A TRIP NORTH.

Oxford Observer, Volume 1, Issue X, 19 October 1889, Page 2

A TRIP NORTH.

[By Tuig.] .(Continued. If competition is the soul oi trade them ought to be plenty of soul m this ■part of tiie Wellington Province. SawiiiiJJs, breweries, hotels;, and coaches, aro all running m opposition to each other ; good fox the public perhaps, but JmrdJv good enough for the proprietors. Two ('oaehes were starting from Wood-

ville for Palmerstone! an&JeacMhlld af full load of passengers Jpjp W®^S from Napier oy the : %'ainf^bo^M flip Wellington, . including -.a^ Ba^t^-pL " globe trotterj, 1 ' joing N|w^|ai|i|l| and evidently expecting great 'pleasure* from their ride through the Manawatu £ orgo, which is entered about a mile out of Woodville. So much has been said and written about the .beaury r .and danger of this Gorge that anypno* {|oing : now is sure to be disappointed. ~ .The road hasbeeii benclieck m tb^liiliside through the bush on tlie south 'tJanlTof the river, and. m. places ..is,. Bnon.8 non.e w too_ wide, but there is not the least danger unless the horses were to bolt *? and it is nearly a level grade.' Whateverbeauty there may have been has been spoiled by the railway "cutting 1 now in ' process of formation on the opposite side, which- has completely destroyed the bush, and more nearly resembles a shingle slip on the slope of Mount Torless than anything else. But, at its best, it could never compare, either for beauty or grandeur, and I may add danger, with our South Island Gorges, the Otira for example, or some of the upper streams of the Waimakariri or Rakaia. On the western side of the gorge the Manawatu river is crossed on a long bridge. The horses are changed, and, the country becoming open and flat, we bowl along at a good fate, the opposition coach just behind. This latter nearly comes to grief,' -as '"the horses slued at a timber. waggon pulled up at a most awkward, "place, giving barely room after crossing a .bridge, ; the wheels on one side go over' the edge of the cutting, there is an ominous lurch, but the driver, manages to pull Ms horses round with a few cursory remarks to the owner .of the waggon, and the danger is over ; our driver, who has half pulled up m anticipation, with a tjrin on his face, remarks that.it was a near go, and drives on, evidently disappointed. Palmerstonis reached jin due course, and the coach pulls up at the railway station m plenty of time to catch the down train for Wellington, but, as I intended to remain. for, the [. night and go on by the early tram m. the morning, L secured a room at Walkey's Hotel. I went back to the station to see the train come m, and the first person I met was my friend B , who had... star fce.d=s three days before me from Christohurclt, and had been inspecting the -blocks- open for selection m the Waitotara district. Having arranged to -meet him ; in *Wellington next dajv and inspected - the town, which is built m the form of a square, with the railway station m the centre, a good dinner, and a quiet evening over the papers m the comfortable reading-room, brought .the day to an end. " Quar' pas' six, Sir ; breakfast ready, Shy' and a smell of coffee, ham, and egg, bring me down stairs m quick time. In the dining room are about a dozen travellers fortifying the inner man for the journey. At 6.45 the train starts, and Wellington is reached at 12.40, where B is waiting on the platform, and we so, to the pnnpir.e Hotel. The restVof the day is s|)ent m interviewing land. ag.ents|,^and%etting" plans from the Government Buildings. . Next day was the day of the great land sale at the Land Office, and quite a crowd were collected hi the street and offices. Men from Canterbury, Otago, and Hawke's Bay, as well as Wellington, all eager tp' get -land, either for themselves or friends. .;. Applications were received np to four o'clock on the previous day, and had to be made on the proper forms, "and accompanied by a statutory declaration to the effect that the land was for the sole use. and benefit of the applicant, &c, also by a deposit of (with perpetual lease applications) a half-year's rent, and 30s lease fee. With deferred payment applications, a half-year's instalment, and 91s license fee ; and with cash applications, one-fifth of the total price. In deferred payment and perpetual lease anything under two roods is not counted, over two. roods counts as an acre. This is the fearlully intricate system that " Bush-whacker" goes into hysterics over. To ordinary minds it seems simple enough. Sharp at ten o'clock the. Chief Commissioner takes his pkiee ;' --the -name of thd particular block is called out, say Puketoi,

lot of totara on it, but finding that y there sometliing like seventy applications m for it, we concluded it would only be a waste of time. Next ■'i3Ha(^JBBHBB[TISIi o