The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1911. THE TISCH MEMORIAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 76, 20 September 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1911. THE TISCH MEMORIAL.

At present in New Plymouth there is j but one feeling in regard to the proposed memorial to the late Mr. Tisch, that every citizen should join in subscribing to the fund for the extension and improvement of the esplanade. All) New Plymouth people honored Mr. Tisch, and there will be a satisfaction in accomplishing a work that will permanently remind citizens of an estimable gentleman who took so great an interest in the esplanade. In matters of this kind the public must be "approached immediately. It is essential for the success of this memorial that the interest which is at the moment so apparent shall not become less warm | with the lapse of time. In raising; money for any public purpose the ut- j most energy should be infused into trie oanvass the moment the subject is mooted. The public is not necessarily apathetic, birt it has many daily interests, and is forgetful, and the Tisch memorial fund must not 'he allowed to be forgotten until it has assumed the requisite proportions. The public, of New Plymonth in augmenting this fund will have, the satisfaction of feeling that they not only keep green the memory of a beloved citizen, but add, too, to the beauties of a town that is in many respects incomparable in Australia. The march of commerce will, probably, rob the town, and its surroundings of some of its beauty, and any permanent additions that may now he made to its public pleasaunces will be appreciated not only by the present generation, which knew and loved Mr. Tisch, but by -future generations who will know him only for his good reputation and by the works that were inspired by him.

CKOYVN LANDS IN TARANAKT. The annual report of the Lands Departliioiit which lias just been placed before Parliament is an interesting record of tin' progress of land settlement.- The total number of selectors of all classes during the past year amount to 22G7, who have selected a total area of 1,41*2,-74-2 acres, but to these must be added the number 'of rims and area selected mostly in Canterbury which were opened for selection and auction in February last, but which do not go to credit until next year, being ofTered twelve months in advance, which gives n grand total of 232S selectors, with a total area selected of 2.7!>2,248 acres. The total area opened for selection, including all classes of settlement, amounted to 2,355,Oilti acres, or an increase of 20,050 acres over last year. There is at present under survey for opening either as ordinary Crown lands or under land-for-settle-ment conditions, an area of 744,053 acres; while for the Native Land Court (carrying out Court orders) or Maori Land Boards, for leasing, etc.. there is under survey no less an area than <120,,S7O acres, of which 140,356 acres are for Maori Land Boards. The roads under survey to give access to Crown lands through Maori lands, etc., amount to 213 miles. The gross revenue received during the past year amounts to £784,843, or C 100.030 more than last year, while the territorial revenue of £240,200 exceeds last year's by £48,042. Dealing with the Taranaki land district, the report shows that in all 16,689 acres of land were opened during the year, of which 11,874 acres were on renewable lease under the optional system, and 4713 acres were national endowment

