CASUAL RAMBLINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10131, 14 May 1896, Page 3

CASUAL RAMBLINGS.

[tot A. TRAMP, ESQ.] WRITTEN FOE THE AUCKLAND WEEKLY NEWS. HAWKE'S BAY TOURS. DANEVIRKE TO WAIPOKUBAU. (Continued.) Manfcatoro - Holy Friar -Liberals - Weber - A House of Entertainment—Bush Pub3-A Thames Joker—Weber-Alfredton Eoad~Co-operati»es-Viticultural Lands-A Divine Institution-Enough of Weber-To Wainui-Wimbledonian»-No Oats in the loft—Walnut—lts Wild Career-Diversion of Traffic-Labour Troubles-Squatters' Orphans -Porangahau-Hpwl Cot There-A Porangahau Bridge - Porangahau Pub-Porangahau Politi-

Porangahau Hill—Tavistock— From Danevirke to orHerbortville, as it is officially designated— a fifty-mile journey. Midway is the halting place, Weber, where there is a " house of entertainment." For the greater part of the distance to Weber the road is between the wire fences of the great Mangatoro run. A splendid piece of country, well adapted for cutting up into smaller areas, and capable of supportinghutidredeof "abold peasantry" in comfort; and increasing the trade, commerce, population, and proportions of Danevirke manifold. Mangatoro is a property of the B.N.Z. Asset* Estate-cost that financial institution something like £80,000; and Danevirkers hope that the Government will purchase, and cut it up— very good thing indeed, provided they don't " pay too dear for their whistle." Still, if the Government did pay a little too dear in this case, we could console ourselves with the reflection that it was "all in the family." The Bank of New Zealand being virtually State property, in assisting it we are helping ourselves. A certain squatter influence in Danevirke is an obstacle in the way of the acquisition of this property by the people.

The Holy Friar, fresh as a daisy after bauquetting on Mr. Scrimgeour's oats, rattled the omnibus briskly along o'er hill and dale—it was chiefly hill—and we arrived at Weber early in the afternoon. There was nothing to detain us by the way. We could not stop and gossip on the circulation of the Auckland Weekly News with sheep and cattle, or discuss the political situation and the notorious " reaction" of the bloated working man " agin his Government" with barbed- wire fences.

Captain Russell will do well nob to overspeculate in " reactions they are too unstable a stock for sate investment. The development ie too early to last, and it will probably fizzle out in a " no-tory-we" counter " reaction." The Holy Friar is a liber d, so ami—"true liberals." Captain Russell is a liberal, his friends are liberals, everybody is a liberal, true liberals, and we are all George Washingtons. There are no Tories in the country, and no squatters In Hawke's Bay. Hip hip!

Weber, like Danevirke, has been hewn out of the bush— pity Hawke's Bay hadn't been all bush. The progress of the settlement, if slow, has been steady and sure. At length the wilderness is subdued, and the bush clearings are studded with happy homestoads, smiling amid new grass paddocks. These homesteads have no great architectural pretensions, but there is an air of comfort and contentment around them. The business places are on a very small scale, but they will expand with the growth of the district.. Weber has its school, and the wilderness is cheerful.

The "house of entertainment" is about to increase its accommodation for travellers. ] When the additions are complete ittvjijU no doubt, consider itself some pumpkins of an hotel.

Weber's is not the only bush pub I know that is in need of improvement. The " entertainment" provided by some of them is little better than that supplied by a squatter bo his station bands and swaggers. Travellers in this economic stage of civilisation require something more definite for their eighteonpence or two shillings than a dish of stewed liver and other ingredients " intilt."

