THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1906. PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 5, 23 November 1906, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1906. PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.

The Representation Committee at present sitting at Wellington has finished the first portion of its labours, and, it is understood, that as a result, the North Island will gain three new seats in the Parliament of the colony. It has been currently reported that one of the new seats is to be the northern portion of the Egmont electorate, including a great part of the Rohe Potae. That such a step is highly desirable in the interests of the districts no settler will deny, and, it is to be hoped, that if it is intended to give separate representation to this new and rapidly developing area, the whole of the Rohe Potae will be included as one electorate. The advantages to be gained by such a step are almost too obvious to require mentioning. The interests of the King Country, whether taken separately or collectively, are almost identical in all the different localities. Turn which way you will, and pioneering work is being done; requirements and wants long since satisfied in other districts, are in evidence on all sides, and the very fact that many of these wants are greatly confined to our own great district, render our legislators oblivious to the fact that these peculiar wants are of the first and most pressing importance. For, in truth, the Rohe Potae is a goodly heritage, and in days to come, and not far distant, it will be adding wealth to the country at a rate undreamed of at present. Our lands are of the best quality, and include hundreds of thousands of fertile acres, much of which is, as yet, covered with bush. When opened to the selector, and the axe and fire have done their allotted work; when the country is one vast grass pasture; when the coal seams have been developed, and mineral and metal deposits opened up, to say nothing of our vast timber industry, the country will then, in very truth, be a land flowing with milk and honey, and paved with gold, as it was often held to be in the days when it was a closed book to the Pakeha. That such a district should be divided between the already settled electorates on either side of it, may have been expedient in the past, but with the opening of the land and the steady flow of settlement, the time for such and expedient is surely past. Both Mr Jennings and Mr Greenslade have worked hard, and loyally for the King Country, and often combined with good effect when urging the claims of this portion of their respective electorates. They have thoroughly earned the hearty gratitude of the settlers, irrespective of party or creed, and we can rest assured these gentlemen will always be willing to extend a helping hand to this great unexploited country, when occasion demands it. That the demand will arise we have evidence continually before us. At present the growth of this district is en- 1 tirely controlled by the Government' departments. A large expenditure of public money is absolutely necessary in the opening up of any country, and with other districts continually clamouring for as much of the public purse as it is possible to get, it is only with the greatest difficulty, that sufficient is found available to provide for even the most elementary requirements of a new district. Therefore, every additional help to the desired end, will be widely welcomed, for it is only by constant and untiring work, and vigilance on the part of our representatives, that we can hope to drive home the fact, that in providing our district with the necessary funds for develop-? ment, the country will be benefitted a hundred-fold, within-a short period. Moreover, it is to this end that every individual settler in the Rohe Potae should work, and only by unity, and hearty co-operation, can we hope to reach the desired goal