WELFARE OF SETTLERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19557, 9 February 1927, Page 16

WELFARE OF SETTLERS.

hauraki plains tour. MINISTER AND DEPUTATIONS. TALES OF HARDSHIP TOLD. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] THAMES, Tuesday. The Minister of Agriculture, Hon. O. J. Haw ken, had a busy day on the Hauraki Plains yesterday, hearing deputations from settlers dealing almost wholly with problems of settlement affecting the Lands Department, administered by the Hon. A. D. McLeod. Leaving Thames at 7.30 a.m. the party, which included Mr. T. W. Rhodes, M.P., was met at Orongo by Mr. E. Walton, chairman of the Hauraki Plains County Council, who welcomed Mr. Hawken on this, his first, visit to the plains. The Minister was motored to the Orongo-Opani Road, vi here a small deputation of soldier settlers, headed by Mr. Dryden, appealed for assistance in the eradication of tall fescue which, they said, had completely enveloped the settlement. They said the pest had beaten their best efforts to check its growth. It was only a matter of a few months at mos* before it would drivg half the settlers off the block. Solution Not Easy.

In addition they were troubled with periodic plagues of crickets and insufficient drainage. There were only three outlets for 2500 acres. The deputation asked that the settlers be placed on better country, the block to be dealt with by the Deteriorated Lands Act. The Minister said the matter was one for the Minister of Lands. The solution of the trouble was not easy. He appreciated the hard struggle the settlers were making and would fully acquaint the Minister of Lands with their needs l on his return to Wellington. The land already came within the provisions of the Deteriorated Lands Act. The route to Kaihere was then followed and Mr. Hawken was driven through many thousands of acres of peat country, described as eminently suitable for flaxgrowing. Valuable research work in this connection was evidenced on the farm of Mr. G. Smerle, a native of Latvia, who is experimenting with 43 varieties of flax. He demonstrated the practical side of the business by means of a teasing loom and the Minister was presented with a sack made from waste products of flax, vastly superior in quality to the imported article.

Soldiers' Hard Struggle. The farm of Mr. G. Tizard, another pioneer of this industry on the plains, was next visited. Mr. Tizard pioneered the method of side-cutting flax in the Plains district, and ho is confident the industry has a bright future. The party was later halted by a roadside deputation of soldier settlers whose troubles were convincingly outlined by Mr. Lynch. He said seven years ago the block had been opened and the men had given the best that was in them to make a success of tho proposition. Conditions were, however, hopelessly against them. They asked to be removed to a block in the Kerepeehi district, on which they were ready to begin afresh. Mr. Hawken said the men had his sympathy. Such a state of affairs should not be allowed to continue. He would lay their representations before the Hon. A. D. McLeod.

Shortly after one o'clock the electoral boundary was crossed, and the party was met by Mr. A. M. Samuel, M.P. for Ohinemuri. In the Netherton Hall a deputation was in waiting. Mr. Samuel said their difficulty was drainage. Conditions had altered since the land was first acquired. There was a danger of the farms flooding and , settlers being forced off their holdings unless some definite preventive scheme was evolved. Difficulties With Drainage. Several speakers were then introduced and they condemned the policy of the drainage officials. An allegation was made that two. important outlets had been blocked and flood waters spilled over the farms. Mr. Samuel said the crux of the difficulty lay in the cleaning and widening of the main drain, which was a most necessary work and should be undertaken.

The Minister assured the deputation that he fully realised the value of the affected country. The settlers seemed to hold divergent views as to what should be done, and he hoped a definite conclusion would be reached at the forthcoming conference. The Hon. A. D. McLeod would be in the district before long and would be only too reodv to tako the necessary' steps to give relief. This morning the Minister was shown over the fruit-growing areas in the Totara district by Mr. F. Causley, secretary of the Thames Fruitgrowers' Association. In the afternoon the party left for Te Aroha, and Will later go on to Morrinsville.