His holiness the JS'riar has no complaints to make against his entertainment here; ho had the sweetest bit of hay in the North Island for bis supper. Let Weber prosper. A well-known "old Thames Joker," Mr. Bernard Wolfe, formerly manager of several mines, and a proprietor of the Thames Advertiser—that rag "lias had a variety of proprietors in the course of its inky career —i 3 now in charge of the co-operative worksin this district. He is quite happy,,and leaves gold mining and newspaper engineering to those who have a penchant for those pastimes— has had his whack of it. The work on which Wolfe and his cooperatives are at present employed is the formation of a road from Weber to Alfredton—Alfredbon is in the Wellington province. i This road -Wcsus up a good tract of country, and will enable settlers to take their stock through to Eketahuna, whence they can entrain to the groat stock market of Messrs. Lowes and lorns, at Masterton, or send direct to Wellington. The "co-op's"' are being settled along the line on the intermittent work system— that is, they are employed at times on public works ; other times they are supposed to work on their own private account— their sections, and so forth. Scotsmen are the only race likely to pull through on such a contract. I should not be surprised to discover that this mode of settling the people : on the land was a deep-laid scheme of the I Hon. John McKenzie'e to enable his paritchsupping countrymen to become the landowning race of New Zealand. The universal complaint is that the size of the sections allotted to this class of settlor is too small for him to make a living on. That greatly depends on the quality of the land, and the use made of it. Seventy acres are certainly too small for a sheep run; as a vineyard it would be more than ample. Some canny Scots from the Highlands will, no doubt, find a means of subsistence on 70 acres of New Zealand. The land greed seems as trong in the humble "co-op" as in the high and mighty squatter. The cry is ever: more, more, more land. Experts tell us there are thousands of acres in Hawke's Bay exceptionally suitable for vinegrowing. Surely it is the duty of our statesmen to find out where these thousands of acres are, and acquire them for national purposes. If they only amount to a fourth of one of the large runs there will be homes and employment provided for a settled population of a thousand families in one pop. When the leaders of our political factions cease their slangwhanging competition, and agree to give an hour of unselfish consideration to the necessities of the people, this matter may, perhaps, get attended to. This kettle calling.the-pot-black controversy as to which party is responsible for the unemployed in the land is neither profitable nor seemly. A greater than either Messrs. Seddon or Russell has said, " The poor ye have always with you." The unemployed, therefore, being a Divine institution, should nob be made & party question. The combined wisdom of the two parties may do much to alleviate the distress of the poor, but no Act of Parliament can abolish the unemployed, I had intended to pay a visit to Mr. Wolfe's camp, some 10 miles to the south of my course, but I should have had to come back to the township of Weber again, and I deoicled to cancel the engagement, and proceed on my journey to Herbertville. Of the 25 miles from Weber there are about 10 metalled, and the fall is in our favour, Herbertville being little above sea level—a good road in summer. The mail coach is allowed two days from Danevirke to Herbertville; slow time for a mail coach, but fast enough for the business, which is nob urgent. The country is occupied in decent-sized farms, and, from a liberal

point of view, presents a, more cheerful proapeob lihan the solitude of the Mangatoro run. Wimbledon, air miles from Herbert?ille, comprises a pub, store, and post office, and forms a soft of headquarters for the settlers around it. The Wimbledonfans are an openhearted, hospitable lot of jolly good fellows; and they are all crack shots—the name of place probably suggested the formation of a rifle club. We stopped to bait here, bub there were no oats in the inn for the Holy Friar; the landlord tendered his apologies, bub bis reverence did not approve of them as an article of diet—he prefers something more substantial. We proceeded on to Herbertville, where the Friar was soon up to his neck in oats—Mr. Hales gave us the.key of the corn bin—a good sort of a landlord Hales.

Waihui started on its wild career as a settlement some 30 years ago; its wild career during the put quarter of a century has been that of a rocking horse, and it gets no "forrader." It is called Herbert-villa after the father of the settlement. The Herberts are a numerous family in this district. Herberts and Franklins are strewn as " thick as leaves in Vallambrosa" all the way from . Weber to Wainni — all good settlers.

Until now, when the road is opened through to D&nevirke, had no outlet, and was lad from Wellington by sea—ib Ins some pretensions to a' port. Its connection with Napier is by a packtrack over the hills to Porangahau, thence to Waipukurau, This line of communication will now be abandoned tor the easier and more expeditions route to Danevirke. The diversion of tho Wainui trade and traffic will be a serious loss j;o Porangahau and Waipukurau. Their loss is Weber and Dunevirke'a gain. The Patangata County Council are responsible for the diversion of a profitable trade from their district. Any nine tailors of Mapier would haveshown more business capacity and greater administrative ability than this supine body- My impression is that ib thinks it lias enough roads on its hands already. The unemployed were nob much in evidence at Wainui. I may say just here I never met so few swaggers in Hawke's Bay as on this trip. The squatter seems to have successfully starved the bluey brigade from out their territories— they employ Maoris chiefly now. It is sincerely to be hoped the breaking up of this time-honoured institution will not seriously affect the pastoral interests of Hawke's Bay, and that the squatter will have no difficulty in finding his outcast orphans again when he wants them.

