The Daily News. THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1904. ARE WE ASLEEP?

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 85, 14 April 1904, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1904. ARE WE ASLEEP?

Hitherto the Mokau Kiver has attracted public attention merely as a tourist resort,, or Uuunt for pleasureseekers. This idea has been engendered by tiie undeniably rich scenery

which presents itself in that region, and steps arc being taken to have till! liver included in tlio published guide-books. Particular stress is laid, of course, on tlie fact thut the l'ivcr is easily navigable by sea-go-ing; vessels,ami it is this aspect. of the question which weighs very largely with us in urgjng the local"Chamber of Commerce to take such action as may be necessary in opening the river to commerce, and connecting that portion of the King Country with Sew Plymouth, which port could by this means be brought within a day's travel of the settlers in that very rich country recently opened 1;-Jy the Government in the vicinity of the Mokau Hiver. Only a few weeks ago the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Mr Mackenzie, conducted sales and ballots of land in the districts to which we refer, and at u very early date more of this country will i. v thrown open for selection. It is <1 uite safe to say that, including the land recently taken up, native lands, find those blocks now Ijeing suiveved, over a 'Quarter of a million acres will soon be in course of settlement. Be it known, too. that this country comprises easy rolling country free from t lie steep grades and almost impenetrable gorges that have characterised a great deal of the land thrown open in the earlier days in Tarunaki. The soil is good, and its fertility unktljestionoMt'. The whole Of it appears to be teeming with coal, which outcrops even"where. It is capable 01 currying a large population. and several townships have been laid off. Of these Mawgaroa seems most likely to spring into importance, situated as it is on the Ohuru Jtoad, one of the main arteries or the province, with nuin roads leading to the coast on one side, and the Wairganui Jiiver on the other Spasmodic elforts have been made in New Plymouth to have the Moki lioad completed to ils junction with the Ohui-a Jioud, bul there are siiU a couple of lengths of the roud uniojmed. Could (his end i>e achieved the people living i„ thut locality would reach New Plymouth by a shorter routo than is obtainable by the Ohurn Road lo Stratford or to Auckland, tile natural conditions of the country favouring (his part of the province, the general slope, of course, being towards the sea. The Opening of this route, (lien, would He an undoubted advantage in (bringing trade from that district along its natural bent to the chief town and the port of the province. For some unaccountable reason (he Government has not seen its way lo open this road, and the Chamber of Commerce here has evidently grown tired of making representations on the subject, evidently overlooking or forgetting the force of the old sayings Willi regaixl to the rewards of consistency and constantcy. However, the settlement of this womlrously rich agricultural and coal-4)earing< territory goes on apace, and vol, no steps are being taken lo encourage its people to trade with New I'lymoulh, the natural outlet for the business of lands in that locality. We have at hand a stream that'ean be developed to an extent that will ensure the whole of the trade of this

part, ui (In. 1 Counfry couiini;" lo the capital linvii uf Taranaki. The ."Uokau Kiver is one tlie best 01 (hi! liaviwabic rivers in -New '/y-uluntl, mill it nuts within a lew; miles of this newly opened country. At pii sent t In- steamers -trade as far as the coal-mines, lint fj-oin inclines made we leurn tlmt. thy river is practically suitable for (nailing for a much ({renter distance—as far as the mouth of tin- J'anirau stream, about five miles beyond llary ville. Front this point, to the Waituwlicna Hoad is a disfuncc of ab'out. seven miles, iljul the road necessary to connect the Jlokau Itiver and this main roail would probably be about ten miles in length, o\er easy country, linlike the Waifeliuuii Diver, the Mokau is deep, and in a well-defined

channel capable of carrying vessels "f a I'lli r draught. The Tainni. which traverses the river regularly, drawn up to seven feet, when loaded with coal, yet never experiences any dilliculty, Hapids 1 here are none,and there wouid be no delays caused by having to haul steamers up stream, in a letter v.liich we publish in this issue, our well-known and evidently far-sueiiu; merchant. Mr I-'raser, !a.\s particular stress on I lie fact that Auckland and Wanpinui houses arc striving lor the trade of this portion of the Country, while. New Plymouth is slumberin, 1 ;'. This should not, I hi so. Why we should remain idle and allow our rigids lo be taken from under our very noses is inoro than wo can comprehend,

and we would urgo on the Chamber, of Commerce or the Tradesmen's Association, or both those bodies, to shako off their langiour and go forward determined to extend the sphere of their operations instead of meeting to jocularly discuss matters of little importance to the public generally. Here is an opportunity to make New Plymouth the undoubted commercial centre of the West Coast of this Island. We have the advantage of possessing in the Mokau not only u highway for commerce, but a strong attraction to seekers , of natural Ijtnauty. In the upper reaches of the river is to be found scenery not met with in any other part of the colony. There is nothing worrisome in t)he river trip, no danger from violent rapids, and the whole line of route from a tourist's point of view is uncommon and varied. This might be connected with the Wain Trunk railway, and in that case the.peculiarly shaped aiul coni-cal-topped hills, deep broad valleys, decidedly unique, would claim att.cn- : tion. There is already a proposal, | which has not yet achieved definite 1 form, for the Government to secure the "Mokau Jones" block for the purposes of scenery preservation, a.s well as enabling the Crown to make the necessary roads through their own property, and give the settlers of the district a quick and easy outlet. We would commend this matter to the attention of the commercial authorities here, and urge them to take steps to bring the possibilities of the Mokau before the notice of the Ministry at the earliest possible moment.