district in which I am specially concerned; and I am sure they deserve the hearty support of every man who baa the welfare of the country at heart. I know tbe Council does not wish me to any length, nor shall f do so; but there s one other subject 1 would mention —the pr posu 1 to spend £250,000 per year. In the district I come from there is not a single m in r -ad. Entering into the portend the port is one of the finest in the Dominion—there is, from Kawhia to Oparan, a distance of eight miles where (here is no " road, nnd the only way of getting out from •h t> wn and into the country i«; by m an* r launch if tbe Government i* go of to expend the money in making n>a is Jktfcsgdbissost* L think Lt weald be a wise

thing to consider whether or not it would be well to .expend the money in building ► ight miles of railway instead of road, which would cost almost tbe same. In a very , little time the railway will be completed to Auckland, and I was deputed by the Railway Leanue of Kawhia to bring this question of railway-communication before tho 1 Auckland Railway Leagee. I endeavoured to do so, and was well received and reported on the question by one of the papers in the City of Auckland, Now, we are nearing the the completion of the Main Trunk Bailway, and this is another great tribute to the Government that his shown its power in carrying through such a great work, and is therefore entitled to congratulation. Any man who travels through that country and sees the vast wealth to be found in the timber that will be available for the next twenty or more years will see that the railway traffic on that line must be enormous, It must be apparent to any man who gives the question a moments consideration that such will be the case. Well, what I want eo say in this connection is that the time is not fardistant when a duplication of the railway from Marton to Wellington, and from Marton to Wellington, and from Frankton to Auckland will be necessary. But, sir, there is a line of twenty miles, which would cost £200,000, that would carry the traffic to the Kawhia Harbour—the harbour that

is the closest to the port of Sydney, and that without the expenditure of a shilling of money, will take in any vessel likely to come to our ports. It is only the other day when it was proposed to deepen the Suez canal to the depths of the Kawhia Harbour, Now, if we had a branch railway from tho Main Trunk line to the Kawhia Harbour we should haye a cheap means for the export of our products, and would relieve the enormous traffic that must necessarily be brought about by the development of the resources of the great King Country. I should like to bring the importance of this portion of tho Dominion before the -country, so that people may realise what in the next twenty years will be the development of this Dorn inion when that portion of the country ie settled. With progressive settlement the population in the nowunsettted country will become greater than the whole, present population of the Auckland province.