The labour trouble tbftt disturbed Wainui at the time of my visit was the lady help question. There wao a scarcity of cooks and waitresses at the hotel. I did not suffer in consequence, however ; the attentive landlady makes a point of watting upon:distinguished visitors herself—pat my back. Mrs. Hales said the men spoilt all her girls—men generally do. There is alwayp a lot of athletic chunks of manhood maundering about buah pubs who, when not dead drunk, are " killing time"admiring and flattering the girls, who get so inflated with self confidence that they become hindrances rather than help?. A new line of goods was daily expected by the steamer from Wellington, but I hadn't time to wait.

Porangahau; How did I come to Ponngahau? Simply thnswise. Just imagined ourselves a bullock team, and took the track across the hills. Coming down a pinch locked wheels, steadied the leaders, and trusted to the polers and Providence to escape a capsize— there— come hither— so—steady does it all right —unlock wheels. Crawling up the opposite wall, 1 take off my coat, spit on my hands, and yell "Git up, you blankety — Wank — blank — blankety ratangata County Council blankety bullocks — crack 1 Op the rises! Hang on to it—up it is, Holy Friar I- Isproadeagle myself on the ground, and lib there' till ray- bellows get mended. Then up and at it again, and again, and yet again, and here we are— the Holy Friar is a whole team of twelve. Long J. Russell made no mistake when he bought me the Friar; ' g f< ■■'k' "gorgeous"and 'expensive bridge has been built over the river, and it is painted so that a blind ho< 'x can shy at it. The main purpose served by the erection of this bridge is saving the Maoris from getting their feat wet when they visit the pub. The thousands wasted on the bridge expended on the road would have secured the Wninui traffic, and enriched the places it passed through by a considerable amount per annum. The hotel has been burnt down—it was an old pub, and wanted burning—and, while a new one is being erected in its place, accommodation, for travellers it somewhat limited.

... Outside. the_co.l.u.mn,s of a newspaper, Porangahou is the only place where I hare found any interest taken in the forthcoming eteotion—thecountryis not so dreadfully excited about it as city editors would imagine. , : • Poranj^has: is an exceptionowing; to the climate, no doubt. This remarkable place has already had three candidates for Parliamentary privileges prepared to take the field, all in the true liberal interest, of course. Mr. George Hunter, the popular wool king of the district; Mr. Jensen, a local storekeeper, styled the "Prince of Denmark;" and a gentleman, I forget his name, known as the "Marquis of Ireland"a packman. An enterprising Irishman this. He has attacked the Assyrian or Armenian hawker on his own ground, with a fair amount of success. I was afraid we should have to import some Turks to exterminate this pest; but, with a few energetic men like his grace of Ireland on the job, the services of the Turks can be dispensed with. The Marquis will probably retire in favour of Mr. Hunter, but George will have to buy his pack. Hamlet has been offered a certain sum of money to go to the poll, and will pol»ably fetch there. Whether It is to be the liberal interest or the "true liberal interest" that is to suffer most from the insane Dane's whim, is the question—insane politically, I mean. lam inclined to think that, when it comes to the vote, the constituency will prefer the liberal they know to the liberal they don't know, and return Mr. Charles Hall. Still, Mr. George Hunter's chance is nob to be overlooked. Leaving Porangahau and its politics, we scale the heights overhanging the hamlet, up which some dotty engineer has dragged the road. The wind just then having a lucid interval, we got clear away without being blown to pieces. Away across the wide expanse of runs that stretches from the Kuahine to the sea. On, through Wallingford and Wanstead, over the saddle, and down into Waipukurau, 30 miles or thereabouts from the village of the mad winds and hairbrained politicians. And once again we are at " The Tavistock," the besb hotel in the North Island for travellers to take a rest, and so says the Holy Friar.