Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, MARCH 15,1889. A FURTHER OUTLOOK.

Manawatu Herald, 15 March 1889, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1889. A FURTHER OUTLOOK.

The advancement of Foxton, and the establishment of its trade, is now in the hands of its business men. At no other period of its career has the opportunity been so good, nor of so much moment. We, hardly think that the position is at present grasped by them as it should be, and that the glamour of the flax industry has stifled in a way, the other outlets for trade, which have been lately, Jday by day, opening up before tnem. we trust we are mistaken, as we hold that the tradespeople have more to do with the prosperity of the town, than any other body of its inhabitants, and the growth and inoreasfKL value of its property, is entirely in their keeping/,' The flax industry alone has so considerably expanded their business, that it seems too pressing to ask them to attend to more, but more, they mmst look after, or the trade will drift to other centres. Quietly and without ostentation the two public bodies on the South of the Manawatu river have been securing large loans for public works, upon the exceptionably easy terms offered by the Government, and they have gone about the expenditure of 'that amount, with energy and despatch. Within the last two months the Wirokino Road Board must have let contracts for new road formation and clearing, to the value of near two thousand pounds, and the H|>swhenua County is now coming mthe front with an expenditure on pie main county road, and even the General Government have quietly been at work clearing the roads in the new Levin "block. This expenditure is what may be termed the preliminary of a much

larger expenditure, as directly this first outlay has succeeded in its mission of attracting settlers upon the land for sale, they will on their own motion and expense, spend farther sums in improving such communications, so that the whole Resembles a snow ball, which the further it is rolled, the larger it becomes. The works in contemplation and in progress by these public bodies will be the means of inducing a very large settlement upon the lands, which are but a few miles from Foxton. Even as it is, a very large amount of improvement has been made upon the Heatherlea block, and every year much larger sums will be spent. We may fairly expect, upon the sale of the Levin block next week, that the whole will be at once taken possession of, as also a very large quantity of the Manawatu railway land. In pointing these facts out, we desire to impress upon our business friends, that this trade can, owing to certain facts which we shall directly show, be now secured for the benefit of the port, but it can just as easy be lost, by their thinking the flax trade is a 1 sufficient. The position the town holds from bsing a port, places it beyond competition, if the business men are not inferior to others resid [ ing c sewhere, as the carriage of all goods from the central market is cheaper than the railway can carry at, and the goods are landed at the tradesmens stores from whence they can be delivered direct to the purchaser by trap. In any other case the opposition is handicapped by the necessity of paying a heavier charge in the first instance, and also by having to pay a return carriage by rail, and then they are unable to make a delivery beyond the line. We so strongly hold that the true interests of the town are tied up in the success of the due distribution of trade, that we cannot feel that we are travelling out of our proper course in urging those who are connected with this town's mercantile interests to be up and doing. It is stated by those who do not look around, that Foxton is rising upon flax, and if flax goes down, *o must the town ; but though a heavy blow woud necessarily be struck to its progress should the flax recede in value below a paying price, yet we think allowance has nevei been made for the trade which, the developement of all the country south of the Manawatu, is bound to oreate. The business in flax dressing, fortunately, looks to be secured for some time to come, long enough to allow all those who have entered into it, clearing themselves with the good prices now obtainable, and a yetfu trier sign of its asting is to be noticed from the f aot that the Directors of the Manawatu Railway are inviting tenders for the formation of some drains in their big swamp opp site Moutoa the whole object of which expenditure can only ue to encourage the growth oflhepbormiumtenax. This outlay, though profitable to the company, will be more so to this town, as, should it be carried out, the produce, the green material, would have to be manufactured on the banks, the town's side of the river, and the expeuditure in making the drains would also by necessity come mostly this way. We think we may safely look forward to a vny fair time of actual pressure of business, and an assured increase from the titn*; that were experienced before flax dressing waa first started here a twelvemonth ago.