The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1922. FAVORED TARANAKI.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 April 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1922. FAVORED TARANAKI.

In travelling around Taranaki one is impressed by its beauty, its splendid roads, and its evident prosperity. Perhaps there is no fairer or more highly favored land in the whole of New Zealand, and the thought is forced on one that its people should be amongst the most contented and happy in the world. That they are not, however, is discovered when the veil is lifted, and the struggle many are having to make both ends meet at present is revealed. This is not the fault of the country; it is largely due to the land boom that overtook Taranaki, as well as other provinces, during the last year or two. The price is now Jjeing paid, and to some it is heavy and ruinous. Many are in no way to blame for the plight in which they find themselves, being the victims of the misfortunes of others. That is the trouble with all booms; the innocent are made to suffer equally with the speculators, who deserve no sympathy. But the province as a whole is perfectly sound, and signs are not wanting that it has passed the worst, and is regaining, slowly but surely, its former strong position. Readjustments are being made in connection with mortgages and interest charges, there being a desire on the part of mortgagees to meet mortgagors wherever they can, ac. that operations may be carried on. This ensures the maintenance of production at its former level. Though prices are down on last year’s, they are not now unremunerative where the capital overhead charges are reasonable. The season has been a record one in point, of production, being quite twenty to twenty-five per cent, greater than usual, which will largely compensate for the reduction in prices. The outlook is full of hope. Payable prices for dairy produce seem assured; wool is improving, while lamb and mutton are commanding good prices. Freight and other charges are also considerably reduced. The one weak spot is beef, which farmers would seemingly be well advised to go out of for the present. The recent experience should do good. It should teach all that land is worth only what it will produce over a given number of years; that the land speculator is the greatest enemy of the country; that the improvement of herds is an absolute necessity, As is the provision of adequate supplementary crops for the autumn and winter; that the planting of shelter trees adds considerably to the milk cheques; and that, instead of increasing the’ area of land, the farmer should endeavor to do with less, farm it better, and render himself as soon as he can independent of the mortgagee or financial institution. With these lessons taken to heart, Taranaki must become more prosperous than ever, and its people happy and contented, as, indeed, they should be where Nature has been so lavish in the dispensing of her blessings.