The Press. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1863. THE WAIMAKARIRI AGAIN.

Press, Volume III, Issue 285, 29 September 1863, Page 2

The Press. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1863. THE WAIMAKARIRI AGAIN.

W_ are informed tliat a deputation waited on the Superintendent yesterday, consisting of a number of the proprietors of laud on the Kaiapoi Island, to represent to His Honor the alarming danger to which the whole of the properties in the Island westward of the Kaikaniu Creek are exposed by tho vagaries of tho Waimakariri river. No sooner have wo got rid of the obnoxious question of the breakwater bvlovr tho bridgo than a new feat of this incomprehensible torrent attracts our attention. All our renders who study the maps know that about ten miles from the sea the river divides itself into two branches wliich reunite just below the towu of Kaiapoi; tho two branches including a tract of couutry which is called Kaiapoi Island. The great body of water has hitherto run down the southern branch, but, for some reason not accounted for, the water has broken through the shingle bed which lies at the upper mouth of the northern branch of the river, and is gradually but very rapidly taking possession of that course as its principal'channel to the sea. The rc-uU is that a r«y sa-go tract of country

which has been brought into cidtivation is in danger of being totally destroyed. The farmers assert that as much as 10,000 acres will be submerged in this mauncr, that many of their houses are even at this moment, when there is no fresh in the river, not more than a foot or two above the water, and that in afresh they must be overflowed. The danger is more immediate because this is the season when heavy freshes must be anticipated from the melting snows, which will come down with the first hot winds. Tho deputation left his Honor with the impression that all that the Government could do to givo relief would be done.

In a case of this kind immediate action is necessary. But tho question is—What action ? It is idle to disguise from ourselves the fact that the Engineer's office docs not stand very high in public estimation, owing to tho breakwater beforo alluded to. Notwithstanding the persistency of Mr. Dobson and Mr. Wylde in asserting the utility of that work, the evidence of those who are living near and constantly passing the spot, seems to prove that the road intended to be saved is washing away as quick or quicker than it did before the breakwater was begun. We cannot but remember that the barrier erected by Mr Dob9on when the river commenced breaking its banks higher up was wholly unsuccessful; aud it must be admitted that the hands of Government

are paralysed in an emergency, when there is a j want of public confidence in the plans proposed or in the men proposing them. For our own parts we are satisfied that the real cause of all the changes in tho river is to be found in the process, universal in all rivers of this character, of raising their own beds by the deposit of silt brought from the mountains. As time goes on we shall experience increasing difficulties from this cause, and the trouble will not end until the river runs straight out to the sea, and is banked in at its flood water mark by stone banks. This will be the result that must be attained some day. Now it is tending towards that result; to shut the water out of the northern branch of the river altogether. Anything that tends to keep the water in the main channel will be a step towards the ultimate result to be gained, namely, reducing the river to a straight course. In an emergency like the present, all depends on an accurate perception of the right thing to be done. It cannot cost much, for there is no time

to spend the money in. But we are certain it would cost less to turn 100 or 150 men on to the work for a few days, than to dribble away money for weeks or months, whilst the evil was getting ahead and becoming insuperable. It would probably be found that the actual shovelling away of the shingle in the main river, and filling it up at the entrance to the northern branch, so as to produce a greater fall as the water passes the mouth of the north river, with a few obstructions, such as logs of trees and old timber, buried in the shingle bank to make it solid, would be sufficient so to change the direction of the water as to give tcmporai-y relief. In this work the neighbours whose property is in danger ought to come forward liberally to help. For the Government is not compelled to assist them at all. They have chosen their land in a spot liable to floods, and must take the consequences. But though they have no direct claim on the Government as individuals, public policy demands that they should be helped, because it would be a loss not only to them, but to the public, if all that valuable land went out of cultivation. The case therefore is one in which we think they should have immediate relief, but should be required to meet the Government by liberal contributions either of money or labour, or by the loau of horses and carts. Is not this a case in which the advice of men who have had practical engineering experience in similar rivers in other countries should be taken ? There arc such men in the Province. In all these cases in which so fickle and treacherous

an ngent as water is concerned, the adoption of the right plan is everything. One man will produce a result with n few pounds which another will fail to effect with thousands, because one man is working with the water, making the water in fact do the work, and the other man is working against it. There have been many instances of this in harbor and river works in tho old countiy, and therefore, though we have no wish to underrate the sen-ices of Mr. Wylde, we must say we should like to see some engineer of practical experience in the conservation of rivers employed to give advico on a case such as that we have brought before our readers,