DANNEVIRKE TO TAUMARANUI.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXIII, Issue 148, 1 July 1911, Page 7

DANNEVIRKE TO TAUMARANUI.

(Ev Rev. E. Ro>bertshaw«e)

The following readable account of a journey from Danneyirke to Taumaranui is supplied us : onoa mi'j,re we-, this time two of us, found ourselves on tlie Main Trunk -line bound for the north; Ber-t-ween Woodville and Palmers'toni tilie train was honored by carrying two bishops and several other dignitaries of tli'a church, bound for Wellington for the -consecration of Mr Spnatt to the vacant- bisliopric of that place. No accident happened, -alt'lio-ugh sailors would- lia/ve expected one. Diet Jo-mali wear ga-'itoirs and an apron? More likely a burnouse. On tllie Main Trunk mo-thing remarkable occurred'. One imagines wlnat might occur, if tlie train's wei.glilt were too much for the Makatoki viaduct, or if the brakes would not work whien descending the spiral. We, however, crossed the viadiiot without -knowing we had done so, and .came down the spur a! with ease. The old accustomed traveller was in tlie carriage, and difc was amusing to noitiice- one worthy co-u-p'lio and how, comfortable they m.aOia themselves. They produced -a flat basket, and brought -out a, Thermos flask with hot tea—evidently they knew how to make themselves eo.m-for-tablle—and tlie two waited oni each other in an affectionate old-fash ionied! way that w.as good to see. There is nothing miore pleasant than- to watch midd'i'e-aged people, and see tlie mutual trust and affection that shews in their faces. One reconstructs the past and thinks of when 'lie was a. sturdy, youth .and she a bonny Lass. "Beauty is fleetlinig and favoir is dle>c artful," says the wise man., so tot me praise the joys of middle life. Romance, s are confetainitly being written about the young people, but why nioio about the middle-aged. Does anyone thi-nlk that the middlie-aged have no romantic feeling, that because the hair is thinner on the head' the heart is less warm s ? We only .need! .to cultivate and believe in. one another's good points, and behold beauty shows out again. This reminds .me of a genw tbrnaii named Smith, 1 d'oax't know if his name -was Smith, but Smith willl do. Well, Smith -became disillusioned. He discovered that he, no longer admired his wife. I .rememr ber re,aiding of a wife whose husband uced to wish she was -dead. "Oil-, what did you dio ?" said a young mairried woman. "My dear, I .used 1 -to put soime magnesia in his -tea, amd he was a'll right next day." Clever woman! She was * disillusioned. but did not wish him dead 1 . She -made tine best of it. But .to 'return, to our muit-tons, the Smiths. Mrs S rnilth p-erosived that her husband looked .at her with a jaundiced eye, and took the bull by the horns, "My. dear," said she, "though you no longer -admire me, other men d 0.." "Do they?" gru,nited lie. "Yes," she said, "you wallk about thirty feet behind down the street, and you will see that every' man looks after me." Tlie bargain was struck, and Smith fol',l'owedi his wife, aind, sure enough,

