MINISTER OF LANDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 880, 25 January 1930, Page 8

MINISTER OF LANDS

VISIT TO KING COUNTRY MANY DEPUTATIONS From Our Own Correspondent. TAUMARUNUI, Friday. . The Minister of Lands, the Hon. G. W. Forbes, has been visiting the Central King Country during file pasc few days and has inspected a great deal of country and received a large number of deputations. The party consisted of the Minister, Mr. F. Langstone (M.P. for Waimarino), Mr. A. 11. Cockayne (Assistant-Director-General of Agriculture) and Mr. W. 11. c. Macintosh (.Commissioner of Crown. Lands). At Raurimu the visitors were provided with afternoon tea by the Misses Hill. The principal subject brought to his notice by the Kaitieke County Council concerned loans, and the opening up of unoccupied Crown lands near Raurimu. The Minister promised to investigate the loan question, and with regard to the unoccupied lands tha commissioner said he would see that recommendations to give effect to tha request were 1 submitted to Mr. Forbes. Mr. Langstone raised the question of holding the land ballot at Raurimu to save the ballotees the expense of journeying to Wellington, and Mr. Forbes said that possibly it would be arranged as Mr. Langstone suggested. Later in the day the Ministerial party left for Taumarunui, en route to Ohura, where a number of requests were made. At Matiere Messrs. F. Pleasants, C. Stewart and C. J. Ryan urged tho establishment of an experimental farm in the King Country. Mr. Forbes said he would confer with the Agricultural Department, and the Assist-ant-Director of Agriculture, Mr. A. H. Cockayne, advised the deputation to set up a committee of farmers to further the project. Messrs. L. A. Ross, At. J. McAvady, L. Fauchelle, J. Caird, C. J. Ryan and J. Binns dealt with the question of roading and land settlement, and the Minister promised to see what could be done. At Taumarunui, Air. G. A. Stanton, chairman of the Taumarunui County Council, asked that a metal reserve on the Kurarau Road be made available to the county. Air. Forbes advised the council to take the question up with the Taranaki Land Board. The principal object of Air. Fortes's visit to the district was to investigate land settlement matters, and it is hoped that an impetus will be given in this direction as a result.