ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1917. THE RIVER PROBLEM.

Marlborough Express, Volume LI, Issue 6, 8 January 1917, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1917. THE RIVER PROBLEM.

A distinctly jarring note was struck at the conference of local bodies held on Friday night for the purpose of discussing the question of the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the best means of protecting the Wairau Plain from the menace of floods. In the first place, the objection taken by members of the Lower Wairau lliver Board to the participation of the Borough Council, and especially; the Mayor, in the proceedings was, in our opinion, a narrow-minded one. Mr Corry, a?, he was careful to explain at the outset, convened the meeting at the request of the chairman of the Spring Creek River Board, whose action was the outcome of the recent deputation to the Ministers for Public Works and Internal Affairs. The Ministers, it will be remembered, in reply to the application for a Royal Commission, stated that before such a step could bo taken the resolution passed at a conference of local bodies at Blenheim, when the Government's offer to set up a Commission was refused, would have to be rescinded. T<o give tho second conference the same status as the first it was surely necessary that the same authorities should take part therein; hence the inclusion of the Borough Council, the Road Boards, and the Harbor Board in the invitation to Friday night's meeting. We certainly cannot agree with those members of the Lower Wairau River Board who questioned the right of the Mayor to convene the meeting or the Borough Council to be represented; nor enn we find anything irregular in Mr Carry's conduct of the proceedings. Tt is easy to allege "ulterior motives" against one's opponent when feeling runs high, but the mere allegation proves nothing. ' . The question at issue is not as between the controlling authorities ori the north and south sides of the Wairau River, but concerns the problem •of flood-prevention as a whole. Experience has proved that present methods have fniled to keep the water out, and the object of the request for a, Commission is to devise some means which will prove more successful. We do not see what the Lower Wairau River Board has to fear from the investigations of this foody, which will presumably be composed of men conversant with floodrelief work, and will take^ evidence relating to the question in all its aspects, 'besides thoroughly inspecting the Wairau and its tributaries. The opportunity for securing, an exhaustive inquiry into the whole matter is, it seems to us, one that should be most willingly taken advantage of, and every facility should be afforded the members of the Commission for making themselves cognisant of nil details of the problem. As. the Mayor pointed out at the conference on "Friday, the recommendations of the Cohrnission will nob take effect until after the local bodies concerned have had an opportunity pi considering th>m. There will,, in fact, be no r "hole-and-corner business." . Regarding the question of amalgamation, '-which may or may nqt be one of -Vthe recommendations made to the Government as a resxilt of the Commission's investigations, the Lower Wairau River Board may, we most certainly think, rest assured that its interests . will be., protected. It would, of c«urse, be manifestly unfair not to take into aceb'unt the expensive and successful work nlroady done on the south side of the river, and due consideration will, we are confident, he given to this matter by the Commission. Probably, as suggested by Mr Parker at the Board's meeting on Wednesday night), the best solution will be found in the division of the district into I ridingl *, as 'between ■.which the fmart- [ (tial obligatioijts for any new work I. may- be equitably adjusted. For the !■ present, however, the main concept; is the 'Commission. „ As, ; ,we have said, ;the opportunity is offered -of JiPving "the whole fiyer-conservption problem thoroughly investigated, and the various controlling bodies owe it to the ratepayers whom they represent, that no obstacles shall be placed in the way of such investigation, but that, on the contrary, everybody interested, whether in town or in country, shall s«Tto it that all the information available shall be furnished and the'fullest uso be made of the services of the Commissioners. The ppoplf* of Blenheim and the country of which it is tho centre have in ,the post suffered considerable inonnvpnionco nncL^whnt is more, considerable financial los;s through floods, and u™isßß the ■drnger is removed they will suffer similarly in the future. . Tt may not be possible to deal a deathblow to the mennce; it may, "however, be possible; greatly to lessen its s<"-ope and its 'harmful effects, ana if the promised Commission can assist in any wav towards this desirable consummation the country's money will have been well spent.