THE BEDFORD ROAD.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1930, Page 8

THE BEDFORD ROAD.

(To The Editor.)

Sir. —-The councillor who made disparaging remarks at the Inglewood county meeting with regard to the land on the above road showed a lack of consideration for the pluck of the individual's who are tackling the job of making such land the means of getting a living. Those settlers on the mountain side of the Bedford Road, particularly from the Norfolk Road southwards, deserve all the help they can get from county council or Government. Money will be spent on worse country by the Government, and the settlers using it will, I make no doubt, be assisted in every way in making the land productive; therefore extra assistance should be held out to those at present improving the large area under notice. It is all very w'ell for- members of the council who sit on land more favourably situated and, naturally, of better quality to scoff or belittle, as'was evident per the News report of the remarks made. Such people should remember a whole is composed of many units, aud tjiey all cannot have the best, but the worst help' the best in the aggregate sum of production from the country’s point of view. A large area of land a little over five miles from school and mail and about eight and a half miles from Inglewood borough is worth bucking into, and though, perhaps, it may mean heavy work in clearing and draining, I predict time will show it was worth while. ' In order to help bring such land into quicker productive use I should think it would be the proper policy of the council to help in all ways possible to base the burden on the present or prospective settlers, even to pressing for the employment of a certain number of unemployed to assist in clearing; A remission of part of the rates due could very well be used as one way of encouragement, and any man with a true knowledge of what clearing such land means and the slow process of improvement forced on the settler by lack of cash and climatic conditions would be doing'a kindness (and also his duty as a citizen and as a man) in agitating for special assistance from the Government towards that object. We hear of steps being taken to encourage settlers to take up pumice land and, in places, land somewhat similar to Norfolk, so to ask that the present holders of the land under notice should be encouraged in the way suggested to stick to the job does not seem as asking anything untoward. In any case, .encourage, and not disparage, should be the aim of all. —I am, etc., COWSPANKER. ,