THE RANGITIKEI-MANAWATU DISTRICT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4943, 25 January 1877, Page 2

THE RANGITIKEI-MANAWATU DISTRICT.

(by our special correspondent.) Almost immediately upon leaving Bull’s, on the edge of the horizon fronting: you as you ride along the road, rises Kuapeka, -with its summer coat of snow in patches let ; into, th© furrows of its rugged face and rising to its unevenly truncated summit. The mountain is more conspicuous as the landscape all around is that of an . undulated tableland, and differs from any previously passed through during the present trip, in that it is, so to speak, civilised as far as the eye can reach. To the limit o£ view are fields bounded for the most part by hedges of gorse or other growth, and such patches of timber as occur, if they he of native growth, only, -lend an . idea of plantation to the view, whilst is many cases actual, plantation of the quibkly growing gum tree has taken place along th© line of a fence or in * the neighborhood of a homestead. A very fair quantity of soil is under wheat and oats, and the sound, of ; th© reaping-machine is heard frequently in th© land. The first property met on leaving Bull’© is that of the late Mr. Hammond, ini which it may be remarked that the wheat growing ha© too many weeds amongst it—in fact, the crop is dirty. To this succeed the properties of Mr. Kilgour, of Dr. Gurl, and of Major Willi?, They are all fair, to look upon. Where they abut on the road numerous neat cottages, with pretty flower gardens and useful vegetable gardens, may be seen. 1 Five miles from Bull’s the main road to Marton turns to the left. 'Avoiding the turn* ing and keeping along a district road which runs in a straight line from the main highway, I came upon the land sold by the Hon. Mr. Fox under deferred payments,, and. In a little over a mile arrived at the entrance to his own 'property. Going through the gate and passing along what will be a fine avenue- when- the trees planted on each side of it shall have come to maturity, a sudden break in the tablet land occurs, and the traveller finds himself on the edge of the valley of the Rangitikei River, looking either up or down ou a view of that soft loveliness such as may be seen in the most beautiful parts of southern rural England, Owing to natural and artificial clearing, and to a good deal of cultivation, the whole landscape is such a one as might be sees from some gentle' eminence in Kent, where park and pasture,- -meadow and crop,- are mingled. The railway-line comes in a direct course to the spectator’s feet, and the -works on the bridge over the river are seen. Mr. Fox’© villa, built in the Italian style, is situated on 3 jutting terrace down in the valley, yet suffi, ciently raised above its general level for those who abide in it to take in all the beauties of the country above and below them. It is at the base of a peninsula formed by a long bend of the river, and has around it a lawn, flower garden, and grounds, wherein a proper teste has made the planting of new trees merely an adjunct and increment to the beauties already conferred upon it by nature's foliage. Mr. Fox has a retreat where he might well be content to live and think but little upon the busy world of politics fretting itself outside him. I was most kindly received by the formes Premier, and was shown over as' much of his estate as. the • hurried nature of my visit , would- allow. The property •at one time consisted of 5500 acres, but finding that this' was ‘ more than he could~conveniently manage, Mr. Fox disposed of about half of it on a system of ■ deferred payments, and, it may be added, in defiance of the advice of some wise friends; who assured him that he .would never be paid. These predictions hare not been fulfilled. Not only have the purchasers paid interest with commendable punctuality, but in many instances have evinced a desire to pay off the principal more quickly than the nature of the agreement under which the lands were taken up required; - Mr. Fox is perfectly satisfied with the result of his experiment, ana judging from the-thriving nature of the dif, ferent farms,.! think he has, every reason,to be so., . The soil hereabouts being a conglomerate seems better suited for agriculture than fov pasture, and Mr. Fox'has'a fair proportion of his under crop, with very gratifying-result®, One field of wheat will certainly yield not less than 40 bushels to the acre. Now, as 'the average yield for the whole Middle Maud foe 1875 was, if I mistake hot, some 32 bushels to the acre, whilst the average of . the United Kingdom was 22 bushels, and that of South Australia 8 bushels, it will be seen that Rang?, tikei, or this portion of it at least, is admirably suited for growing grain, and will produce more no doubt than it does at present so soon as railway communication shall-have made it profitable to grow it for more than more local use. i' : * ' CROPTON, - - Under Mr. Fox’s guidance I next visited what is popularly known as hia “ Teetotal Township,”; Crofton. In selling his lands under the deferred payibent system, of course no restriction as to the consumption of alcoholic stimulants could, be made. BuV in leasing the township sections in Crofton. Aft Fox inserted covenants- by which the lessees bound themselves not to permit the consumption or sale of strong drink on their sections. Being by ho means a teetotaller myself, I can write with more freedom on this matter. Not a few took it upon themselves to blame or joke at Mr. Fox- for this action. I do not agree with Mr. Fox’s tenets in the way of liquor, but can accord him all praise for having the courage of hia convictions, and for honestly attempting to do a work which he .believes is for the amelioration of mankind/ And, so far he seems not to have, been unsuccessful. The little township has an eminently prosperous, comfortable look about it. Its accommodation bouse and general store is well conducted, and contains a very, superior stock of-goods, and there is a lecture-hall, built by Mr. Fox, which, by its neatness inside and out, and its tasteful decoration in the interior, co/trasts most favorably with the somewhat tafie-.-demalion public halls prevalent in other and neighboring townships, MARTON. A couple of miles from Crofton is Marton* the chief township of the Rangitikei District

