TARANAKI-PAST and PRESENT.

Patea Mail, 3 April 1882, Page 3

TARANAKI-PAST and PRESENT.

Writing on the forty-first anniversary of the settlement of Taranaki, the Herald says : It is now 41 years since the William Bryant, the first emigrant ship that ever sailed for New Plymouth, dropped anchor near to where the present harbor works are in progress, and although the district has not made that advancement which is visible in other parts of the colony, it has not been the fault of the settlers, but purely owing to the native difficulty, which we Have every reason to believe is now, a thing of the past. There are many still living who can well remember when they first landed, housing themselves in a shed built by Barrett, the whaler, at Moturoa, and in tents along the coast from the Sugar Loaves to the Henui, and no part of the colony possesses a history so full of events of a startling and warlike character as Taranaki. At the time our “pilgrim fathers” landed on these shores, a hundred poor trembling creatures were all that represented the quarrelsome tribes of Ngatiawas, and these welcomed the settlers as protectors, and protectors they proved to be. The feebleness, however, of Governor after Governor, and . the universal panic consequent on the Wairau massacre in the Nelson province, changed this sense of dependence in the returning fugitives into contempt, and at the end of the first 20 years the settlers harvested the fruits of that feebleness. The original plan of the settlement consisted of 550 acres of town land,

divided into 2200 quarter-acre sections p surrounded by 10,450 acres of suburban land divided into 209 sections of 50 acres each ; outside which were 57,000 acres of rural land, divided into 1,150 sections, making a total of 68,500 acres, of which one-tenth was reserved for the natives. However,, difficulties between the New Zealand Company and the natives arose as to the purchase of the land, and Mr. Commissioner Spain, who was sent here to investigate the matter, awarded only a block of 60,000 acres. We have not space to revert to the many difficulties the early immigrants had to encounter, but we find at the end of the first seven yeaas there were 1137 persons in the place, 566 being adults, and 571 children. The settlers in 1848 had 2103f acres of cultivated land, of which 766J acres were in wheat, 128 in barley, acres in oats, 167|- acres in potatoes, 267 acres in grass, the remainder (including 450 acres of native clearing) being in turnips, rye, maize, hops, or, laid out as gardens. The peaceful occupation by European settlers was not, however, to be permitted. The natives who had been driven away by the Waikatos began to return, and feuds between the tribes commenced, which made the position of the district in 1854 most critical. The settlers considered it necessary, wise, and prudent to endeavour to put a stop to it; but were not backed up by the Government, who appeared to abandon all control over the natives. At last the natives broke out in rebellion against the authority of the Queen, which culminated in nine years of blood and turmoil. It is not necessary for us here to refer to the events which transpired during that interregnum ; but the policy which the ‘‘Peace and Railway” Ministry initiated in 1870 was not long in showing its fruits, and Taranaki, as well as other parts of the colony, has rapidly progressed. Our population has largely increased, and is steadily growing ; and although Taranaki ten years ago was lowest on the list of revenue-producing districts, it now occupies a position next to as the following revenue returns will show :

£2,203,917 £1,056,056 These figures speak for themselves, and show the vapid strides the district is making. But after all we have done little more than look out upon our land and catch the first glimpse of what its resources are. There is for generation after generation indefinite employment in filling in the work, the outlines of which have been carved out by the pioneer settlers, and succeeding generations will look back upon the congratulations we now offer to ourselves on our present success, and smile to think with how little we were satisfied.

1881. 1871. Otago ............. .... £746.038 ” • £3917895Canterbury .... 455,738 214,894 Auckland .... 345,835 139,361 Wellington,.- .... 289,348 72,176 Taranaki .... 118,521 12,700 Hawkes Bay .... 82 373 17,508 Nelson .... 80,956 82,514 Westland .... 64,613 61,567 Marlborough .... 21,492 12,378