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New Zealand Mail, Issue 1717, 25 January 1905, Page 48

Speaking in reply to the toast of “'Parliament.” at the Ohariu banquet- on Friday night, Mr W. H. Field, M.11.R., strongly urged that lands in the vicinity of Wellington, Johnson vilLe, Porirua, and Ohariu should be acquired for closer settlement, in order that the congestion in the city should be relieved. Mr Field put forward the suggestion that owners willing to part with land at a reasonable prioe should offer it to the Government. One well-known settler at Ohariu Valley, Mr Thomas Bryant, has, it may he remarked, already offered a large area to the Government for acquisition under the Land for Settlements Act. Of the passengers who arrived from London by the Papanui on Saturday evening, four second class and eight third class availed themselves of the reduced fares arranged bv the Government. Many others would have done so had they known that such an arrangement existed, but they only became aware of it by learning from the more fortunate ones. It is not an uncommon occurrence for such people to approach the steward in charge for a rebate on the full fares paid, but of course that is out of the question. The steward in charge of the Papanui stated to a “Mail” reporter that it was the people’s own fault, as the reduced fares to New Zealand have been well advertised in England. Among the passengers by the Papanui from London was Mr Leonard Marshall, the well-known Auckland breeder of racing stock.