It is a most thriving place, and presents in its increase a wonderful contrast to its appearance some four years ago. The history of its foundation is not uninteresting. Ihe owner of the land on which it stands was lamenting m presence of a Victorian gentleman that he could not get a remunerative.price for his property. The friend said,Tut it m tay hands and I’ll make it sell well foipyou. The offer was accepted. A township was laid out, and a number of the sections realised handsome suras. The owner is already an independent man, and while I was in Martou ho was announcing the sale by auction of the last sections remaining ok his hands, which will undoubtedly fetch prices that will appear fabulous when compared with those obtained at the time of the foundation of the township. The local board a assessment of the annual value of property in Martou for this year is £5400, and the rates amount to £2(O. There is a very pretentious-building, .with a decidedly unlikely - to - be - finished - for-some-time appearance about it, put up for. the Church o England, and anchored as it were b y r<'P“ and guys. The Kev. Towgood is tne officiating minister. The Wesleyan clergyman is the Bev. Garlick; the Presbyterian the Kev. Stuart. The members of the Local Board are Messrs. Wall (chairman), Beavan, Bussell, Powell, and Bett. the district. Bangitikei County has its boundaries conterminous with those of the Bangitikei Highway District, and the members of the Distract Board have been elected to the County Council The total area of the district is roughly estimated at 1,515,000 acres. In the nmrfegate of the various holdings there are 3pnsed 11,553 acres of pasturage. 1929 acres under crop, and 2699 acres of bush, whilst plantation figures for only 8 acres. Mr. Harris, the obliging secretary to the County Council, was at some trouble to compile this information for me from the in his possession. The annual valuation of . the Highway District is £36,000, the rates are jglgOO It is gratifying to record that the quantity of land brought under cultivation is increasing very rapidly each year. .... railway works. ' Of the railway which is to connect Wanganui with the Kangitikei-Manawatu District, Ind eventually with Wellington, the position is this Four miles have been completed, and the permanent way finished from Feilding, under a contract taken by the Emigrants’ Aid Association. From this termination of this, Nathan’s section, under construction, runs to within a mile of the Bangitikei Kiver. Then succeeds Lockie and Co.’s, who are also conBtructing the bridge over the river. Stuart’s contract begins at the termination of this, at the cliff line of road oh Major Willis s property, and runs to Turakina, from whence the line is completed, permanent way and all, as far as the bank of the Wanganui Kiver, On this last section there was little or no heavy work to be done, with the exception of a cutting 57ft. deep at Gower’s saddle. All the contracts now in progress should be completed and the permanent way laid under eighteen months from date, so that the railway will be finished before that which is to connect Wellington with Feathers ton.