THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PORT AND THE PLAINS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume I, Issue 51, 27 December 1851, Page 5

THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PORT AND THE PLAINS.

To the Editor of the " Lyttelton Times."

Sin, —Before the meetings take place in the ensuing week to consider the Report of the Select Committee of the Society of Land Purchasers on this subject, I would take leave to ask of you and those upon whom it is proposed to saddle the outlay of £32,000 at least, and perhaps a much larger sum, in the proposed works, why the colony at large should be charged with this burthensome outlay, to maintain the value of property in the Port Town of Lyttelton rather than increase that at Chriscchurch or promote the welfare of the colonists in the aggregate, " it being manifest," as states the Eeport of the Committee, " that if improvements to the extent referred to in the Eeport could be made at Sumner bar, the town of Lyttelton would be deserted, the Port Town of the settlement removed to the mouth of the river, and all the money which has been expended at Lyttelton would be wholly sacrificed;" and I would ask, —if so, why not ? But I am not prepared to admit that such would be the fact, for I conceive that the harbour of Port Cooper would still be the rendezvous of ships of great tonnage in the English and Indian trade ultimately, silthough they would have to discharge cargo into smaller crafts or steamers, which the proposed improvements at Stunner would facilitatej but I cannot but think it would be a most wasteful expenditure of public money, to vote in the face of these suggested improvements £32,000 and upwards, (as will probably be the case) to the construction of an outrageously expensive, but still a mere carriageway communication with Lyttelton, (a bridle way we already have) opening no new available country whatever to the settlement, until it shall have been ascertained beyond a doubt that the advantages required, cannot be obtained at a much cheaper rate, and in a manner far more beneficial to the trade of the colony, the capital, and the plains ; for it must be evident to the meanest capacity that such road if ever completed must ere long be wholly annihilated by railway communication, that can be effected between the Port and the Capital in a short direct line of six miles only, and will not fail of taking the whole traffic of the road, and all the transit to the port, the very instant that the increase of the colony's resources, the extension of the capital, and the produce of the

plains, shall warrant the formation of it. Who can estimate the rapidly growing profits of the numerous small craft now plying round the heads to Christchurch, and the numberless persons passing between the port and the plains, and not foresee, that within seven years the road must give way to railway communication through the hill, and that all those who shall have unwittingly invested their money in the " Sumner Road debentures," will be ruined ; and the more wise people of that day congratulate themselves on escaping, if so be, the tax of their predecessors, and ridicule their want of foresight in not having anticipated that measure which must convert the turnpike road over which this vast expenditure shall have been made, into a barren track, to mark nothing but the folly of the undertaking ? Did the proposed line of road go along the range westward of Lyttelton, and become an integral part of the landway communication, round Port Cooper to the Peninsular and Ellesmere districts, the observations would be deprived of some of their force. But surely, Sir, looking at the particular road referred to, which leads to " nowhere," the public will not, blindfoldedly, adopt the recommendation made, and vote the expenditure of such a sum, (if indeed, it can be raised for such a palpably unprofitable purpose), without first having exhausted all hope of a much better application of the monies to acquire something like a corresponding advantage in the more permanent and more useful measure of perfecting the water communication, and suspending the construction of the road until greater necessity shall demand it.

This suspension of proceedings seems called for by the statement of the Committee's Report, " That they have no evidence as to the extent to which this improvement could be effected, nor as to the expence that would be incurred, and that if any thing like a certain expectation could be entertained that the bar could be so far removed as to admit vessels of the size 'of those engaged in the English trade, it might become a question whether the sum of money necessary to complete the Sumner Road should, not rather be devoted to improve the navigation."

I observe, in the evidence of one of the witnesses examined by the Committee, -whose practical engineering experience entitles his opinion to much weight, that, after explaining the nature ol the ',bar and obstructions opposed by it, he states, in reply to Question 245, " I think the entrance to the Sumner navigation may be rendered perfectly safe so as to admit vessels of 200 tons." And after giving an explanation of his suggested improvements, and being asked his opinion of the cost, he replies, " Without giving my opinion as to the total cost of the whole scheme shewn on the map, I may observe, that a comparatively small amount, say from £3000 to £4000, judiciously expended in'blasting the outlying rocks, and straightening and confining the channel, would suffice to remove to a great extent the difficulty at present encountered from the surf, the bar, and the intricacy of the channel, whilst the completion of the plan might be carried out gradually as the increasing trade of the settlement warranted the expenditure of the necessary funds." With tiiis opinion before us, and the comparative certainty of rendering the present communication at all times safe and settled, by water it is true, but which, road or no road, must sooner or later be done, it would surely be most unwise to determine upon making the expenditure in the road proposed (which may so soon be rendered wholly useless and the outlay a waste) rather than improve the navigation, which will not only produce in the main the communication requisite, but result in a vast improvement which would ever afterwards be available to the colony at large, and render Christchurch accessible to all the mercantile fleet of the Australian colonies, and one of the most important parts of New Zealand, if indeed there would then be any exception. Yours, without apology, Investigator. LytteKon, Dec. 24th, 1851. To the Editor of the '" Lyttelton Times." 26th December, 1851. Sir, —Allow me through your Journal to cautiU;3 new comers against eating the berries of the Tutu. I had yesterday to treat two children who were suffering from their poisonous effects, in one of whom alarming symptoms were prolonged for several hours. I am, Sir, your obedient Servant, Wm. Donald.