THE MINISTER OF LANDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 32, 9 February 1901, Page 2

THE MINISTER OF LANDS.

In his tour round the district, the Hon, T. Y. Duncan, Minister of Lmds, has been much occupied in receiving deputations. At Havvara tin question of access to about 30,000 acres of laud tiken up, an ) reached by the Tongahoe road, was brought to his at'eation, It was pointed out that the road required a further expenditure of £1250 and that the enginear, who the locality, decieed the I'angahr.e road was, in tha interests of settlement, the proper one to make. The Minister, after remarking that if he did what hj« would like to do, be would require three millions to ba spent ia three years, and two and a-half million* of that would be sp'int in the North Is'and, He considered the way things had b'en dona in tha pißt was a reflation on the surveyors, who-e du y it was in surveying bl ti 1 oidof tho best position and grade. It appears, however, that in the early days a great many roads were plunged in i,u<" wilhout xegard to their suitability, the result being that it eoSu mns". County Councils a large amount f or deviations. When men were put. on the lands it was necessary tfegy should havo some way to get to and from their holdings, and he was deterininpd to impress on his colleagues, he hoped with success, the necessity of hiving roads made to back blocks bofore guttlers wore put on the land. Mr, McGuire urged the appointment of a thoroughly qualified reteiinary surgeon for Taraoaki, whose services would ba avai'able to the settlers when necessary. Ho also urged that the services of the cattle to be imported , should ba available for the distric'.

The Minifctar promised that. Taranaki should not be ovei looked in bMh these .-natters,

In reply to a plea for a diiiy school, Mr, Duncan said he would see that. Taranuki had fair play, but as there was to be only one school for each island the Oebiret would have to consider the claims of Welli' g-on and other places. In the intei ecf the industry, dairy schools were necesfa-y, but at the momant he could no*; nay that H«we-a was the bast pl oe for such a school.

In reply to Mews. Mitchell and McGuire who brought up the casi of Messrs. Hewing and Hughes and stiVd that liny hid taken up an "ducit on lease, erected homos, etc., and thorn had to vacito without compensation, Mi'. Duncan said a Bill had b A en prepared and that was one of the matters to br dealt with. He Raid ha knew of several things done by educational bodies which if done by the Government would have made a stir. Tho principle of compensation should not bs departed from in respect of any k<a>-e.

At. Stratford a imputation arced on the Minister the necessity of metalling 18 chains of tho Eist Ro id fmm th • end of the present c-. ntr-ict to the M*n?aotuku R r >ad. Tho Minister promised that Mr. S'.ruchon's suggestion to metil up to two chums beyond the comuienreraent of the rise of the saddle should be d'-n-. He also promised to place tbe mn>e -■ on next year's estimatas for metalling five miles up the Maugao- uku Rad, ind wideniijj the Mangaehu bridg- . Several o'hor )oad-i and br dges which required the aid of Government t gran*s were brought to the Ministers notice, and either by grant or smsi )y help was promised. With reference to metalling the East Road to Strathmore, Mr. Duncan s tid the who'e work could not be undertaken at once, a cr tain ex ension had already been agree.! to. The Minisfrr in reply tj a dep'i-; tation from the Stratford Chamber of! Commerce, on the question of fixing a dairy school at Sttatford, replied in much the same terms as he had oxpres/wd at Hawva,