The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1922. SOUTHLAND’S VOICE.

Southland Times, Issue 19514, 13 May 1922, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1922. SOUTHLAND’S VOICE.

The Southland League would have failed in its duty if it had neglected to assert its right to expect some consideration at the hands of the Minister in charge of Tourist Reports over the position that has arisen in connection with the Lake Te Anau tourist traffic. It is true that some of the publications issued by the Otago Expansion League convey the impression that Lake Te Anau is part of a “trip in Otago,” but a glance at the map should correct that idea and convince anybody that the lake comes under the jurisdiction of the Southland body. There is no suggestion that the Otago League was usurping the functions of the Southland League, because it is tolerably clear that the Dunedin body had no reason for believing that Southland had not been consulted, and it is equally clear that the Otago League had no knowledge of the matter. It was asked if it had any objection to the steamer on Lake Te Anau being leased, and rightly said that, it had none, but that surely does not mean that the Department was justified in ignoring the body which has been established by the people of Southland to watch their interests in questions of this sort. - Unless the Southland League convinces the good people in Wellington that it is the body which speaks for this part of the country, there is the danger that opinions from other centres will be accepted in the capital as representing our views. There is, for instance, the important topic of railway services to which we referred some time back. It is an open secret that the present alternate express service does not please Dunedin and that a change would be very pleasing to it. Southlanders, of course, would prefer to see the through expresses between Invercargill and Christchurch running every day in order to keep the province, which already suffers by reason of its distance from the capital, in close touch with Canterbury and the North Island, but we understand that at the present time the Railway Department finds it impossible to satisfy this demand and so we are content with the present arrangement which suits us better than a service making a stop-over in Dunedin necessary. There is no division of opinion in Southland on this point, we ttfmk, and the Southland League is aware of that fact. It would be extremely disadvantageous to us, therefore, if by any force of circumstances, the people in Wellington were brought to believe that some organisation situated outside of the province could speak for us. In spite of all that has been said in the past, we are doubtful if Southlanders yet realise the extent to which they suffer through not being sufficiently assertive when their interests are involved, and for this reason, if for no other, we are

pleased to find the League taking steps to correct the impression obtained by Mr Nosworthy, that the Southland League r-eed not be treated with the consideration shown to other bodies charged with similar duties by other communities.