THE PRIME MINISTER'S TOUR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14184, 9 April 1908, Page 4

THE PRIME MINISTER'S TOUR.

THE POSITION AT PEMBROKE. THE IRRIGATION QUESTION. (By Our Spicul Reporter.) CROMWELL, April 8. Replying to Hie toast of "The Government" at Pembroke on Tuesday niglit, the Prime Minuter ,roforred to the question of irrigation in Oentnal Otago. He said there were two .responsible officers of the Government with him who would advise Mm. The importance to Otago Centra! and Ito altogether of an irrigation sohenre was generally recognised.— (Applause.) _ He was desirous of ascertaining where it was most required and where the graatKlt pood could be done. In addition to finding water, it was cf supreme importance t-haft 'he should ascertain how far it oouM bo utilised in connection with the mining indtMbry, and iho was anxious also to ascertain from those who had knowledge in different parts of the district Jiow far the work to bo undertaken could bo made use of for agricultural and pastoral purposes.-(Applause.) RAILWAY EXTENSION. PEifajROKE'S CLAIMS. Ait the publio meeting in the Pembroke Hail Mr M'Ddugall, the Father of Pembroke. said the district had waited a long (lime for some consideration on tfho part of the Government, but so far it had not obtained uihat it wanted. Its progress in consequence ted 1 been somewhat slow. A Voioe: It lhas gone back. The formers had, eaiid Mr M'Dougiall, taken out crops of grain, roots, that were abave the average yield of .the colony. A Voieo: What good did it do us? Mr M'DougaM caid there wore' in the district the means cit practicing wealth, but the people wero not able to utilise the great advantages that Nature (had conferred upon, them, because.they tod to eat . all tiiey- could produce. The Prime Ministsr: You lliave a big contract.—(Laughter.) ' Mr M'DougaM went on .to say that the distridt hoped to receive an impetus from the Government very shortly.

The Ilev. Mr MMell fluid'an estimate had been given by tho department for the cost of tiho Kne between Clyde .and Cromwell. It iwas generally conceded, however, that tihis was an over-estimate. ' The Hon. Mr Fergus, who was a contractor a>t one time, had declared tihat ho could carry Ouit tho work at a profit ifor -half the estimate. If the, people had not tho means of getting rid of their, produce, what was the uso of putting tihem on the land? Some people had already left the district, and others were preparing to leave, being utterly disheartened, unless they wore assured that Ifcho railway was to come on. How could a railway pay before it liad reached its terminus? No one in his right senses wpuld' expect ianyt.hing of [the eoirt. He woui|d like to Icnow if the xaiihtfey as fac as it wlas constructed lrtis making reasonable returns. Ho believed it was, 'because df it was root *t,hey'would have heard of it. Surely it was a, reasonable thing that communication should bs as .scon as possible extended to a noble people, selfdenying and energetic, wiho had already opened up the. country in anticipation thla,t tihis means of oommiuniortipn would be given to them.—(Appkuse.)

Mr .W. Eraser, M.P., who was reoeived with applause, said that as member for the district ho had'been requested to say a few words to back up the deputation in the matter that was so near to their heartST-tho construction, of the railway from Clyde to their own doors.—(Applause.) The country was suitablo fqr settlement, and would carry settlement. He hoped to convince the Prime Minister of this fact by pointing out to him that there was good land in the district. The trip, he : . was sorry'to say, was a hurried one, but'' Sir> Joseph Ward had, many engagements' to keep. IE their honoured visitor had' been able to spare only one day more he would have seet| a tract of country that was worth cultivating—country that was not barren desert or rocky gorges.—(Applause.) Ho would have seen' the Tarras district. The leases of some lands there wotdd fall in in a few (years. At Hawea flat, too, there were lands that should bo cultivated ( in ordor to produce wealth; • but what was'the Rood of producing that wealth, and what was the good of produc-' ing crops above the average, if the produce of tho land could not be sold ?—(Applause.) The stoppage of the line at Clyde had not only taken' from the settlors the means of getting their produce cheaply to Dunedin, >but it- had taken from the people the market they formerly had at Clyde, Alexandra, and Ophir, as they could not competo against tho farmers at tho Taieri, who railed produce to that market.—(Applause.) Was that a fair position to nut U community in? People had spent years' in the district making homes for themselves, and • now their market »'as taken from them., That was'one .of the strongest arguments whv the line should b.tf carried 011. The Prime Minister had told them fhat. ho had eome up to 6ee whether irrigation could not be carried out in the arid parts of Central Otago, but he would ask again what, was tho good of providing irrigation if the people could not get their produce away from their land.—(Applause.) , Mr ,T. A. Maepherson, M.P. (Mount Ida), strongly advocated. the pushing on of the line. , Tho Right Hon. Sir J. G. Ward in reply,, repeated some'of the remarks lie had mado to the deputation in Dunedin on Saturday. He informed the deputation that it would probably cost £408,000 to construct the 51 miles of railway between Clyde and Hawea. That was on the basis that in New' Zealand the average cost of railways was about £8000 per mile, Clyde was the temporary stopping place. It had not been 6aid.it .was I'o bo the permanent stopping place/ but what was tho position in Otugo? People were strongly advocating tho Catlins line and tho Lsuvrenco-Rox-bnrgh line, and there was also the Otaeo Central line: If Otago was to have its fair proportion of the expenditure oil its railways spread over three railways instead' of | two, the total amount for each would, of course, he reduced. As the Otago Central bad had £1,270,000 spent on it in the past, it was believed to be tho right thing to do, Mvith two other important lines" in the district being strongly urged, to slop the line temporarily at" Clyde in order to . give the other two lines n, cbance.-(Lcud/ applause.) He admitted it was proper that the people should urge the extension of the Ota°-o Central line to give to Uiem the undeniable advantages that railway communication brought to -everyone. There was a great responsibility, however, devolving upon the Government, and that was to prevent the people from bringing ruination to their own doors. As lie had been asked t.he question, he would say at. once

