MAURICEVILLE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 658, 4 January 1881, Page 2

MAURICEVILLE.

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. The SratidinaVjan settlement ofiMsturiceville, situated. about half way 'betjveeh Masterton and Eketahana,- in the Wellington Province, and'contains nearly six hundred inhabitants including children, there are out of this number .two hundred, ovo'r sixteen, years p|.aga, composed of Daues, Swedes, and 1 jftjrThe first settlers came jnjjfr' .eight years ago, at their own expense, anaP 'we're followed by-/otl)er,s brought out,,at ■ the expense of th'e Government of Nmr Zealand. Mriilriceville was surveyed And ciit up into forty acre seotioni, and sold to the settlers off-deferred payments, of five years with tw6 or three exception/IHa land is now;, all payed for. The settlement extends fire miles, in one. direction, and three in another. THti country consists of low. hills, which, eight years,ago were heavily tiin« I bered„but'fire »ud axe together with the I persevering. pluck of .this 1 band, of tave .oonqiiered 1 the wilderness, wrncli is now dotted about ■ with homesteads'). Ijnd.\a .light • loam with a day subsoil, sui&grows excel*

4« j® ro P s °f W' potatoes, and all garden > ?■ , Alliiieient tlio Bettlora have not - ''®od-_luuch whoat or prefarring to ay the land down iji grnss, ami foed jattle, which thrive well nmpngst tlio ' r '"Ion linuer, find it is. surprising the oropa of iiay. whioh are reaped "from the log covered paddocks. As timber is so • Plentiful .and convenient, (too much an in act), the kna.'iß substahtially feiiced with posts^and'rails; of which description of fence there ard many miles. There are : two stores, ahd a lioat sohool-houae, at . , which.aboutaixtyi children attend. OccaR Danish minister come 3 and ■ holds Churolv service in'the school-house; also a Wesleyan minister, and a Church r : .. " "Mrly completed, There is not a single - public nouaejn the settlement, therefore, •, 1 need scarcely Bay,' there is not a lock-up, or even one solitary constable. The Scandinavians are a hardy, primitive, i ßo6 ' \fj. 816 a ,l°yal, peace loving, law abiding, - long suffering, noncomplaining non-petitioning people. They have been no trouble to the Government, and consequently the Government have done nothing for them but making a road through the settlement, the metalling of which will be finished in a few weeks, The principal ■ means of communication between Mauriceville and Masterton is by means of Mr Thompson's brake, which goes backwards and forwards two or three times a week, or whenever it is necessary, i. Mr Thompson is one of the earliest f .v. ''Jflttlow, and keeps an accommodation w&i- J ou ' e ' The subjugation of the wilderness has not been obtained without an infinity of .will, the contemplation of which would nave appalled the ordinary British emi- ■ grant. I can speak confidently upon this subject from long experience. Say a band of Irish started in, would there not have soon been an illicit still; vfould they have been at all'contonded without being directly or indirectly in soraethine illegal or in opposition to the Inß authorities ! An Englishman would HH bis beer and skittles, come whatwoifls it, and therefore would not have suH| ded aa the present settlers.have Scot might have "struggled on for . a HH but lam of opinion, from what I |B seep,that hewouldhave concluded he make mair'ailler.with less will, and thiH| up the sponge. Look at Macandrew'JHH scheme of Martin's Bay, how that faHH There wflie : 'not half the difficultie|H contend with that these settlers The Government'did not even cut a tBH to show were the sections were, the ffl had to carry their stores upon- their six miles,gold'digging prices were cbaiHHi by the storekeeper, and they couldEßH help themselves, many of them HB money; some of them as much as a tH| dred, pounds, wffich haa.all been inveHj in the atriigglo'for a home, and the -bSB ■ -"iral'lfeSu won in spite of the drawbHl of doit.understanding our language, |H the prejudice, we so amiably fbreignfet'a"%ho : . could, teach our- sflH ..English' clqd-hoppers/and roaring .. : bog-trotters manyalesaonin ' epduraacftt-and taate,- fortheae " not' only work r biit have'-.means of reß| - ,' tion which your' British, wording oWssej. .'i»laok/. Most of thetft play some .musical instrument', and lhey-.&hoeland ting, eonsejueintly -they: are;neVer dull; they v '; meet' t6g6ther, dan«i.Q all- ni«ht' till broad '. daylight, and go. home with tha girls (to ; ih ; .the morning .-Iknow that pomPWjiß are odious,' soPwilWot.'say what ,oue pepp.Le.iif satne class do afterVovk. ..'T, merely swish to these settlers '• ;baveVdone,'and; suggest thivt if'the' Go, ; ... •. veroraent can help them"in.ahy-way, it to do.so. 'lam told ithanHe'Go■•verriment agree'd'to'sell. more land to '•• those who paid lip for. the first forty, acres, forty acres adjoining 'that winch IM - • have cleared; and' are told that .they BH -not haVe it, but Have been offeredlanHH distant blocks; which, of course, woulßH valueless to them." This is not the HH (q oncoUrage earnest, struggling, bonaßfl ■lietllers; There''is no" Post OfficAHl Mauriceville; an application was ,:haVo' it removed from'the very inco|H| nient place; it is now in—the stableßH " the main road to Eketahuna, •■' coach chances horses—and the wa3 refused oii'the grotind of the flfl not being in a fit state for the coHl is no longer such a reason, aifflHj ' laving of four mile? would be', eifectefby the 'co'aoh passing through Mauriceville. • • It'is .to be hoped that this alteration will be made without any unnecessary circuin- ) locution. Possibly .it will be the means ' . of starting an hotel-but that must come : sooner or later, There is a piece.of road i .-from Mr Thompson's. aocommodation P.'. . house (o the.main road.that ought to be seen to now'during fine weather. Last winter it was in an almost impassable state, andhoxt winter, if it is not metalled now, it will, of course, be worse than ever. Anything that can be done to encourage such, persevering, .and useful settlers should-be done. CbawLinn.