HELPS THE BACKBLOCKS

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 74, 28 March 1930, Page 10

HELPS THE BACKBLOCKS

PUBLIC WORKS MINISTER.

RAGLAN SETTLERS GRATEFUL

TRIBUTE'■■PAID BY LABOUR M.P.

•' (By Telegraph.—rOwn Correspondent.) ■ - : ■ NGARUAWAHIA,this day. . A tribute" to .the capabilities of the Hon. E. A. Ransom, Minister of Public Works, was. paid by-Mr. W. Lee Martin, Labour M.F. for Raglan, when speaking at, Te Akau yesterday. : Mr. Martin said he regarded Mr. Ransom as one of the most.capable men :in the Parliament,, and as a Minister he was doing his job very thoroughly. He took a very commonsense, vievv. of matters before him, and had.very real sympathy with'the set-" tiers in the back districts who were labouring under hardships by reason of haying no proper road access. : Mr. Martin said he was delighted that Mr. Ransom should have gone out j>f his way to make'a thorough tour of the Raglan electorate to. see for himself the conditions under which the lived and the great progress made. With , the granting last night of two requests made at .Te . Akau. Mr. Ransom has acceded to every proposal placed before him during his tour of Raglan up till that time. This was due. undoubtedly to the fact that nothing .extravagant had been suggested, and that the posals had Ueen common-sense ones, in no way fantastic. The grants made by the Minister were "mostly .to assist settlers who were hampered/ in their farming operations by clay roadfi. Settlers every where., had. made very evident their gratitude of the Minister's appreciation of their difficulties. Mr-. Martin ■: added that Mr. Ransom was a man of "vision, courage and determination, and" if given , ' the opportunity he would go Tery.much further, in»;the political life of the country, and* would , serve New Zealand well. ■ ; The two requests the Minister granted last evening were subsidies of £3 for £1 for metalling a ; str«teh of three miles of clay road to eimK? settlers in Te Akau district ;:to: .gel;; in their supplies by Raglan harbour,' and a subsidy of £2 for. £1 for metalling a mile of clay on the Ruakiwi Hill, c .to avoid a bi« detour.- . - l ■ , ~, °