that the lino had not paid, and did not pay. With tho increased production in Central Otago, however, which could be brought about by irrigation, better results would, of course, be shown. The real troublo in connection with lh o line was that it was in the wrong place. It should have gono cither up the Clutha Valley or inland from Palmorston,-(Applause.) The portiop of the line that was carried through a difficult picco of rocky country was very expensive, and handicapped the country to-day. However, there was no use in looking backward, and, in his opinion, it would bo well now to fry to help those pcopic who in the. past had suffered from that cause, by giving to them a-supply <?f water which would enable them to produce fruit; grain, Gtoek clc.—(Applause.) Ho concluded by assuring the meeting that tlio claims of the Otago Central line would receive fair and full consideration when the Estimates wore before the .Government,—(Applause.) LAKE WANAKA. Subsequently a deputation of residents at Makarora, consisting of Messrs Faulks, Ewing, and ' others, complaincd of irregular mail services, and the unsuitability of the present boat for the traffic to''tho Head of the Lake. _ The Prime Minister said ho would look into the question of mail services, and mentioned that when a larger boat had teen placcd on Lako Wakatipu the Ben Lomond, liow on Lake Wakatipu, would possibly lie transported to Lake Wanaka, FROM PEMBROKE TO CROMWELL. IN THE lIAtt'EA DISTRICT. MAGNIFICENT AGRICULTURAL LAND. , On leaving Pembroke, the Prime Minister journeyed by way of Albert Town fo Hawea. Flat, where lie saw some splendid farming land, yielding most abundant crops. ' At the Hawea Flat School a number of settlers had assembled.

Tho Prime Minister addressed some words to tho school children, and went on to say that ho had had an opportunity of seeing what tho productiveness of the district was. He had never believed that tho country was as bad as some people bad sa.id; it was. Tho district was one of special interest to him. Men had come there long ago, and showed their courage, pluck, and determination, and everything in reason that Government could do to help them would bo done. Next session the Government proposed to put £200,000 on the Estimates to provide roads, over a period of five years, so as to give a continuity of expenditure over that time, and so allow roads in many parts to be pushed on and improved.—(Applause.) Parliament had authorised the expenditure of £100,00 C for a proper system of irrigation in Central Otago, and if they could get heads of water availablo for the settlers and a pormanent supplv to tho land it would give the district a lift ahead —greater than it had ever had. The land that was watered enabled one to judge of what could be' dono with its aid. 4He ea,iv that morning a splendid field of turnips, as line as could be found in any part of the country, also magnificent wheat and barley land, and where there was sucb land as that ho thought there must be thousands of acres of land still fruitless from want of water.' It would pay the country well to see that a water supply was given. Tho line could only he made successful by bringing tho whole of the lands in the. interior into cultivation, and the' areas should be small, so that all the more wpuld be produced and all the more given to the. railways, with the result that in time he hoped the railway" would pa\? its way completely. A number of requests .were . then laid before the Prime Minister, the sneakers' being introduced by Mr J. A. Macpherson, M.P, for the district. . ( Mr William Kingan urged the extension- of tlio railway beyond Clyde. Ho said that some 25 or 30 years ago the then Government sent round a circular saying that, if people took up land the railway would be undertaken. The people had waited patiently, but the'railway had notcome along yet. He also referred to the fac-t that, owing to the railway being pushed on to Clyde, tho market had. been taken from those people who resided further inland. There was land in Hawea second to none in the Dominion, and barley and' wheat, would be produced that were unequalled by anything of tho sort produced in any | other part of New Zealand. He was not in favour of irrigation until the., railway was pushed through. The people could even now produce more than, they, .cpuld dispose of, and unless there W'as a mode of transit to. the sea,board lie did not see .that irrigation would benefit thorn. If the railway was Harried to Hawea thousands of oeople would visit the lakes, so .that, from a commercial point of view, it would pay the Government to con-* tiinio the railway. He considered that the railway was not /over th<i garden wall (in tho words of the late Mr Vincent Pyko) until it had reached Hawea, which was' the Garden of Eden.—(Applause.) Mr Kane urtred the erection of a bridge at Lii"?ate. All the wheat, "rown at Tarras and Hawea Flat had to cross the ferry, and when tho river was in' flood heavy traffic could not cross, sometimes for weeks.