lands, also on Hie renewable lease. Wc \ still. have available for settlement in Taranaki, and estimated to be suitable for settlement, 293,814 acres of Crown lands, out of 1,878,049 acres estimated aB being available for settlement in the Dominion and 2,030,029 acres for pastoral purposes, theae area 9 in each case being exclusive of lands already opened for selection. On the Crown lands already under occupation it is good to sec that the settlers have in the aggregate largely exceeded the amount of improvements required under their leasing conditions. Actual requirements on the 459 properties visited wore £9B,!W. and the improvements actually made totalled £lßl,524. The Dominion figures are even more satisfactory, improvements being more than double the requirements. The Commissioner of Crown Lands, Mr. Francis Simpson (who has since retired), reported very hopefuly upon the operations of his department. "Every opportunity has been taken during the year to offer all the rural land that was available for selection," he says; "but the supply was unequal to the demand, every section that was offered being selected. Seventeen allotments tliat had reverted to the Crown from previous occupiers, and fifteen allotments of national endowment land, were put on the market and keenly competed for. The only new block of land offered that was mentioned in last year's report was the Opatu Block, in the Heao survey district, forming part of the national endowment. The revenue has increased by £8582 over last year's receipts, the principal source of this increase being conversions to freehold of occupation licenses with right of purchase. The lease-in-pcrpetuity revenue has risen by reason of lands having become freed from the exemptions under seettion 127 of the Land Act, 1908. The receipts for cash have fallen off, but this source of revenue must of necessity depend upon the area of town lands rendered available for disposal. .... The improvements have been, as a rule, satisfactory, and in many instances it has been principally the lack of funds that has compelled the lessees to effect only moderate improvements. The far-reaching effect of the pushing-on of the construction of the StratfordOhura railway is already noticeable, and even now the settlers around Tongaporutu and Okau, near the sea-coast, are looking forward to the time when they will be enabled to reach the railway at the Tangarakau Gorge via the. Rerekapa and Moki roads, which will be preferable to carting or driving produce out to the coast to be thence conveyed to Waitara, the nearest railway station." That the hopes of the settlers will speedily be realised is the wish of everyone l interested in the progress of the province.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROVINCE. Continuing, Mr. Simpson'says: "New schools and creameries have been opened, postal and telephone facilities have been extended, and the prospects of the farming community as a whole are very good. In the north-eastern portion of the land district nearly all the settlers are prosperous, and the past season has been fair. . . . Though retarded by want of good access to some of the holdings, the dairy industry continues to make good progress, and suppliers, wherever possible, convert proprietary factories into co-operative concerns. The district is gradually being provided with telephone communication, a very necessary feature now of backblock farming. All the schools opened are receiving good support, and the attendance increases steadily. One of the best signs of prosperity is the demand upon the sawmills for building timber, and three mills are kept busy supplying the requirements of the settlers." Referring to the Mapara and Tangitu improved farm settlements, opened during the report, he says some idea of the | work performed by the settlers will be j gaimed from the fact that the consignments of seed this season amounted to 19 tons, and the fencing wire to 27 tons. By systematic attention the position of arrears of rents has been placed on a very favorable footing, and forfeitures and surrenders have been fewer than formerly, this latter circumstance being attributable to the scrutiny of applications by the Land Board before a ballot is taken. The land ready to be offered comprises flvo sections in the Totoro survey district, near the Mokau river, comprising 878 acres of open fern land, which will be let on renewable lease, being national endowment land. In addition to these, 6407 acres, comprising [ ten sections in various localities, and mostly forest-clad, will be reoffered unI der the optional tenure, and two partially improved sections in the Opaku survey district, comprising 1391 acres, formerly let under small-grazing-rnn lease, will be offered under the optional j tenure, the outgoing losses being com- ' pensated for the value of improvements effected by them. The survey of live sections in the Mapara survey district, adjoining the Tangitu improved farm settlement, comprising -2375 acres of forest country, is completed, and these lands will he opened for selection upon the first opportunity. Other blocks are being surveyed, including the Whakaihuwaka B block, of 17,900 acres, cxtendj ing from the Rawhitiroa State Forest (inland from Stratford and Eltham) to the Wangamii river, the opening of which has been energetically urged by the Stratford Chamber of Commerce. Under the heading of "Land for Settlements," the report says that the Tokaora settlement, near Hawera, has. given the tenants large returns, and the settlement has a prosperous appearance. All the sections are used for dairying purposes. In the Clandon settlement, near Toko, there is evidence that the continued dairying is causing the pastures to run out, and that it will be in the best interests of the land that it be turned over to sheep for a year or two. A marked improvement is visible on two of the sections that have been grazed solely by that class of stock. The settlers of Iluinga, which is also near Toko, have had a good year, and the prospect* are very hopeful. In all the three settlements mentioned attention is being given to rc-grassing after cropping, and a certain amount of top-dressing of old pastures is being done. So much for the rural lands. The only workers' homes settlement in Tarnnaki is the Spotswood Settlement, near Moturoa. This speculation on the part of the State has not so far been a rich blessing to anyone, unless the vendors of the property did well out of it. But the Commissioner saw an improvement during the year, and is hopeful for the future. In a brief mention, he writes: "A satisfactory advance has been made in the Spotswood Settlement, near the Moturoa breakwater, and all the settlers appear to be doing well. Several residences have been erected during the year, and, with the prospects of improved harbor accommodation, this locality should attract persons who require a small area of land for residential and grazing purposes."

"UNEASY LIES THE HEAD." The necessity for supplying innumerable halfpenny, penny and other illustrated British papers with pictures has raised the King almost to the plane of importance as a subject of a beaut eons pantomime '"boy" or one of those wellknown stage ladies whose smiling teeth are known to every collector of postcards. Since King George came to a throne he couldn't help coming to, he has been the unfortunate subject of the attention of thousands of camera

people, who, of course, are not to blame for chasing him even to his private bathing shed, seeing that on their success depends their positions on the great "halfpennies" they illustrate. King George and the lh-fnce of Wales went to Cowes to enjoy the International Regatta, expecting to spend a quiet little holiday, but the persecution of publicity '< was intensified. The Royal father and son were delighted at the prospect of taking their morning "dip" in the refreshing waters of the Solent, but privacy was denied them even there. A small army of photographers apparently had been commissioned to "snap" Royalty in the acts of diving and swimming, and though his .Majesty made it known that he desired the photographers to desist, his wishes were disregarded entirely. If the King goes to see a cricket match, many of the newspapers vie with each other in eavesdropping and are aiixious to publish every chance remark he may make to any of his friends. He happened to see Air. Cody make a short flight recently at Salisbury Plain, and the aviator landed near where the King was standing. Naturally his Majesty offered congratulations, but many of the newspapers made a great fuss of the incident. Under a big, black heading, "What the King said to Mr. Cody," it was announced, in large type, that the King approached Mr. Cody, or Mr. Cody ) approached the King, and his Majesty I said, "An excellent flight, Mr. Cody. I am much pleased." It was a natural and apt remark, but certainly not the utterance of national importance which the newspapers suggested. But seeing that "society" journals publish columns , of drivel about the most unremarkable ' doings of popular stage favorites and devote great space to the latest pug dog to which the Duchess of Donothing is devoted to, it seems perhaps impossible for so important a personage as a King to escape the attention of wildly admiring journals.