WHANGAMOMONA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14139, 19 February 1910, Page 6

WHANGAMOMONA.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) Several new settlers are shifting their families in and preparing for the winter. They seem quite satisfied with their holdings, in spite of tho bad access or absence of access. 1 It is a very grave oversight on tho part of the administration in leaving tho settlors in the Maringa Block, across tho Tangarakau River, 'without a track or bridge, especially when their land is.loaded for reading. Surely it is a fair thing for tho department to spend tho loading money, which legally and morally belongs to these settlers. Some of the settlers on tho Mangaero Road are nearly as badly off. They are busy now swagging iron and stores in on their backs. Settling tho land under such difficulties is not only rumation, but heart-breaking. If the backblocks were all given good summer roads and wait for tho metalling it would make life far more acceptable to a largo number of married settlers in our back country.

Wc are very unfortunate, this year in having the Roads Department merged iu the Public AVorks, as Mr. Murray and his staff-could have been going on with ' the important works now that have hung fire on account of the deadlock between the AVhangamomona Council and the Government over the cost of administration; In tho meantime such important work as the Maringa Block, tho Mangaore mid Whangamornona Roads, and tho metalling of tho Tahora Saddle, are ‘mug up. Rc tlio latter work, the wood is all stacked along the road ready to burn the papa. There, are also several kilns burned since last year and ready to cart out. Surely" the department will see that this metal is put on the read at once, and if the balance of tho wood is not used this year it will bo useless, being all tawa. Mr. Soever, on the Whangamornona Rond, has had his wool all stacked in his shed ready to go out this two months, but on account of slips that came down last spring ho is blocked, and is missing good .wool sales, and is also tailing the risk of fire and the market going down. , I see by South Island papers that good chaff is 40s per ton in Southland. It cannot bo bought in Stratford under £5 per ton. This is partly due to there being no boat from the Bluff to New Plymouth. It would almost pay the Taranaki merchants to. charter a steamer and take orders on consignment and bring over two or throe thousand tons of , chaff and oats. At present wc practically depend oh Marten and Foilding for chaff. Sometimes we get 'it .from.. Blenheim, but they have such a good market in "Wt-!-lington it alone keeps their prices up. It would pay tho Union Company to put on, a ..produce load once - a month from the Bluff to Now Plymouth. The, picnic to be held hero on tho 17th promises to bo a great success. Air. E. M'Loughlin, tho energetic so- , crotary, is working hard to make it so. , , .