A MATTER OF URGENCY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 227, 13 February 1913, Page 4

A MATTER OF URGENCY.

Wc hope th« J[on. Mr. Herries will impress upon his colleagues when lie next meets them in council the importance of taking prompt steps to preserve the bush on the Mokau river in the manner asked for by the deputation from the local Expansion and Tourist League on Tuesday. The matter is 011 cof urgency, though, from the Prime Minister's reply to a communication from the League, 'it does not appear to be recognised as such i'i official circles. There has been inexcusable, indeed, almost criminal, delay over this mutter in the past. Many years ago those public-spirited men of this town, banded together as the Sconcry Preservation Society, endeavored to have the scenery along both banks of tdie river preserved for all time. Then nie way was clear, and the cost involved was very little. But the Government dillydallied, and pursued their policy of masterly inactivity even after the Scenery Preservation Commissioners made practically similar recommendations. The land was sold to syndicates, with the result that now stretches of some oi the most beautiful river bush in the world have been ruthlessly destroyed. It is little short of sinful. It is not as if the river bank lias any value from a settlement point of view. It has little or none. The axemen have got in and chopped the magnificent bush to tlie water's edge, and the fire has been put right through. Tt now presents a pretty picture. All the bush is not destroyed, certainly, "but mueli of the best of it has been. Fortunately, the vandals have not yet attacked the scenery on the lower reaches. It is this that the Expansion and Tourist League is so concerned about. It, too, may share the same fate as tlie other parts unless the Government take prompt measures for its protection. Why they have not before now wc cannot understand. Much of the land has already been surveyed for scenic purposes, and only requires proclaiming. There is a portion held under a long lease by a settler who is willing to let the Government take it without compensation, so long as they defray the cost of fencing. Another piece belongs to the natives and has no value except for scenic purposes. The land could be surveyed at little cost. This is what tlie Government are being asked to do. The question of finance, behind which the present Ministers are in the habit of seeking refuge, hardly enters into the question at all. To our mind it is nothing short :if scandalous that a. few individuals, utilitarian in their composition, should have been able to destroy, as they have, without let or hindrance, a national asset and a priceless heritage. The fault lies with the previous Government. Their intentions were very fine, hut tliev left the execution too late, at any rate so far as a considerable portion of the river is concerned. The duty of the present Go- , vernmcnt is to see that tlie remainder, . especially the. first seven miles, comprising probably the most beautiful river bush scenery in New Zealand, is pre- j served, and this can he done without ! difficulty or expanse. J