PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT IN TARANAKI.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11493, 21 June 1900, Page 3

PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT IN TARANAKI.

TO THE EDITOR. Bui. — It is with great pleasure that I have rend tho series of articles appearing in your columns under the non de plume of " Settler." and while fully endorsing I the policy ennuciatcd therein, there is I just, one small detail of the scheme to ! which I beg leuvp, to take exception. -"Settler" suggests that a connection, via the Kirai lload (he lias misspelt it Kaiari) be made between tho Ohura Road and the Wanjjanui Tlivcr. F think ifc would have been hotter had ho sug gcsled the Tsiihwc Jlo-ul, for besides b'> ing sonic A miles less to travel up the Ohur.'i Kuad, tliu sclflui.s on the 'I'ailioro Itoad have, by means of a loan ot £1750 raised under *tho " Loans to Local

; i Bodies Act,*' and a £ for £ subsidy to a like amount from the Government, found a dray road 14 feet wide for a distance of 8} miles in the direction to which a road would necessarily have to go to connect with the Wanganui River. This carries the road t» a point on the Mangeahu Stream, where the Public "Works Departmenthave decided to erect a traffic bridge about 150 feet long by 12 feet wide. There .was £300 placed on the Estimates and passed by the House last session to start the work, which, when "completed, will cost between £600 and- £700. The Department, however, has not yet started the work, which is absolutely necessary, as the S3ttlers, for a d ; stance of eight miles beyond (the farthest point to which the Mangaotuku Block, comprising 36,000 acres, of which 29,000 acres were selected by the m< mbers of the Palmers ton Special j Settlement Association, has been opened) have no means of crossing tho river, if on foot, other than by what is, by a stretch of - imagination, termed a cage, which in this instance means a slab of wood about 10 inches wide to sit on, suspondsd by wiro ropes from an overhead cable, with a running wire rope to pull oneself over by. • There is a ford at the sirao place for those o l horseback, which is not always available, as a slight rainfall (at this timo of the year especially) raises tho river, so that it is unfordable. Beyond the river, which runs approximately north and south through the block, the land is all taken up for a distance of eight miles, through which a five-foot bridle track runs almost direct cast", in the direction of the Wanganui river. The settlers on tho road (the Punewhakau) are now taking the necessary steps to raise a loan (which they ask the Government to subsidise to the extent of £ for £) for the purpose of forming the track into a dray road. It wiil be seen by the preceding that when the works specified are all completed, the 16 mile 3of road will go a long way towards forming a connection between the Ohura Road and the Wanganui, and, from my knowledge of the country, present fewer obstacles to formation than by tho Kirai road, as suggested by '• Settler." I may add ihat after 3f years' pioneer work in an uuroaded block, I can fully endorse "Settler's" suggested policy" of raiding before settlement, and, from my experience, can only s-iy as he does, that it is a blunder, if not a crime, to ask people to take up land, difficult of access even with n sf t. track,, which in many casas slips away, till, as on the Taihore Road, before widening, the track is, in many places, not two feet wide, over which, at the risk of great loss (for very often the track is 'from 80 to 100 feet above the gully at the bottom, with a clean face of papa right down) to the storekeepers, and settlers stores have to be conveyed and cattle ha ve. to be driven in and N out. I could enlarge on this latter part of the letter, but being fearful of exhausting your patience I must draw it to a close. Thanking you in anticipation for your insertion of this. — I am, &c, Another Settler.