King Country Chronicle. Saturday, December 8, 1934. KING COUNTRY PROBLEMS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4633, 8 December 1934, Page 4

King Country Chronicle. Saturday, December 8, 1934. KING COUNTRY PROBLEMS.

It was a happy idea of the Ohakune Chamber of Commerce to call a conference of sister Chambers of the King Country to discuss matters of common interest to a tremendous area in the centre of the North Island. While the Chambers have no desire to encroach oh the work of local bodies, they can help to mould public opinion on the many anomalies that exist in the King Country, and help to have these removed. Besides this there are matters of vital importance to this large district that are outside the scope of local bodies, and Chambers of Commerce are quite competent to deal with these. The suggestions put forward at the conference at Taumarunui were o'n sound lines; but whether it is possible to make them all effective is a matter of doubt. The pressing for the retail sale of liquor in the King Country is a controversial matter, for opinions are divided on this subject. This paper has consistently advocated the right for a referendum on this matter, for at present the so-called “prohibition” in the King Country is nothing less

than a farce. It would be most interesting to hear the unbiassed opinion of the police in the King Country on this subject, ** for they are in close touch with the conditions surrounding the sale of liquor in the King Country. As Dr. Jordan- said in his statement, the real menace of the Maoris is T.B. and not liquor. The suggestion to reserve all State profits from the sale of liquor for the elimination of T.B. amongst the Maoris has much to recommend it, but the liquor question is a delicate

one for Chambers of Commerce to deal. with. The question of land development in the King Country also, involves many problems. While there are tens of thousands of acres bf land in the King Country at present lying idle and capable of production, our export markets have become limited. At the same time this Dominion must look to the land for the next half century at least for its future progress, and we cannot stand still in land development. The land is our most important national asset, and is the basic source of the Dominion’s trading and commercial activities. We require a larger population and a policy for a more expansive immigration policy with suitable people from the Mother Cou’ntry. This would not accentuate the unemployment problem so much as some people are inclined to believe. It would stimulate local consumption, and help to relieve the congestion of population in Great Britain, if the matter is treated from an Empire point of view. There are also possibilities for development of other industries in New Zealand by a more extensive use of our own raw materials. It is rather a peculiar state of affairs that while there are over 60,000 registered unemployed in New Zealand, there is at the same time an acute shortage of farm labour from one end of the country to the other. At the conference held at Taumarunui it was the unanimous opinion that a great injustice in regard to railway freights was being imposed on the King Country. The Department takes the view that it is quite justified in charging higher rates in cases where it does not meet with competition from motor services and sea transport. These inland districts are being penalised because of their isolation, whereas it should in all justice be quite the reverse. As a State undertaking for which all sections of the community have to find the money, there should be no such discrimination by the Department. If it is impossible to make the railways pay by an even rate over the whole of the Dominion, then any deficit should be paid by. all instead of calling upon one section to do so.

It was stated at the conference that the question of rates on Native and Crown lands was a matter for the local bodies. This is quite true, but such organisations as Chambers of Commerce can help these bodies by moulding public opinion on these matters. From all parts of the Dominion, both in town a'nd country, there is indignation at the Government's refusal to pay rates on Crown lands, the plea being that the State lending Departments are not moneymaking concerns. Neither are local bodies, which are composed of men who offer their services without payment to administer the public affairs of their own particular district. The Government on the other hand comprises paid members of Parliament who have the power to make laws for these local bodies, who in turn have to answer to the ratepayers. If public opinion means anything, the Government will soon be forced to recognise its responsibility in this way, for the feeling is growing in intensity at this unjust imposition. The question of rates on Maori lands has been a much discussed subject in these columns, and the Europeans in the King Country are justly entitled to demand that some action

be taken in this matter as promised some four years ago. The Native Affairs Commission recommended that steps be taken to make Native lands liable for rates, but until the consolidation scheme is carried out such is quite impossible. These are amo'ngst the most important issues that require revision in the King Country, but there are many others which demand attention. This can only be done by co-operation, and the Ohakune Chamber of Commerce has started a movement that should be whole-heartedly supported by all such organisations in the King Country.