HAURAKI PLAINS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 86, 12 April 1927, Page 9

HAURAKI PLAINS.

TWO MINISTERS BUSY. MUCH TALK ABOUT DRAINS. I'KOMISK OF A sritVKY. (!'.;, — Sppcl.il to "Siar.") I'AKIIOA. this day. '■.Mi.-ih ;il»cnit drains," would be a suit a 1 >]p caption fur a record of the <if tln> Xlini.-ter ot Land- and tho Mini.-ter of J , u!.lie Works on llnural.i Plains. Yesterday afternoon they talked drain- with settler* from lunrh time till aftcriKiiHi tea, and in the evening they hoard more about the s-aine subject. A prrat portion of the afternoon vns spent in a in-pertion of Ilie Wait on Stream, whirl) di\ides the K!-to\v and Waitoa Drainage I'-iards' districts. l!opr<'sentatives of i he two boards inentio.-ed uracil upon the Mini-tor for Lands Mie iicre-.-ity of t])(i stream above a point where tin- present improvement end.-. They a-ked that a survey be niaile of this area, with a \ icw to axvrtaininj; the extent and i-nst of the work. It was pointed mil that. nwiii*j to block,:£e of tin. stroant in llooil times, the settlers on the Otwny block suffered heavily. Water ovcrjlowed mi to their farm-, and maiie s-uceessful farming impossible. Dreduin;.!. it was clainied. would prevent a recurrence of such condition-. A Hydrographic Survey. '"I'll say at mice that my Department will undertake a hydrogrnphic survey of the stream for the distance you ask,"' said Mr. McLeod. 'it will 'not cost you anything." This promise gladdened the settlers considerably. One of them expressed the opinion that tho Minister's promise was the first step in connection with what would prove to be one of the bi-> •_'c-t schemes ever attempted in the district. Members of the deputation joined in thanking the Ministers for coming to visit the Plains. They thnnked Mr. A. M. Samuels. *\I.P.. fr>'r bringing the Ministers, and felt sure the problem of the Plains would get more satisfaction when Ministers realised the conditions under which the pioneer on swamp country had to work. All Promises Honoured. Mr. MeLeod said any promise made by any of his predecessors would be honoured. At times when lie had been told that certain promises had been made he had looked up the dies, and had found that no promise had been recorded Of eonr.-e. if any of his predc. ,—,„■- had m: " l, ' promises without bothering to record them and tin. work u-.- neicr earned out. nobody could blame tho present Minisu-r for nut honouring such an alleged promise.

-The Mini-tei of Public Work- and myself cmne as practical farmers t,, -,-,• for uin-ehc- ju-t what your conditionare." -aid Mi. Mcl.rod. " -We hope to formulate a policy in re.-pert of this <IU. tri.-t which will I.e «ati-f.n tory t.» the liovenmient. !-at is factory to the -ettlcrand to Xev, Zealand geneially. For that rea-oii Ministers had wished l> -tart at the ~,!»,. of the swamp at Springdale and work riuht through." Mr. Samuel told the settlers that it had always been his policy t,, ._.,.( Mill ! i-ter- concerned to come and -<•.• f..r thenisfhes the condition- under uhi, h I the farmer- of the Plains |,;,d t., w,, r k and live. Today iTuc-day i the Ministers are visitin- Awaiti. Xethertnii. In run I and Wnitakiiruru. i