The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 8, 1916. THE MOKAU RIVER.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 May 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 8, 1916. THE MOKAU RIVER.

The important and representative deputation that waited upon the Minister of Marine (Hon. Dr. McNab) at Waitara on Saturday, had a real and pressing grievance to bring before the Minister with the object of impressing him with the urgent need for re-opening the Mokau River to traffic, It having been blocked for some months to all but small launches, owing to accumulations of timber and silt. Mr. Body rightly emphasised the fact that the Mokau River is one of the highways of the King Country, and for a great many settlers it is the only highway whereby ingress and egress to their holdings is possible. The Mokau district is in pioneer stage, there being an immense area of country that, when developed and provided with adequate facilities of transport, will materially add to the wealth and resources of the Dominion, At ' present there ex'ists a Mokau Harbor Board, which controls the mouth of the river as far as the wharf, but there its authority ends. The present position is that for the first seventeen miles upstream there are only a few obstructions, caused by willows, which needed removal, but in the next mile there are tw- blocks, the biggest of which is in the river and would entail considerable work to clear, as whole trees had lodged there and were buried up to the roots. Above that, to the coal mines (22 miles up river), there are several small blocks that prevented traffic, while beyond the mines there are a great many settlers who rely on the river service for receiving goods and sending away wool and other produce. It can readily be understood that great hardship has been inflicted on the settlers, who are dependent on the river for a highway, when they find that highway closed, and they have a strong claim on the Government for relief from present conditions. The fault, as Mr. Collis stated, rested on the shoulders of the Government in not preventing by legislation the denuding of the steep places, and for not keeping a fringe of bush on the flat banks. The clear and em. phatic warning given to the Government as to what would happen if the bush along the river was not preserved lias been fully justified, and makes the claim for relief all the more forcible, for it is the neglect of the warning of the Scenery Preservation Society that has caused the present trouble. The keeping open for navigation of such a river as the Mokau is a national work for the highway is a national asset. All that the settlers ask is that the river, which is now in such a bad state that it renders a regular service of large steamers impossible, shall be again made navigable as far as it was previous to last November, and be made serviceable as far above that point as possible for lighter craft and launches. It follows as a matter of course that' if only small steamers are employed the higher freights will materially handicap the settlers. The Minister showed that he was quite cognisant of the need of the settlers, but there were two points which had to be determined: (1) If the Government made a grant sufficient to clear the river, would the settlers maintain the highway in future? (2) Into whose hands would be entrusted the duty of keeping the river navigable? On the first point the Minister was emphatic in his avowal that if a Governgrant of £750 (or more) was made, that must end the help given, for the local body entrusted with the control of the rfver area must take the further maintenance off the Government's hands. His ultimatum was—money down, and no further liability! Under such circumstances it would be necessary to create a local body with rating powers, and from the statements made by several representatives at the meeting there would seem to be a willingness on the part of the settlers to contribute by way of rates—possibly on a preferential basis—towards the cost of keeping the river open for traffic. Several suggestions were made as to the constitution of this local body, but the matter is one that might well be left for the Government to determine, the most appropriate course, seemingly being to enlarge the scope and powers of the present Mokau Harbor Board, but that matter can be settled without difficulty. The proposal of the Minister that the Government should give a straight-out and final grant, leaving the settlers to maintain the highway, is practical and businesslike, being the course usually adopted in regard to roads. This would give immediate relief and the constitution of an administrative body would do the rest, but it is only fair to expect that the work of clearing the river shall be thoroughly done and not skimped to save a few pounds. The Minister has promised to *sk his colleagues to vote sufficient to do the work thoroughly, and if he succeeds, as he undoubtedly should, the development of the Mokau district will be given a considerable impetus.