THE NORTHERN COUNTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 77, 1 April 1913, Page 9

THE NORTHERN COUNTRY.

(To the Editors Sir,—l would ask space for a few words in your columns concerning the North of" Auckland, commonly called 'The Neglected North." I have made a. comprehensive tour of tho North, and I am therefore able to speak from personal observation. 1 find that the land is generally better and more productive than it appears to the casual observer. Townspeople assume that the timber and kauri gum industries are responsible for the upkeep of the North. This is not so. The kauri gum industry is in the hands of the Austrians, and since they are a very thrifty and nonspending race, that idea is all wrong. Speaking of the land generally, it is of a very inferior quality, but with suitable treatment it produces splendid crops of maize, etc. When one considers the very small amount of Land now under cultivation, and the number of small townships, etc., which are dependent on that very small area for their maintenance, one must admit that the productiveness of the soil is wonderful. There are thousands of acres of land handy to Whangarei non-rateproducing and lying idle, excepting where there are some 'good volcanic or alluvial flats which are under settlement. The volcanic soil grows good cocksfoot and cow grass, and in some of the districts where the Southern settler has come and taken up land and started milking, the dairying industry is beginning to flourish. The only solution of the clay or gum. land is to turn it into one huge orchard, for this class of land is specially adapted for growing root crops. Something might be done if the Government wero approached on the matter, and orchardists could be induced to take up holdings. The extension of the railway from Kawakawa to Kaikohe -will greatly facilitate the progress of the North, since it will open up a great deal of land suitable for dairying or any other industry the farmer might entertain the idea of. Speaking of the deplorable state of the roads in the North during the rainy part of the year, it is due to the enormous amount of land that is lying idle and tenantless, bearing no rates to maintain the upkeep of the roads; therefore, under the existing circumstances, the local road boards do well to keep \ the roads in as good repair as they do. — i I am, etc., \1 it E__EN ___——.

EMPTY CBADLES. (To the Editor.) ■ Sir, —Mr. C. C. Kettle would like to know the cause of the low birth rate. It arises from the conditions under which workingmen live. What protection and help do I get in my struggle in striving to feed and clothe my six little ones on a labourer's rate of pay? Compare my lot and the empty cradle. Under present conditions of living, no wonder the family circle in some canes has the luck to be curtailed. A married man should never know what it is to be out of work; he should have State guarantee, and all work done by local bodies. Harbour Board and others, should by lawbe compelled to stand by the man who has kept the cradle full. But, I ask, is it done? —I am, etc., AMOS.