BAY OF ISLANDS DEAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15932, 1 June 1915, Page 4

BAY OF ISLANDS DEAT.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL'? 1 TOUR

NEEDS OF THE FAR NORTH.

USD AA'AITHG S^VLEMENT

WHAT THK MINUSES SAW.

. fBY TELEGRAPH.— OWN CORRESPONDENT.] ■ Kawakawa. Monday, i Visits by Ministers of the Crown to the ) isolated settlements of the Far North »re ■ so infrequent that when one docs take ' j,'!nce the settlers take the opportunity ot representing their requirements. The Attorney-General,., the Hon. A. L. Herd- , man, who has been touring in the Way of • Islands electorate for the last 10 days, has > been met by many deputations. Most ot the representations concerned the necessity for opening up large areas of country for , settlement, the early linking up ot the , settlements with the railway system, and , for facilities to enable the farmer in the 1 fastnesses of the North to get Ins pro- ! ducts more speedily to the centres. When tho Minister was at Kohukohu , last weol:, representatives of the settlers occupying areas of tho Karac Block of • 16.000 acres of Maori leasehold? inter- ' viewed him, asking whether the Govern- ' ment could afford them assistance to ob- ' tain »ha freehold of their holdings. The I Karae Block is stated to be a line piece of • country, through which the Kavae-Unetoki--1 Runaruna Road runs, some 12 miles from ' Kohukohu. Much of the land is carrying I stock, but a still greater part is in Urni ber, practically untouched. The settlers ■ represented that when they took up their 1 holdings there was a sort of understanding that they would be given an opportunity [of chasing the freehold. The law, it ; was pointed out. provided thai the Crown • could purchase the freehold and then, if it was considered desirable, resell to the present lessees. They hoped the Govern- , ment would help them. The .Minister in- ■ formed the deputation that he would be ' pleased to transmit tho representations made to him to the .Minister for hands, 1 to see whether anything could be done to meet their wishes. The Awaroa Block. Representations wore also made at Raweno concerning the Awaroa Block, of somo 50,000 acres, stretching between Herekino and Kaitaia. The settlers who interviewed the Minister said that a previous Government had started a survey of the block some considerable time ago, and had left the work incomplete. Why, they did not know. They considered that there was no finer area of land in the North awaiting settlement. One speaker said that apparently few people in the South knew of the existence of the Awaroa, Block, otherwise pressuro would have assuredly been used upon the Government to proceed with the survey of the land ; land see that it was opened tor selection. I Tho Minister said that sinco he had come to the North ho had been surprised | Ito see that .there was so much excellent land lying 'waste. Southern members Knew very little about the Fur "North i and the large tracts of country still #n-j settled. Ho hoped that, the representor; tions he would make to tho Government I would help not only the present settlers ! 'of the district, bill people in the "South who were desirous of going upon the land. He would communicate with the Minister for Lands to see whether the survey of ■ the block could be proceeded with. At each place visited Mr. .Herdman and Mr. W. Stewart, the Ministerial candidate for the Bay of Islands seat, have delivered addresses. Both speakers have received good recaptions on every occasion they have spoken, and votes of confidence in the Government and in Mr. Stewart as the Reform candidate havn I been' enthusiastically curried. j Potentialities of tbi North. ! Mr. Vernon Reed, c.x-me'mbcr for the ■district, who has in many parts of the . electorate accompanied tho Ministerial ;party, has also received a splendid reception. At some of the meetings Mr. .Reed has been singled out for a special vote of thanks for tho work he has accomplished for tho district in Parliament, coupled with an expression of regret.at tho district being deprived of his services. Part of the Minister's address at Kaitaia was devoted to land. settlement and to his observations whilst travelling in tha Hokianga and Bay of Islands districts. His present vicit was the first ho had made to the district. In Parliament and outside its walls he had often heard the j Far North described as the " Neglected North," tho "Roadless North," nnd other hard names, all of which were intended to indicate that that part of the country was being starved. (Laughter.) He frankly admitted that he was surprised at the potentialities) of the North. He had, (Turing the past few;days,, seen tho country from train, from coach, and from launch, in sunshine, and in rain, and he could- have only the one impression, that the future of the North was very great indeed. The country in the North was vastly different to tho country of Otogo and Canterbury,-which he knew well. There was little land available in the South Island suitable for cutting up excepting land? of high value and the fairly large runs in tile hack country. In the North Island there were thousands of acres of fine land at present in its virgin state on which, if cut iip> hundreds of young men could settle. ' •