every man looked .at her, and watched her .as she went down the street. Smith p'omdelred, considered:, scanned Ilia wife again, 'and fell im love with bar, a,nd this time it lasted. About a; year after Mrs -Smith said .to him.: "My dear, I have a confession to make. Do you knew why the men watched me? As I passed each I just poked out a tiny bit of tongue-" "By jove," said Smith, "I adimiiwe you more than ever, for brains keep, and as for beauty, I have got what I want." The moral is this, thiat mid-dle-aged people can find .plenty of beauty if they will look at" onie another,' as Smith did at Iris wife. But this is taking us a lonig way from the railway , carriage and Taumaranua, which we reached before twelve, where I tried to sleep, but alas-, sleep would not come, for in .front the trains seemed to be shunting all night, a,nd in the next bedrOoim someone was chasing wild pigs all through what sho-uHd have been, the hours, -of sluanber. In one of tine American sleeping cars the passengers 1 annoyed by a ferocious smorerXs," tells lioav the- drew to'fill with leadpeace, and when -the fcu,, parted' out stepped a- fair j'oung'-x. \who had been' the scirieech owl of tlv. , So-last night, w'hetheir it was a " en of bashful fifteen or a. stout v_ eiraai of fifty, I dlon't know, but dit wag ,a megaphonie. In my next I want to tell you of the Wai'-kato land and the Piako swamp l , and here I have done nothing but tell of miy carriage companions l . One word more -of my middle-aged couplle. As we got' to Waiimie.rii.no I heard a gurgle, -and 10, a smalll silver eu.p. "Take cane," said I, "that's n.o-t tea. If you take that 'into Taumiaranuii there are pains and -penalities." He winked, he had 1 put the stuff where the ganger could l net fluid it, unlless he used a butcher knife and a -dark lantern. FROM TAUMARANUI ONWARD. We left Tau<maranui on Tuesdaly morning at 8.10 a.m., and' went by the stow train to Frank-ton Junction. Here we waited for the train from. Auckland. This is far better than getting into Franktoai at 3 a.m. and waiting there for the same train'at 1.30 p-.m. Luncheon 1 at the railway refreshment rooms -cost us onily Is 6d each. In Hawke's Bay I have always paid 2s. Why? As we came in to Fnanktion we" .passed through apparently very -rich lanld, deep 'rich black soil, and 1 as I saw nothing growing on it, I sought my old .settler. He told me that he had tried -500 acres of it, but. though he had tried liming and ploughing he had mot been able to. do anything with it. Perhaps 'deep cultivation! and more liime may some 'day miake d.t a success. At present- it is j.uist the sort of .land that .a new .comer might be very easily let in over. My olid set-tier told me that he had sold his farm of 1500 acres to the Government for close,r settlement. The land, although not vary good, is -easily worked and close to the railway, and he said that by ploughing every three years and then, putting about 3 cwt. of a. mixture of bonedust -and superphosphate to the acre, practically anything could be grown, amd grown we'll. T had been, struck, to, with the vivid green _ of the grass, .and the air of prosperity *si shown by tlie buildings on the farms, and my friend also told xne that many of the farmers! who. owing to the advanced prices, had sold' o.u.t, were trying to again buy into the district. At. Rotorua I met a- set.tHor .from the great- P'iako swamp district-. He had 1 a farm iu't on the edge of the swa-mo and said he was 'doing wel lout o.f 'it.

The river.-itself forms the main highway. From, Ms acount it seems thiat settlement in that parnt of the country will greatly .resemble farming in Holland. The mo.toivHaun.ch will suppiy the place of the farmer's- paar, and station buggy, and l broad ditches that of fences. In the course of time there is no doubt that small farms, capable of intensive cultivation and returning good results, wil be for/med theme, but a special education is necessary for such farming, as many widl find to their cost. At the 'botel din Ro tenia we met with two interesitimg types, a -home ruler and an orangeman. The lio-mse ruler was a stout built, handsome young man, deaim siliavie.lll, rather heavy features, black curly hair and grey-b ; lue -eyes, a type often meit among southern, -and western Irish. I remember years ago noticing a number such among the Irish navvies when the .railway was put through tine bush. The men aire commonly tall and heavy limbed. They have none of the proverbial lightness of heart said to belong .to Ireland. We, however, got into conversation, and' lie tolld me ia few miteretstkig facts, viz., that -the Welsh Ohu.r.chi was disestablished, and that the King liad promised' to make amy number of new peers, if necessary, to carry out the decisions of the Lower House. I suggested tluat df this were done, the Coniserva.tii.veis, when they, with t'lie swing of the pendulum, gat back into power would do the same, and the process being repeatedl aill of u,s would in the emd be-co-me peers, .and so attain a glorious equality. Fancy everyone "My lord." I asked shiim what la-is particular gniev-a-n.ee wias. He said! that his father farmied 50 acres of poor 'land., for which he paid £IOO per annum r.eaiit„ and £25 .more in rates and taxes, .and that din bad years they could hardly live. "Weill," I said, "yo.u were not forced to live on it. Why didn't you clear out?" He informed .me that there was mo assisted -emigration an Ireland, and so had 1 to stay till a friend .helped them. "Bait ihow willl Home Rule help this?" said I. "Home Rula will mean land negotiation: ? Everybody will get land for a small rent and Government subsidies. It was charming and idyllic, but .handily real. Most of -its left the Old Counttry because we were not successful there, but English people, ait any rate, do not Hook upon it as a personal grievance that they had to leave, and it seems .a pity that- these feelings: of having a grievance should bo fostered. _ The Orangeman took' quite a different view. For him Home Rule was Rome Rule, but he was conifidlemt that the black north could look after itself, and tliat, when Ireland- liad to pay tlie pip-er .herself without ainy English subsidies many tilings would -be looked' at from very different points of view than they are ait present. The condition seems somewhat iMke' that of a husband and! wife, outsiders may interfere with the best, of intentions, but pierhaps by far tiiie best result is attained by letting them settle tlie mlattef .among themselves.