A Mistake in Tactics

Horowhenua Chronicle, 1 February 1921, Page 3

A Mistake in Tactics

▼ : (Palmerston Times.) A year or two ago a Hawke’s'Bay landowner at his deathleft 700 C acres as an endowment in perpetuity for an. agricultural college. The Minister of Agriculture of that day, advised by his experts, decided that the college should ,bc located at the experimental station at Weraroa. Ever since then a small section of the Hawke’s Pay people have carried on an agitation to have the college established on the estate of the testator. They made the mistake a day or two ago of inviting the prisent Minister, Mr Nosworthy, to inspect the estate. To reach the spot, 47 miles distant from Hastings, Mr Nosworthy had) to pass along a road which a faithful local recorder describes- as being suited to an old bullock wagon service, and through a number of gates marking the dividing line of several large and remote estates. To duly impress the visitor “a mob of 1200 fat sheep were mustered) in the homestead paddock,” and he was assured that they had just been sold to a freezing company for 29/ a head. Mr Nosworthy was hurried over the near-by paddocks and then most hospitably entertained and) asked (amongst other things) to establish an agricultural college on the spot (or thereabouts) in order that the returned soldiers settled in Hawke’s Bay

might have an opportunity of learning bow to farm their holdings! The Minister gave a non-oopnnital reply, and intimated that he was in part committed to carry out the policy of his predecessor, and Jhat in a matter of this kind the interests of the whole Dominion had to be considered—which was no doubt: the wish of the deceased gentleman who had made the gift of his land to the State, The reporter of the Tribune who was with the parly made this honest admission: “The ground on the flat appeared to be on the light side and unsuitable for agricultural operations, its tendency being to move Avith the strong winds which are a characteristic feature of the locality. The manager stated that the best land was on the hills, although at the southern end of the estate there were about 1000 acres well suited for dairying.” Unless it is assumed that an agricultural college will he located on every estate demised for that purpose it is to be assumed that local pressure "will he very strong indeed before a site of this kind will he selected. It would be difficult to induce a group of agricultural experts to reconcile themselves to complete isolation in so sterile an environment, even if students could he induced to Avander 47 miles from civilisation in pursuit of knowledge. If the road has a bullockdray surface in summer, Avhat will it be like in winter? How much would, it cost to erect a college there with all its equipment and appurtences? And how much to cart through supplies? The main desideratum of an agricultural college is accessibility and the second adaptability. Primarily such an institution deals with students and secondarily with the farming community—returned soldiers or otherwise. It is quite within the hounds of possibility that the politicians may he moved to comply with persistent local sentiment—we have seen ewer and over again how these things are worked - but such an arrangement would he foredoomed to utter and complete failure.