Thirty-Thousand-Acre Swamp. When he was travelling between Herekim. ■ and Kaitnia a large block of land called the Awaroa Block had been pointed out to him. Much of that land, he had been told, was very good and very suitable for close settlement, but had been neglected by past Governments. Then, again, between Ahipara and Awanui there whs a large swamp of some 30,000 acres stretching from the road light down to the sea line. He was not personally competent to express an opinion as to Vltftt could be done with the swamp, but ho had been informed by several persons able to judge that a large area, if satisfactorily drained, .would be as valuable land for cutting up as any in the district. He understood that legislation was pushed last session giving authority for the setting up of a drainage board to drain the swamp, the cost of which was to be borne by the settlers by the striking-of a special rate. Settlers had told him that the legislation passed had not been satisfactory, as one or two had objected to their valuations, and no progress could be made. In his opinion, the swamp should bo dealt with in the sane way as was done with the Hauraki Plaint and Rangitaiki Swamp. In the case of those lands the drainage was completed by the Government before the people were called upon to pay the capital cost of the drainage and the special rate. Although he could not promise that the draining of the Awanui-Kaitaia Swamp would be done iii this way, lie had suggested he would, on his return to Wellington, represent the matter to the Prime Minister to see whether it could not be undertaken by the Government, for lie recognised that tile work was of much value to the Auckland Province. (Applause.) Speaking of native lands, Mr. Herdman said h had learnt during his visit that the position of those lands was quite unsatisfactory. The present Government was not entirely responsible for this. It had only been on the Treasury benches a little under three years, while its predecessors had been in office for 20 year*, during which time a policy of stagnation had been pursued. Mr.'Herrics, during the short time he had been Native Minister, had been instrumental in securing legislation which had done a great deal to. improve the position of native land

'ettlement. Fresh legislation was certainly necessary to get native lands ! settled." It would! never do to allow the natives to bt homeless, but something should be done towards the settlement of the lands. i Alter having traversed some of the worst roads in the Dominion, the Minister said he could affirm with safety that something more tangible should be done by the Government to improve them. As far as he himself was concerned, the experiences through which he had passed, and the knowledge he had gleaned in his travels, would enable him to be of greater j assistance to the North when its wants 'and requirements wore under discussion in ! Parliament. (Applause.)

SPEECH BY MR. V. H. REED.

OPPOSITION CAMPAIGN.

GETTING THE LAST WORD. Ibt iK.r,Euttirn.— cobbebpondest Ohaeawai, Monday.

ftreat interest is manifested on all sides , in the fight for the Bay of Islands seat. Besides the Attorney-General • asid • the Trader of the Opposition there (iivs in ' various parts of the Hokinnga and -Bay of IslaHs districts Messrs. Man<W.>)and , Coates (Government members) andMjjisrs. Forbes, Witty, Hornsby, .md Mao Donald (members of the Opposition). Mr. Vernon Reed, ex-member for the district, has now 1 decided to enter tho campaign on behalf • of Mr. W. Stewart, the Reform candidate, and in a speech delivered at Herekino on , Saturday night explained his reasons for doing so. Sir Joseph Ward, Mr. Reed said, hud come into the Bay of Islands district on May 15, and had continued ' actively working and speaking in the : electorate ever since. Mr. Herdman had . arrived on the 20th, niter having seen that the Leader of the Opposition was 1 strenuously taking part in the campaign. ' The Minister arranged ft fortnight's round trip of tho district, and as soon us his i itinerary was announced Sir Joseph Ward • had doubled back Slid followed over tho ground covered by the Minister for the ' purpose of getting in the last word. On account of this ho (Mr. Reed) had left the Minister's party and intended following tho Leader of tho Opposition. Sir Joseph Ward had said that the Government was controlled by a Maori, who did not know on which leg he stood. In his (Mr. Reed's) opinion Sir Joseph Ward was angry because Mr. Tau Henare hud rejected the overtures of the Opposition Party. Every effort had been made by the Opposition to capture the Northern Maori seat. Tho Leader of the Opposition had laid ' claim to the credit for the railway construction in the district during recent years. Tho electors) knew that if the construction of railways in the electorate had been left to the Ward Administration the rate of progress of tiie past would have continued. That was, he declared, two miles in 20 years. Ho felt he had a right to state that he (Mr. Reed), was responsible for th<> changed policy. The whole Hokianga County had been i tied up for years through the land— eluding the native land—policy of tho Ward Government. Thousands of acres of native land remained idle and unproductive as the result of that Government's administration, and miles of mud roads remained unmetalled owing to the | locking up of native lands, rendering .them unratable. Thousands of acres of I Crown lands had also been locked up by Sir Joseph Ward's legislation, through! which lands had become national endowmento and the freehold watt refused the i settlers who had to carve their homes out of the bush. ' » Mr. Reed was frequently applauded : t during his address. At the conclusion a < . motion of thanKs and confidence in the Government and regret at the result of the - election petition, which caused the disaualification of Mr. Reed for the Bay of IrJands seat, was proposed by- Mr. Robert Bowman, seconded by Mr. W. I Geddes, and carried unanimously.