Mr Smith asked it tlie Government would subsidise a steamer on Lake Wanaka if it were put on the lake by private enterprise. Messrs Macphersoii, M.P., Allison, arid Horn also spoko. The Prime Minister, in replv, said he was glad to have heard the deputation. Regarding the railway, he said that the Government who- promised it accepted a giave responsibility in go promising, and it did not make the position any easier for tlie present Government. x Only a limited amount of money was available for railways, and the Otago Central had received a full' share of tho money going un to the time when it was stopped at Clyde! The present government had clone more for the railway plum any previous Government. As for irrigation, lie believed, that' the Otago Central would not beji si}cee.=is without it. It. would result in more freightage being given to th© railway at Clyde. The whole matter would' be fully considered when the Government was going into tlie Estimates (his

As for a steamer for Lake Hawea, tihey dm not wi&nt o.poltagieis for hoais oil. the lake;. It was advisable that ihe Government should liave decent steamers, and it. was proposed to • transfer one of the steamers from Walcatipu to Wanaka. If,

however, privatte enterprise would provide a steamer suitable in every respect, lihe Government would l be prepared to consider the matter of giving it a subsidy. Tlie question of a bridge at Lugg-ate wou'd 1)0 lcpoiteil upon. The nia'tter of concessions on the railway wus nolt likely to be oai riod out. There were scores of places in New Zealand where people w&'e 100 males from 'tho railway, and 1 Che moment the Government talked of giving a spociol rate to people wiiio were 25 miies distant, from the .railway line those who were 100 rj'" eS would J&o want a concession. He acknowledged tihe value of Mis tourist traffic. AA'then {he lands of New Zealand wero occupied lo the fullest extent 50 years from now lihere would be more money left in New Zealand by toimisita than by all the wool and Other products of tih-o Dominion.—(Applause.) VISIT TO CROMWELL. • Shortly after half-past 5 Crojnwell hove ir sig'lit. Tbo • party stayed for lhalf an hour at Mount Pisa Station, where they were 'hospitably entertained by Mr and Sirs Hend :ie. A large crowd of people ha'il turned out in itho township to meet the Prime Minister, and 1il» Mayor (Mr J, Little) welcomed the Minister in an appropriate speech. Sir J. G, Wa.rd replied, thanking the people warmly for their 'greeting, and brief speeches were also given by t'ha other visiting members. At half-past 7 deputations were received by the Prime Minister and the- Hon. E. M'Na?-,. (Minister of Lands). Mr W. Eraser, M.P., introduced the speakers. Mr Little urged it.he continuance of the railway from Clyde. Hon- long, the people would like to know, was the line to remain at Clyde? People were leaving t.he district owing (o the non-continuance of the line. With regard to tihe Morven Hills .run and the Kawarau run, t'he leases of which expired in 1910, the desire of the people was fihat the (iovcrniiient should subdivide thorn and lcnse thorn out in smaller foldings. There was. as great a land lningcir in Central Otago as in any ether part of "tllie Dominion. As for irrigation, the people were assured on the authority of Professor Park tlhat much of Ihe land in tlie district was as good as 11,le Taieri jiand, and the only I'iin.g required to make the lands produce bountifully was water. The Roaring Meg scheme would provide a large quantity of water— froir 10 to 50 or 100 heads,—and this was the scheme most favoured by those interested lor watering tihe Cromwell' flat. Mr Horn, in advocating the claims of the Otago Central railway, eaid Hawea was 200 miles from the seaboard, and there was not another district in the Dominion which went in for agricttllttro and which had so far to carry its produce as Hawea had.— (Applause.) Ho outlined several schemes for the consideration of tho Government for tho pushing on of the 'inc. Hawea Flat was capable of settling 400 families. Mr Horn also referred to tho cutting up of the runs, and to irrigation. Reverting to'

