THE POSITION IN THE NORTH.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 49, 28 February 1896, Page 4

THE POSITION IN THE NORTH.

DROUGHT AND FIRE,

Distressing accounts continue to reach ub of the havoc wrought by fires in the North. The long continued drought, withering up the pastures and drying up the streams, had already occasioned the settlers there a Ereab deal of anxiety and no little actual lose, 0! which we heard very iittle, for the men in the North have learned fco bear

their trials in patience and silence ; bub the oubbreak of bush fires, which have j burned hundreds of acres of valuable bush, j consumed large areas of the dry grass j the cattie were dependent on for fodder, | and reduced miles of fencing and several buildings bo ashes, has filled the settler's cup of tribulations to the brim, and he is making himself heard. Townspeople bardly realise the loss those hardworking people suffer in seasons like the present. An exceptionally dry summer in town means little more than a scarcity of water that only effects those living in the suburbs. But in the North it is another affair. The moisture in the poor soil is speedily exhausted, and the limited paddocks of grass which have, in all probability, been heavily over-cropped, are soon reduced to almost absolute baroness. The smaller creeks are dried up, and the unfor-' bunate cattle are forced to pick a miserable living in the scrub if there should be no good bush feed in the neighbourhood. Tho situation is rendered ten times worse if a fire should break oub, for everything is so extremely dry that the probability is ib will nob be extinguished bofore ib has devastated a large area and swept nway whab little food the parched country ottered. A large part of the country between the KaiDara and the East Coast is afc present autiering from the double scourge of drought and lire. At Matakohe, Maungakaramea, and Maungatapere, ab Mahurangi, Kaipara Flats and Komokoriki, at Matakana and Marerobu, and in the neighbourhood of these settlements, there has been very serious loss. Mr B. Wayte, the Government Dairy Insptector, who has just returned from an official tour in the North, gives us an account of the damage done which tallies with the information supplied us from tho districts affected. In his journey ho passed miles of country that was completely ruined. In many cases the settlers had lost ail their feed, sometimes cattle had perishod, too, and the owners were forced to geb rid of the stock which remained, as they had nothing to give them to eat. The dairy factories wore, when he visited them, contemplating closing, although the butter season is a long way from over, and one, the Tokatoka factory, had already shut down, as the supply of milk had diminished co such an extent as to make it not worth while continuing work. The destruction in the buah country is very great. Large areas of tine timber land is in flames, and it is almost impossible bo stay the fire, for tho greenesb shrubbery and bush burns like tinder. Some of the bush tracks ore dangerous to traverse owing to the falling timber.

To the struggling settlers in these districts, the position is very critical. At the beat it has bee»> a hard struggle for them to make a living, and now with the loss of tho season's yisld, and of stock, and with the destruction of fences, buildings and bush, they are reduced to very severe Btraifop. In their extremity some of them propose to apply to the Government for help, und considering the very reasonable nature of the assistance, they seek, and. the loss they havo already suffered, we are certain that their appeal will nob be in vain. Wo understand, ie is suggested thab the Government should supply tho settlers with seed to sow tho bush lands which have boen burned, and that repayment bo made ia three years. As it ie, if the settler.- cannot sow tho bush thab has been destroyed by the autumn—and ib is perfectly clear they have nob the money this season to purchase the seed—next spring the fern will spring up and tho chance of getting a large area in gniHß will be lost. Ad a meeting at Marerelu on Tuesday this mattor wae thoroughly discussed, and it was agreed to approach the Agricultural Department through Mr Maradon Thompson, M.H.R. That gentleman will bo furnished with full particulars of the damage dono, and will, we hope, be able to eiloelivaly plead the cause oi the people with Ministers. There is ample precedent for the Government ntfording the settlors the relief they seek. Last session an Act was passed to grant rolief to the pastoral tenants of the Crown and obhors who suffered exceptional loss of live stock by bho severity of lost winter. Such relief was to be in the form of a refund of the whole or a part of the year's rent, or of an extension of the lease or of a remission of the whole or part of the aheoprnto. Unfortunately, such help as tho Northotn settlors aak, could not be granted under tho Act, bub it is sufficient that tho measure affirms the principle that the Government may assisb Bottlers who have Buttered extraordinary loases from circumstance? beyond their control. If we mistake not, the Governmant recognised thab principle before ib was embodied in the statute book of tho colony. We beliovo t!tey granted temporary pecuniary assistance to the settlers in Tar&noki when bho latter sustained loss from bueh fires some years ago. In view of their former action they can hardly turn a deaf ear to the North. If tho matter ia seb before bhe Minister of Agriculture in a right way he will flao that it is not only to the advantage of bho settlers themselves that the burned country should be grassed when thia excellent opportunity prosenfcs itself, bub that it is for tho benefit of the whole colony.