MINISTERS ON TOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 292, 7 December 1923, Page 9

MINISTERS ON TOUR.

TAURANGA DEPUTATIONS. ! I RAILWAY TO EOTORUA. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.} \ TAURANGA, this day. j A deputation from the Tauranga Har- 1 bour Board waited on the Hon. W. Nosworthy, Minister of Agriculture and Acting-Minister of Lands. Colonel G. A. Ward spoke of the desirability of a line from Rotorua joining the Tauranga section of the East Coast railway some- j where about Paengaroa. | The Minister said that he understood that the Government's policy was to complete the Gisborne-Auekland line, ; and until that was out of the way there | was no hope for the other. He would j discuss the matter with his colleagues. I In advocacy of the suggested railway : service to Mount Maunganui, Mr. C. E. Macmillan, M.P., spoke of the advantage to he gained by the Bey of Plenty in having a deep-water connection. He said j that in a few weeks.the Louis Therault would berth at the Mount with 2000 tons of coal from Newcastle, consigned chiefly to dairy companies. A policy of pooling orders by dairy companies was ] desirable, but without the line from the , Mount that course could not be pursued. The Minister said that in such a case a train service would be supplied, and without extra cost, but for goods that could be brought to Tauranga no train service would be supplied except as specials. Afforestation. The question of afforestation in the | Tauranga County was brought before the Hons.. W. Nosworthy and R. F. Bollard by Mr. R. King, chairman of the | County Council. I Mr. Noswqrthy replied that the matter ' was one of policy. He. would discuss the subject with Sir R. Heaton Rhodes. What land was not fit for settlement would naturally do for afforestation. The Government did not put men on land on which they could not make good. Soldiers' Unpaid Rates. A deputation in regard to unpaid rates j on soldier settlement lands was received by the Hon. W. Nosworthy and the Hon. R. F. Bollard. Mr. R. King, chairman of the County Council, said there were three soldier i settlements in the county, and the non- j payment of ra€es by the men was a burden on the other ratepayers. They syni- | pathised with the soldiers, but regarded the position as a Dominion one. Ho urged that an amount to cover the un- . paid rates should be paid from the Consolidated Revenue. Mr. Noeworthy said that the matter had not escaped the attention of the Government, and it would be again die- I cussed on his return to Wellington. Any . action that would be taken would be | from the Dominion point of view.