tho question of tho railway, ho hoped the Government would put a vote on the Estimates this year for the lino.—(Applause.) If tho Prime Minister eoiild not promise them that, night that thev would get the railway he hoped tho promise' would bo Riven very soon.—(Applause.) Mr W. Fraser, M.F., supporting the requests, said that in his travels that day tho Prime Minister had seen paddocks supplied with water on which grass grew plentifully,, whilo on tho other side of the fence .the land was barren, for the reason that, it was not watered. The same good

results .could ho brought about throughout the length and breadth of the valley if water was supplied to it.—(Applause.) There should bo an attempt at once mado by experts tosce what could \be done in the -way of bringing water on tb the land. He did not urge that tho Government should bring water on to a man's farm, but if water were stored in certain places tho people could tap the reservoirs and take a supply to their farms.—(Applause.) The Prime Minister, in reply, referred to tho expenditure that had taken placo on tho railway by the Government. The present Administration had made 750 miles of railway during tho time it had been in office. Tho Liberal party and tho Government were just as anxious to sco this railway and other railways prosecuted when they could do it prudently and safely from tho standpoint of tho general finances of tho whole cijuntry. He could not say how much could bo set aside for any particular railway. All ho could say was that the representations the people wcro making would bo fully considered"'by his colleagues and liimself, with a desire to do what was right and reasonable over tho country as a whole,—(Applause.) When the Government was considering the allocation of pubilo money for railways the representations of the deputation would be given the closest and most careful consideration. — (Applause.)

As for the resumption of runs, tho policy of the Government, said the Minister, was that if the runs could bo cut up to carry three, four, five, or evei ten men. where there was one man now, they intended to do it.—(Applause.) It was necessary that all the grist that was pos-" sible should be brought to the Otago Central railway to help it to pay for the expenditure that had been mado upon it, and everything the Government could do to bring about closer settlement in Otago would bo done. Tho runs would be smaller if it was possible to make them smaller.—(Applause.) Respecting irrigation, the Government "ad provided a vote of £100,000 for the purpose. The work had been commenced, and the sum' of £90,000 had already been expended. It was desired to provide a storage scheme for all parts that required to have water. What tho Government wanted to do was to ensure-, .that tho system adopted was carried out on such a basis that everybody for whom that water was intended could get it for the land he occupied.—(Applause.) They could' turn water from the tlawea or from the Roaring Meg without any difficulty, but ■ they • were anxious that tho system should provide that the whole of the country which *vfas at times too dry should be effectually served.—(Applause) Mv Fraser had been in earnest about tho matter, and the Government had been in earnest about it, too. • The effect of tho, wa.tcr was most marked, Ho had seon iti eft'ccts that,day. The difference was as between a jjrass. paddock and',,a paddook without any grass upon it at all. He recognised the splendid results that must come from irriga'-. tion. It would do, good to the district, to' the individual," and to the' country. The scheme would probably take' more than £100,000 before it was finished, but the Government was 'going to finish l, 'it, ■ though in the interests of the country it was not going to'have a-mistake made at. tho commencement.—(Aoplause.) They wanted' a scheme to servo all the people in. Otago, Central, and not .any section of the people.—(Applause.) 'Mr Horn had spoken about the settlers of Hawea being, 200 miles from the seaboard, but in his recent journoyings in the north he -had, found people who had to travel 50 miles by road to a railway,, and people who' had no roads at all. In conclusion, the Prime Minister again promised, that when, the Estimates' were under consideration the claims of the deputation' would-receive* fair consideration.—(Applause.) , -■ '. .* Subsequently the meeting took; the' form of a social, which, was ' very ' largely attended, in ■ lionoui!, -bf the.-,-visit /of- : the.\ Minister: ami the parliamentary ; party ... Tho Prime Minister's announcement that the fleet would visit New Zealand wag reeoived; with ■ great,, applause. Mr Laurenson, in the' course ,'ofc liia re-, marks, said that, the dock, wharves, and other harbour facilities at Lyttelton" would be offered freo of choj'ge to the fleet—an otter which he Soped the authorities would seo their way to accept—(Applause.) ■ The Hon. Mi M'Naß addressed ' the principal part of .his speech to an.iustructivo comparison, of tho conditions of life in America as compared with those existing iii New Zealand.. 'Cheers for the visitors, for the' performers, and for the Mayor concluded a .very enjoyable function. Tho. Cromwell ' Band, under Bandmaster Wishart, played in froiit of tho hall prior to commencement, of tho social.

A largo collection of very, fine fruit grown in the district, was placed the table'for the inspection of the visitors.