Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1935. THE IRRIGATION SCHEME.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 6, 19 October 1935, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1935. THE IRRIGATION SCHEME.

The irrigation works just approved by the Unemployment Board constitute one of the most important undertakings ever carried out in the Ashburton County. The ultimate benefit to the farmers in the area concerned must be to the advantage of the whole community, so that the satisfaction of those more particularly interested will be shared by all. The value of the scheme is so great that the consent of the Minister should, as was stated, be only a forma matter. The area to be treated has not produced to its full capacity because of the one great lack of water and when the scheme is in full operation it should prove as fertile as most of this favoured part of the Dominion. In the selection of the area the officers responsible appear to have paid due regard to the possibilities of the greatest advantage, a commendable feature being that the system will work in with any larger scheme that may be possible in the future. Criticism of the proposal has been made in the north, on the ground that the County should undertake the work itself, stress being laid on the success that has attended the system which the Council constructed many years ago, and on the fact that the local authority is in a strong financial position and should be able to afford the required expenditure. Fortunately the authorities have taken a wider view of the matter, realising that the increase in production in any portion of the country is a matter that does not concern the immediate community. alone but is a factor in promoting the general prosperity of the whole Dominion. If the financial position of any particular local body is to be regarded as a factor in the carrying out of works of a similar relative importance many undertakings now regarded as a legitimate charge on the public purse would have been the care of particular districts. The increase in production that the scheme will bring about, will, it is estimated, ultimately provide for a population double that now on the area. This is a reasoned estimate, based on careful consideration of all the factors in the case and study of the success of irrigation systems in the United States and elsewhere. This increase in population must have an effect on industry and commerce far beyond the confines of the County. In its effect on the unemployment situation the scheme will be of great value, as two hundred men will be provided with work for two years. The expenditure is a special unemployment relief measure, and as such ,s greatly to be prefered to much of the activities that have been pursued in the past. One gratifying feature, indicative of the improvement in the economic condition of the Dominion, is that the employment will be fulltime at standard rates of pay. the expenditure may seen large but u carries an assurance of ultimate permanent benefit-* statement justified by the experience m the past.