PROGRESS OF THE NORTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13846, 4 September 1908, Page 7

PROGRESS OF THE NORTH.

SOUTHERN MAYOR'S IMPRESSIONS. The Mayor of Invercargill (Mr. W. B. Scandrett), who has returned from a trip through the North Island, mentioned to a press representative that as a colonist what impressed him most during his tour was the almost marvellous progress of settlement in New Zealand. He continued, "The subdivision of estates is. going on everywhere; especially is this so in the Wellington district, where 60-acre farms are considered big enough for dairying. The land in the North Island has been found especially suitable for that class of farming and already the dairy factories are taking in miik from suppliers. The west coast of the North Island is subject to a good rainfall, the land carries rich grass, and it will be the home of small settlements, which' means a large population. The towns of Feilding and Hawera are prosperous places; due entirely to the dairy capacity of the surrounding country. In tho Auckland district the timber forests are being cut out by sawmills, and settlement is extending iu all directions. Everything points to tho probability of New Zealand becoming the home of prosporous small settlers, because the growth of the population in the European countries ensures the consumption of the Dominion's' products, garnered by the labour of the holders of moderate-sized allotments. What surprises a Southlander is the high prices that these settlers pay for land; £40 an acre strikes ona as exorbitant, but industry and good prices for milk enable payment to be made. New Zealand has such'a splendid seaboard from tho Three Kings to Stewart Island, that almost anything can be grown that man requires. Lemons and tropical fruit grow to apparent perfection in Auckland, and in the South here we can supply the corn and flour required. " There is a very bright future bofore the people of the Dominion," concluded Mr. Scandrett. "It is essentially the home of the British race, and tho political demand that it must be kept pure and white must he adhered to. Tho immense number of people who visited Auckland during Fleat Week shows that work has been plentiful or the money would not be available. The growth of the towns, especially on tho Main Trunk line to Auckland, is remarkable. Taihape, which was a bush district a few years ago, has now all the organisations that you expect to find in cities. A visit from South to North **nd North to South, inspires one with confidence in the future of New Zealand." '•