King Country Chronicle WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22, 1913 ROADING NATIVE LANDS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 535, 22 January 1913, Page 4

King Country Chronicle WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22, 1913 ROADING NATIVE LANDS.

The continually recurring requests by settlers to the County Council for roads to give sccpbs to property obtained from native owners is a striking illustration of how the roading question is regarded by the great majority of settlers. Not a meeting passes without an application being received from some corner of the county for roado. Evidently the settlers responsible for such applications are unaware of the and of the futility of their requests. A little consideration of the position, however, should serve to make apparent the fact that the matter is in the hands of • the Bettlers themßelveß. When Crown lands are opened up for settlement the sections are npedttfer loaded up to a given' amount—ally from 5s to 10s per acre—construction of roads. This ainouW forma portion of the purchase price of the land and is paid by way of rent or in cash according to th» tenure of the land in question. When a European takeß up a native section he usually does so without considering the question of roading, and when he comeß to work the land he makes application to the local authority to provide a road for him. . Were this possible it would place the settlers on Maori* , land in an infinitely better position than the Crown settler who has to pay for hlB own road. It is a pleasant illusion on the part of some settlers that they are entitled to a road if they pay the general rate levied by the County Council on their properties. As a matter of fact the general rate of any local authority is merely struck in order to mebt expenses of adminißtration and maintenance work on the roads. In the case of the Waitomo

County, Council the general rate last year besides paying the hospital contribution of a little over £4OO produced about £2OOO. Out of this amount had to come the salaries of officials and ail repairs on roads in the various ridings. It is therefore a manifest impossibility for the local authority to construct roads out of the general rate of a county. The only way in which the local authoiity would be justified in constructing roads through native land would be by special rate levied on the properties which would be benefitted by the work. Provision is made for the raising of special loans by settlers for roading purposes, but it rests with

the settlers to take the initiative. Where the settlers desire to do so the council will always take the necessary steps to apply for a loan, providing the settlers will rate their properties in order to meet interest and sinking fund on the amount required. At present this is the only method by which settlers on unroaded native lands can obtain roads. The question is to be brought prominently before the conference of backblock local bodies at Ohura this month, and if settlers who are affected by the position can offer any suggestions on the subject they should communicate without delay with the local body having jurisdiction in their district. To anyone acquainted with this district it requires little discrimination to understand that the position is highly un satisfactory. Without plunging into the complexities of the case it may be noted that there are very few roads which have been constructed in this district by the Government which do not benefit considerable areas of native land. On the othfr hand any system of roads for opening up native lands would benefit considerable areas of Crown lands, and the application of the principle that all lands should directly bear the cost of their own roading presents serious difficulties. The question is entirely too great to be handled by the means at present to. hand, and the lamentable fact exists that the district ia suffering immensely by reason of inadequate roading. It is to be hoped that the discussion at the conference will result in sound recommendations to the Government, the interests of all parties concerned having been carefully studied. Mr Graham will sell at the mart on Saturday 100 cases of fruit, also a spring cart and. sundries. Owing to Mr Moore's sale following at 2 o'clock, the mart sale will commence at 1 p.m. promptly.

A very special opportunity will be afforded to buyers of superior furniture by Mrs J. P. Moore's clearing sale on Saturday at 2 p.m. at her residence, King street. The goods may be seen on Thursday o? Friday afterpoon. Mr Graham, who conducts the sale, recommends them as being a nice lot of really superior furniture, and his instructions are to clear everything. There is amongst other lines an upright Grand piano. See advertisment for particulars.

Owing to the sad event that has taken place at Mangaeo the Rev. E. S. Wayne has decided to hold service there on Sunday morning. In consequence of this there will be no celebration of the Holy Communion at Te Kuiti, and the other services will be held as advertised.

