The Waikato Times With which is incorporated The Waikato Argus. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1921. UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14773, 12 October 1921, Page 4

The Waikato Times With which is incorporated The Waikato Argus. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1921. UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES

The Dominion is faced with heavy commitments and our primary producers and manufacturers complain that they are being called upon to bear a staggering burden of taxation, which can only have one result —the curtailment of industry and the increase of unemployment, with its accompanying hardship. The Government, on the other hand, must meet its obligations, and should it lift the load from one section of the community it must place it upon another, which in all probability is no better qualified to carry it- The Dominion, with its magnificent and rich resources is, we are fully satisfied, able to meet all the demands made upon it, but if this is to be accomplished those resources must be largely developed and turned to the best possible account. What under present conditions is a staggering burden could, under a vigorous policy of development, be converted into a comparatively insignificant load. At present the motto of the Government is "Economy and Retrenchment," and with that few who are in close touch with affairs will disagree; but there is false economy and true, and it is the false variety which permits valuable assets to lie idle when they could with a little enterprise ami expenditure be made to contribute a large quota to the Dominion's exchequer and, at the same time, provide remunerative employment for an increasing number. In another column wc print an article referring to the undeveloped tracts of country between Putaruru and Taupo. This land is of good quality (it is described by competent judges as onc-cow-to-three-acrj country), and its productivity has been demonstrated by the growth of roots, lucerne and English grasses; its climate is excellent, it is every way suitable for close settlement, and it could maintain a very large population. That it is suitable for dairying purposes is proved by the record of the Tokoroa Co-operative Cheese Company, which, though not long established, has made a name for itself by the excellence of its output. There are many thousands of acres of the country under standing bush, containing some of the finest timber in the Dominion, notably rimu and lotara, sufficient to supply the requirements of the South Auckland district for years, and which, if the necessary facilities existed, could be made revenue-producing immediately. The area is served by a privately-owned railway, that of the Taupo Totara Timber Company, which runs from Putaruru to Oruanul. The railway was not built as an adjunct to settlement, and while it to a degree is a convenience to settlers, the service it renders is no!., as is pointed out in the articb, of the best, and if the service could be improved there is no dnubl thai Hie district would he quickly settled and made revenue-producing. The Stain owns some 1500.000 acres of land adjaee.nl to Taupo, and this could at once be made productive by I lie extension nf the present line fn m its present terminus, Oruanui I Thai, il would be a payable proposition is scarcely open to doubt, for il would enable fhe ownquaniilies of timber and place il on the market, which, failing 111- provision of

transport facilities, will inevitably be felled and burned lo enable the land to be brought in. There is at present a great agitation in favour of afforestation and the planting of quick-growing trees in order to replenish the timber resources of the country. It seems incongruous In the face of this to consign large tracts of some of the finest timber trees in the world to the flames simply because it is not deemed necessary to provide facilities for their transport to market. A Royal Commission recently enquired into the advisablencss of the Government taking over the present railway, and while it did not recommend this course,' it suggested that definite steps should be taken to encourage settlement in the area, the proposition being made that the settlers should form a board and take the line over themselves. This, to us, does not appear io be a reasonable suggestion. If the line would be a sound investment for the settlers it would surely be the same for the Government, especially in view of the fact that it would enable the prompt settlement of large areas of Crown lands and assist in the development of a district of great potentialities. It is not a case of building a new line, but of taking over and utilising one built for a private purpose for meeting a public need, and a line which Mr Massey has on more than one occasion given a public assurance would be a permanent work. If the country is to be developed, it is the duty of the Government to provide the facilities, and when, as in the present case, the facilities are provided and only need application, their course is obvious. .