A COUNTY BATTLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14218, 15 November 1909, Page 6

A COUNTY BATTLE.

■ i n^i' " ':, . , ;f« <!■.' * * '.% \ WHANGAREI VERSUB HOBBON ..,-■■ ..™f'^ A TILT FOR TERRITORY. ' FROM OUR NORTHERN WAIEOA CORRESPONDENT. • '•'■■■',. '•/"', W The battle of the northern railway rojatrt has given a distinct fillip to public In, terest in Whangarei and Hobson CoutJ ties since the discovery has been mad" that in place of poor land predominS in either county each possesses imn»nj areas of the best agricultural soil It 1 a query if there is any useless land in, the North. Soil which in the past reduced' only stunted tea-tree, and wagf dubbed barren, now carries a sheep to every three acres, is accepted as beiL' ."refractory," but with intelligent anf cheap treatment is fast coming into tjtq. ductivity. Low-lying flats considered UE „< drainable have been converted into dows, hilly country whereon bracken. and manuka held sway has demonstrated i~i power to hold rich soles of grass, , aadi worked-out kauri areas are one of thtf chief sought-for classes of territory foJ ■ beef and wool-raising. The steady stream of Southern farmers in search of! holdings has caused Northern settlers- ! reconsider their position, and they hav«i awakened to the fact that their climat*! alone is equal to half a sheep per acre/- ' Midway between Dargaville and Whs. ngarei there. are great stretches of bush] and , open lands, now coveted .by - meal who, a few years • back, ridiculed theidea of them being equal to second-rate ' Otago territory—but, preeto! the Chide, rella of the Dominion has come to light' •! and is now being cajoled and careasetl ia a manner which causes the old pioneers' to ruminate. Without any question of railway these same lands would in t.^s course of time make their value felt, ■ with the railway their potentialities are ■' vast. This is what causes the lend lietween Hobson and Wliangarei Ckurtites for the sovereignty of that great area ■ situated at the head of the Northern Watroa for the trade of the one-time *' Never- ', Never" land, v. which is now a land cl \ plenty, wherein the . fruits of the earth ' grow in profusion, and where v the lowing; kino ' arid ■ bleating ■. sheep, • infenced from' all the winds that blow, with never-fafl-l"' ing streams of water, and meandering' amidst green pastures, flourish ■ and in-': crease. It is questionable if the hisijrioV Puhipuhi rush ever gave rise to fiachi earnestness as is manifested in the "gle-now going on for the Mangakahia sits? adjoining domains. .Chambers of coliM mer?e have arisen in the rival counties,;' their members note the monthly cheque ' distributed by the dairy companies,-andY j that the spending power of the sural) population overshadows that of the;town-, [ .dwellers. The day is not so , long-*gb{ when the Northern farmer sold his-but-,- ■ ter at 4d per lb}- now he receives lNfajfl thereabouts. He is a prosperous indirMjiaS with a gilt-edged future, and commands, '■£ i the utmost- deference from commercial' i ranks._ Which is only right, for his; gold' has caused an era of prosperity. undreamtj 1 of by the most . sanguine country mer-* chant. Hence the rivalry • between . ll»V chief eastern arid western counties of the; Auckland peninsula as to which is to! have the favour of constructing ' block roads, which will cost- man}* thofc! ■. sands of pounds, and whereon the settler! . may convey his produce his gold,]. for the centre most easily reached irnwii win the day. Road-making in the North',., is not a. game of;skittles— will cost .> -\ princely ransom in. the locality under -re*. view, and though to the city spectatarj the - rivalry may, 5 ; appear ridiculous,jjMi ! : public r men ;of Dargaville and Whangaaij know the value of their bone of contention, and their strife for its possession is ; •strenuous--in the extreme. "'. - ■.< Whangarei at present has before Parlia-p rrient a Bill - for the adjustment of the- • boundaries of Hobson, Bay of Islands, ■'< Hokianga, and . Whangarei J Counties, 5* and' j, prays for the inclusion of ; Mangakahi*,! Kairara, v Karaka, ' and Houtb d&trictM' within it* area. "To assist the passage,*)!} U the: Bill booklets, setting forth Whi-i« ngarei's : case, have , been ... distributed!; < amongst members of Parliament, and new ; Hobson has produced': a similar .public*i£ tion, and is being vigorously seconded by,:' Bay of Islands. - According to r . the, HoU son booklet, Whangarei seeks ,to : aanex».':{ 25,000 acres, of its territory and soaw 50,000 more acres from the other- emoty: ties concerned, presumably-with; the videi?'! of diverting the whole of the trade emaaaty';. ing from that immense stretch into it& commercial circles. .'- Hobson hotly cori-'i bats Whangarei's pleas for the. enlarge- •, ment of its > confines; .points out that tiw latter has now '928 square miles to w' former's 688, arid in an" indignant w; - burst asserts jin its printed defence : #»« " the proposal sounds like a romance,, afid.,.. Whangarei easily -takes the cake for stub-? born and consummate cheek." The ok, jections set forth by Hobson seem to!.; ; fairly meet the claims of '{< Whangaret,j;| especially '. in regard to 'territory ,im-; > pingent on the Kaihu Valley Railway, m which, no doubt, the claimant comity.w|l . readily forego provided it annexes ; w» :.} Mangakahia Valley. In Wellington persistent .lobbying is being carried on by Northern M.P.'s, the chairmen of w counties interested will this , week .vis* Wellington, and all the strength of. m} and west is being marshalled by the.l Si' para, Whangarei, and Bay. of Islands Pas*" hamentary representatives. ; , The North is fortunate in : exporferiaflf,y?j -its wrangles. It is thereby receiving:.«•";.';' vertiscments which other portions of, th* Dominion languish for-:—and it deserV|j» them. ' Old settlers have never reoOgttU«. "■'}: the weath-creative value of' their surrounaings, and now that a new straii. of agri- ; . culturist is dominating affairs they ".Jajfto understand the objects of cohtentwi. / But the man from South knows what ctti- ; . tralisatiion of • market means, and '* speedily educating his new. acqtiaintaM* '■ \ to its importance. At the same time, iw { combat now proceeding is bringing WW bodies up to a sense of their:import*." arice and duties, is stimulating, ■ active trade crusade between '• [■-W t && counties, > is showing the back • farmer his true locus standi, and is forth**: advertising the prosperity of the"Grca«North. • -■ •;.,':■•• ; —