MINISTERIAL TOUR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 38, 10 March 1909, Page 4

MINISTERIAL TOUR.

SXKATFUHD RAILWAY iiIKJIK, | SOME IiIKJD COUNTRY. ' Matierc, Friday. Tile - ui tin: Ohura district toolc i. ii iiuvanuij' ui hi; uppuilunity all'oriti.u iJiciii i',. I'ic jii LiOiKu in their midst lu-day ol .in- -'i u.aLer tor I'ublic Works (the lion. xi. U'-ivcuzit-j to make out a strong L.t"■!' ior Uie continuation of Die Strutiuru railway 10 Ougarue. The Minister, accompanied by his private secretary (ill- j.. Al.uli.ew3) uud It. W. iioimes, enginci-i-.,. v-im't ior tile DominI ion, lelt the latin c early Uiis morning by coadi and prucceileu as far as Mangaroa. The whole trip was taken along the proposed line of railway. Mr T. Hunt, J.P.j of Matiere, accompanied the party and pointed out various fea- , tures that helped to elucidate the ques- , tion at issue. A great portion of the . country passed through was good laud, < fairly well settled. ( On arrival at Matierc, Mr McKenzie was met by the Hon. a. W. liogn (Minister for Koads and Bridges)), who was passing through with Mr W. X. Jennings, M.P. for the district, en route to Wellington, via the Main Trunk. The two Ministers had a brief interview prior to Mr Hogg's departure, both being cnter- " tained at the residence of Mr A. 11. Hyde. I

r After luncheon, Mr McKenzic was introituced to a gathering uf townspeople '• by Mr Jennings, who hail rcniahed Uee hind with him when Mr ilogg left, and 1 briefly addressed thciu 011 We railway e question. He then received aeputatious 5 from tiie settlers on tlie same matter. 1 The Minister anil party left Matierc " fairly late ill the afternoon. The distance between Matiere and Te Kuiti is I about 45 miles. The country between B is settled, and capable of carrying a big population. s After leaving Mature the first point j reached was Niiioniho, and the adjacent 5 land appeared to be of excellent quality. . It has been under settlement for about 5 six years. There is a valley here which s is settled under the improved farm sys-' ; tern. At Toetoe, three miles from Man- . garoa the party wero snown the racet course and sporting ground of Ohura. l Adjoining it is a fine property, owned by - Messrs Mildruin, May, and Howie, wiiicli 1 consists of nearly three thousand acres, ) tlie greater part of which lias been cleart cd and put in grass, una land is aowi ; carrying four sheep to the acre. It is ' stated there that the Uhura district,' '■ taken right through, will average three ' sheep to the acre. This is for an areal r of some 150,080 acres, of papa laud. Man- ' garoa is the junction of the proposed dc-l r viation of the Stratford line. There is here a line block of 150,001) acres, owned by Messrs Williams and Bruce, which iu- ; eludes a flat of (100 acres, all in grass. It ' is said to be some of the best land in the

district. , jfcijfflji The distance of the authorised line from Ongarue to Alangaroa is 25 miles whereas from the latter place to Te Kuiti, which the advocates ot tile deviation support, is about 50 miles. If the proposed deviation were to be carried out Ohura settlers eoutend' it would make a great difference to their district ; that it would take very many years at the present average rate of railway construction for the line to reach Mangaroa. On the other hand, if the line were started from Ongarue, every mile of railway constructed would be a saving to the settlers. There is always a graded road, which would run alongside the railway, and act as a service road for the railway construction. Mr McKenzie stays at Mangaroa tonight. He will be taken to-morrow over tho line of the proposed deviation, and expects to reach Te Kuiti in the evening. OXGASEHU OU TE KUITII THE MINISTER'S VIEWS. • At Matiere to-day the Minister fur Public Works (Hon. R. McKenzic) was waited <xi by a large deputation of Ohura settlers in connection with the Stratford-Ongarue railway, and the proposed deviation of that line from Mangaroa to Te Kuiti. The deputation was strongly opposed to this deviation. Prior to receiving the settlers the Minister, in addressing a gathering of townspeople, referred to the progress of the Ohura district, and said he was not pre-i pared to make any definite promise regarding the route of the railway at this stage. He undertook to give the whole matter impartial consideration. The railway was being pushed ahead as rapidly as possible. Mr A. L. liieheno, who was the first speaker on behalf of the deputation, urged the construction from Ongarue. This line, he said, presented no great engineering difficulties, and the land it would traverse was all good for dairying and stock purposes. Au important point was that near Tatu, 40 miles from Ongarue, there were outcrops of coal, which would be an invaluable asset in connection with the lailway. This coal would also be tapped by the alternate route to Te Kuiti, but the difficulty in that connection was the greater distance, which would delay the opening up of the coal deposits for some years. The Minister, in reply, said lie was, however, quite prepared to admit that there was good country at the back of the land fronting the main road and the proposed railway route. Until he had been over the rival route he was not going to make any promises, lie thought there was a good deal in the suggestion made that a branch line should be run to Te Kuiti.