THE CHRISTCHURCH CANAL.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13428, 21 May 1909, Page 10

THE CHRISTCHURCH CANAL.

to the toixoa or "the press." ,Sir,—l think Mr Kussell, by his speech at a recent. Harbour. Board meeting, has put the final nail into the coffin of the canal scheme. Mr Russell pa»l'a visit not long ago "to Melbourne, and' in en account of his visit given to "The Press;" he made a statement, which seems to .mc to disclose the most damaging feature in the whole-proposal, and.one that was ignored by the promoters of the sclieme, and not only bo, bnt the attention of the engineer, who -was brought out et areat expense, was: ..not specificaJJy drawn to ,it. Mr Russell-says in his statement to "The Press" :—"My confrom what I saw at the port

of Melbourne -were that the dredging of the canal between Christchurch and Sumner is ft work that can liave no possible, engineering difficulty, always provided that- the entrance is regarded safe by captains of trading vessels. -, I presume that Mr Russell meant to say that the. construction of the caiml can have no engineering difficulty, and not merely the dredging. I would ask if there- is any difficulty with regard to any engineering work except that of money. Take the Tailway across the Andes 16,000 feet above sea level, the many tunnels under the Alps', the railway to our West Coast, the construction of the great harbour at Dover, and , the great Manchester canal and many others. The great question is this: Would any sane man attempt to enter thie canal when even a moderately high sea was running The proposed entrance to the canal is actually at tho foot of the stupendous precipice, against which the sea dashes with, huge waves and , terrific force. Just conceive for a moment, one of the large steamers, the Athonic for instance, making the; attempt, and if the captain found that he dared not do it, he would* have to turu back, and then make for the despised Lyttelton harbour, which is accessible at all times and l on all tides, end which some of our leading citizens are iso fond .of condemning.—Yours, etc., • . TAXPAYER,