VISIT TO GREYMOUTH.

Grey River Argus, 28 June 1919, Page 3

VISIT TO GREYMOUTH.

MINISTER WELCOMED. ' Hon. Mr Guthrie, Minister of Lands, arrived, in Greymouth from Rcefton yesterday morning, and was : met. by the ' Mayor, ; the members^ of, local bodies, and a number of citizens. The Minis icr subsequently proceeded .fto ■ the Municipal/Champers, where His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. D. Lyn;ch) introduced to, Mm a number of deputations. ' Prior to the reception of the Reputation^, His Worship the Mayor extended a cordial welcome.. to the Hon. Mr Guthrie. He trussed; that the Minister's visit to the Coi'st would be enjoyable, and that, as a result, he would go away carrying pleasant recollections of his sojourn in -this locality; Hon Mr Guthrie thanked the,. Mayor for his cordial welcome.^ Although it was Ms vfirst visit to the Coast, he was not altogether unacquainted with the district. ' ■■••', He would be- failing- in his duty as Minister of Lands if h e wore not to make hiinaelf conversant' with the requirement, of the district. His duty was to find' out their wants and requirements; and to assist them in every "way possible. Anything, however, that he could do as a Minister, would be nothing in comparison to what they could, do themselves. He had noticed > some very go*od land on the Coast, atad^ it behoved them to go in for farming on the latest pfiiontific. lines. Dry lands and wet lands required looking into, and, they were problems tfcat every Minister had to face. He returned thanks for the cordial welcome, and trusted that after, he had completed his .visit he would have been of assistance to them, in pointing out the right, road to follow "in- the de-; velopmcnt of the great West Coast, I COUNTY .COUNCIL. : ■ v The first deputation was from tlvo Grey County Council, who required grants to assist them in opemng up Crown Lands. x . The Minister promised to go carefully into the matter,, and do what Be. could to assist them. A MATAI SETTLERS. 4 . A?, deputation, from - farmers of Matai, consisting of "Messrs.- T. E. Coates, and Thos. Cray, asked that a 'side-. line at Matai, which was used as a gravel pit. prior to the. warj be put I in commission. again, to enable the Settlers tojA get: their produce away^ ' Mr CoatCs. fiilly explained the position. • ■ ■ ~ . Hon. Mr Guthrie stated that they had a most important, proposition, before Jhim. The Department was not under his contrpl, but; he. would convey their representations to the Honi. Mr Her ries, along ■vyith his own j- opinions' on the matterl • .JOCKEY CLUB. A Grey Jockey Cluh deputation

waited on the Minister regarding the (Jiub's inaecuie title vo their property at Omoto. 1 Mr Walton stated that already 12 , acres of their land! had been washed : away by floods, and in the near future, judging by past history, a further considerable portion, would be washed aAvay. He asked for a better, tenure, which would' enable them to borrow j money at a lower rate of interest, and thus enable them to proceed with construction Avorks. Mr explained ihat they had already expended £10,000 on the course; and if they, could obtain a better tenure, it would enable them to ' spend a further sum of say £2000 for >the purpose of making improvements and protecting their property. Hon. Mr Guthrie stated that he was not going to hold out any false hopes for them. If he acquiesced in their request, it would open up a question of treating other reserves in a similar, manner. He, however, would go carefully into the matter, anc?. bring it before Cabinet. BOROUGH COUNCIL. A deputation from the Borough Council, consisting of the Mayor, ivir J., D. Lynch, Councillors Parfitt, Naylor, and Skoglund next waited on iho Minister. -" They asked for a crossing keeper at the railway crossing at Tamui Street; for the * establishment of a branch of the Office at Greymouth, or, as an alternative, thac^a partial Office *be established in Greymouth so that it Avould obviate the necessity of returned soldiers in quest of land being put to the expense of visiting Hokitika; also that a branch of the Stamp Office . be opened for the purpose of dealing Avith simple documents, such as transfers of shares, where no complications Avere involved. ' With regard to the crossing keeper, Hon Mr Guvhrie stated 1 that he Avould have pleasure in making representations to Hon. Mr Herries on his return to Wellington. As far as -the Lands Office were concerned, he could not sco his Avay to recommend this, but he would be pleased to -consider the ques- ' tion of an officer of the Lands D'eparcment making periodical visits, especially for the convenience -,of soldiers. In connection with the Stamp Office tMa was a matter entirely under the jurisdiction of the Hon. Mr Wilford, but he would convey this message, and" ascertain Avhat could be dene. RIVER EROSION. A deputation made representations to the Minister regarding the erosion of the Grey River at Mr Maurice 3'loore's land at Stilhvater and Mr H. Carter 's land at Kamaka. Hon Mr 'Guthrie explained that last February, the matter of encroachment of rivers was left in tie hands of the Public Works Department. He would be pleased to bring the matter under the notice of the Minister of Public Works, and it Avould be his duty to go into the matter. HOSPITAL MATTER. A deputation from the Grey Hospital and Charitable Aid Board;, consisting of Messrs Parfitt, Skoglund Fletcher brought matters before the Minister connected with the institution. Hon. Mr Guthrie explained that he was well acquainted Avith the matters, but to refresh his memory, he asked to be given the main points. Mr Parfitt fully explained the position and the' Minister was invited to visit the hospital later on in the af .er- " noon, wMch hejdid. ■ ..' ■ HARBOUR BOARD. From Grey Harbour Board a deputation consisting of Messrs Steer, Me- • Lean, Eerkins'and Torment, placed before Minister the position of the Board. Mr Steer reviewed the Avhole question of the Board, and put the matter of financial position before the Minister. Messrs McLean, Perkins, and Tennent also spoke. "^ Mr T. Seddon, M.P, explained what had transpired at the meeting of- the Board when Mr Holland and himself were present. Hon. Mr Guthrie explained that the matter had already been, Cabu net, but they could not d.ecide anything on the information at their disposal. ," He would again make representations to Hon. Messrs. Wilford and Herries, and se c if this very unsatisfactory date of things could not be put on a proper footing. KOPARA SETTLERS. A deputation from the settlers at Kopara, consisting of Messrs D. Baybutt, M. Molan and C. Daly, asked t^e MiMster to use his influence m urging the construction of a telephone line to the Kopara. - • Hoiii Mrv' Guthrie stated that it would be a, great pleasure to him to assist them, and he would make representations to Hon Mr Maedonald (Postmaster-General) and place their detailed report? before him. This concluded the deputations. Mr Seddon thanked Hon. Mr Guth: rie for the patient hearing he had given the many deputations, and expressed the hope that Mr Guthrie would have a happy sojourn on tho Coast. i Hon. Mr Guthrie briefly roplied, and stated: that' the greatest pleasure he could feel, when he had taken his de-_ ' parture, be if he thought he had been instrumental ,in doing any- \ thing to further the interests of the West Coast. (Applause).- :-