The MINISTER of LANDS

Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 45, 17 January 1902, Page 4

The MINISTER of LANDS

VIMt TO MOTUEKA.

Adt pXiT;tt?oj , consisting <t' Messrs. J] G, MiGavest.m, G. 11. Siatter, R White,/T: A. White, and J. A. Minister of' Lands at' the Motueka Hotel : on Tuesday" to urge upon the Government "the J 'necessity of at once bridging, the Motueka river at Alexander's •-Bluff, -for'which work the sum of ,£4OOO had been placed upon the Supplementary Estimates. r - , Having been introduced by Mr R. McKenzie, M.H.R,,

Mr McGaveston, after expressing pleasure atvthe presence <tf Mr Duncan in their midst, referred to the trials and difficulties of the settlers in the Pokororo district in getting their produce to market. At present they had no proper and safe access to the outer Avorld and when the river was in flood they were? unable to cross for weeks at a time, fle had lived in . the district for thirty years, and knew by experience the difficulties the settters had had to contend with. Mr Siatter had been taking a considerable interest in the question cf bridging the river and had worked'up the present agitation ; they had also to thank their member, Mr M«'Kenzie for the efforts he had made on their behalf.

Mr Siatter stated that he wished to read a*few reasons he had noted down, whichjhvere f>s follows :—-

district contains, roughly measured, about 32,000 acres, of which at least 20,000 acres are Crown lands, chiefly of limestone formation, good sheep coun- ; try ; also the Crown lands between the Graham and Pierce rivers, and the lower Raton (of which there is a considerable quantity), extending back to Mount Arthur which would all be served by the construction of the bridge and road. The very low price now ruling for wool, and the unsalenbleness of hops, makes it incumbent on the fcettlers in the district to turn their attention to the raising of other kinds of produce, which the construction of the bridge and- road would greatly facilitate, the marketing of any kind of produce under existing circumstances being verv hazardous; and attended with much loss of time, later;- and energy, and frequently great 'larnage to the. produce, and the risk of life, lirtibs and property in fording the river with it ; while sometimes the market is partially and often entirely lost, through the river being too high to cross, sometimes for weeks. Also, most of the settlers are unable to use the fords at all, without having to cross private property on one side or other of the river. On'much of our old clearings the grass is running out, and they require breaking up and cropping, which at the present time the settlers are, for want of the bridge and road, unable to do ; lirst, for want of up to date implements and agricultural machinery . which want would be supplied, either by co-operation amongst themselves or by machines working for hire, as in other places more happily situated ; and, secondly, the produce thus raised would give some return on the cost <>t production, which at the present time it will not do, as-the cost in producing and marketing would far exceed the returns. Thus we are unable to employ labor, to the loss of ourselves and the colony. As much of our flat country is eminently suitable for fruit growing, a very large proportion of it would be devoted to that purpose, therebv absorbing a good deal of labor. The route. this road would follow was the route recommended over forty years ago by the late John Blaekett (at that time Provincial Engineer of Nelson) that the projected railway from Nelson to the West Coast should follow, the valley of the Motueka river being the chief artery of the eastern and middle portion of the province of Nelson. The concessions given to farmers in other parts of the colony, while most undoubtedly of great/benefit , to those in a position to take advantage of them, only intensify the hardship*of our position, they being able to produce and market at greatly a reduced price, that it greatly lessens the amount we receive for our labor.. Although our properties have been, many of them, paying rates ' for forty or more years have received nothing, not even the mosffenifling benefits from any of the local bodies that have had the controlling *>f iibsse i3iafWr ; s, the Waimea County Cott2»«"~i regarding us as a milch cow „ ®tr : other parts of the County. airayi«f fcijie- t&vhlic Works expenditure, altkesagjte « ! <;!si«>:.C t ?.P a y a share of the inter-

I est, 01 the Pi blic debt. Many persons ' have on «.'oing through this, district expressed their surprise at the extent and quality of the land in the district, and have given their opinions tha we ought to be more liberally treated. The Hon. the Premier has'stated that he will not rest until he has given every settler in the country a good and safe road to market, and you, Sir, have stated that the country must be roaded to induce the people to go on to the land. It is, therefore, surely as necessary to induce those alreadj'on the land, to remain there. We have, by agreeing to give the land required for the road, free of compensation, shown our willingness to assist ourselves in this matter, and therefore most respectfully submit that we have a very strong claim on your favorable consideration, more especially as we are asking no undue favor, but simply asking to be placed 1 on a more equal footing with our fellow j colonists.

Mr Duncan agreed that the settlers were handicapped in not haying the river bridged.

In answer to a question by the Minister, it was stated that the settlers had, with one exception, given the land required for the public road, and had signed agreements to that effect. It was further mentioned that the occupier of land, who at the time objected to sign, had since expressed his willingness to do as the others had done.

Messrs R. White and Guy also urged upon the Hon. Mr Duncan the necessity for the bridge arid corroborated the remarks made by Messrs Siatter and McGaveston. Mr R. McKenzie said the settlers in the Pokororo district had paid heavily into the local and colonial revenue funds for which they had absolutely received no benefits. About 10,000 acres were at present under cultivation and there were some 20,000 acres in addition'which could be at once taken up, cleared and cultivated, a large extent of the land having been found most suitable for growing large and small fruit. He estimated the bridge would not cost much more than <£1750, of which sum .£IOOO had already been voted. He asked Mr Duncan to - look at the request from a colonial standjoint, to give instructions for the necessary plans and specifications to be prepared, and tenders called for the work. By so doing he would give great satisfaction to the settlers interested and others.

The Hon. Mr Duncan said-he would leave his decision till after he had seen the proposed site and district.

Mr A. White, of Ngatimoti, brought under Mr Duncan's notice the condition of the Waiwero Cemetery, and asked that the ground be properly laid off by a surveyor.

Mr McKenzie said that four 01- five years ago Mr Duncan's predecessor had agreed to have the matter attended to. A surveyor would do the work in a day or two.

Mr Duncan promised to look into the request.

Mr Guy asked that the grade of the White Pine Swamp road should be altered, which would cost about A lot of produce was grown in the district and the hill was a bad one to drive over.

Mr McKenzie supported the request, and said the hill was certainly a bad one. He had intended asking that the word should be done," but -.there had always been something more urgent which demanded attention.

Mr Duncan promised to inspect the hill when going through the district.