The necessity of putting the Te Kuiti-Mokau road in order between the borough boundary and the fivemile peg was referred to at the County Council meeting on Monday evening by Crs Berry and Were and the engineer was instructed to inspect and report on the state of the road with a view to repairing the same. The inestimable advantage of having access to river gravel for road metalling wag pointed oat at the coun cil meeting on Monday evening, when it was stated by a deputation that the Otewa roaJ could probably be metalled at a smaller coU than any other road in the county. The Waipa xiyer was within easy reach of the read throughout, and an ample supply ci gravel was available. One councillor estimated the cost of obtaining the gravel at 3s a yard. Ohura and Waitewhe a residents are agitating for the completion of the telephone line between Waitewljerui and Kaeaea. The extension as&ecHfor will give through connection between Te Kuiti and Ohura and besides being a convenience to the dfettlers would serve an excellent purpose in the event of the present line • between Ongarue and Ohura'being disabled at any time. The Te Kuiti Racing Club officials are doing all that is possible to make a perfect running track for the horses competing at the forthcoming meeting on February 6th. On Saturday the borough road roller was put on to the course and the results are altogether excellent. In one place where a filling had been made f the roller sank a little, but a very little bdiiding ap will be necessary to place this portion in as good condition as the remainder oft he track. "l think you have a magnificent 'trv >' the Hon. Henry Willis, c De aker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, remarked the other day in speaking of what he had seen in his recent tour through the northern part of the Dominion, "but it appears to me to be suffering for want of closer settlement. For two dava in the north I travelled through splendid Gantry, which seemed to be populated only by a handful of Maoris."

Miss Handyside notifies that her classes in the various branches will be resumed forthwith.

Messrs Barraud and Abraham, Ltd., of Falmerston North, have donated a cup for competition at the forthcoming A. and P. Show. it has not yet been decided to what section the cup shall be allotted, but it will be notified in due course. ,

Attention is drawn to fact that the annual meeting of the Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce is to be held at the County Chambers on Monday evening next. A full attendance is urgently requested. The stone crusher in use by the Waitomo County Council at Te Kur/ii is justifying its existence in the matter of output. When run to its full capacity it is turning out from eighty to a hundred yards of metal per day. Mr J. Lawson, who is in charge of the machine, is removing to Waitomo to fulfill a contract on that road as soon as the Te Kumi road is completed. The County Council workmen are I

making good progress with the metalling of the road between the borough boundary and Te Kumi and the work should be completed within the next week or two. There are some extremely bad places in the road, and these are being paved with limestone slabs before the crushed metal is laid down. There is a great amount of traffic on the road, and the laying of a solid foundation will be appreciated.

This week a deputation from the Te Awamutu Town Board, consisting of Mr A. Wallace, chairman, and,' Mr D. Beckett, clerk of the Te Awamutu Town Board, went to Auckland to interview the Prime Minister in regard

to the board's application for £20,000 for water works, which we understand has been declined in consequence of the shortage of money available for municipal bodies, and the fact that the legislation of last session has given preference to all applications for roads and bridges. Dincussing revenue prospects with a New Zealand Times representative, the Acting-Minister of Finance (Hon. W. Fraser) indicated that finances on the side of revenue were in a very satisfact9ry condition at the present time. The land tax and income tax, he was certain, would exceed the estimate. Revenue was always the heaviest during the last four months of the year, and that was why the figures for isolated short periods were of little value. The full figures for the nine months ended December 31st would shortly be available, and he might take an opportunity of making them public at an early date. Buyers are reminded of that fine opportunity of acquiring a lovely homestead site afforded by the auction sale of the Heathcote estate, whieh takes place at the mart, Taupiri street, at 2 p.m. to morrow (Thursday). Full particulars and plans from Mr Graham or Messrs Mackay and Jones.

Mr Graham's next horse, vehicle and implement sale is to be held on February Ist. Entries are invited. An important feature of the home industries section at the forthcoming show was inadvertently omitted from the printed schedule in the class for home-made butter. Last year this class was excellently patronised, and this year should again see numerous entries. All those who wish to exhibit are requested to forward their entries to the secretary.

The appearance of the garden at the Te Euiti public school is in every sense a credit to the pupils who have done the work and to the schoolmaster who planned and organised the undertaking. Parents who have children attending the school could not do better than pay a visit to the garden and Mr Power would be pleaned to show the results of the children's work. An excellent idea would also be obtained of the system of experiments which is being successfully undertaken and which are of special educational value from both farming and gardening standpoints.