THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 823, 6 September 1867, Page 6

THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

XJ-I.JJJ UVXi T JLJX JL/UUJL. AXVi J.TJLJ-JJ.I JL. ? . •; j . -August <28th, contains > the animal return of work executed" by the { .t. t .staff,rconne^d/witih sthe 'Survey Depart^ 1 .-;jgent, and. ; 'a- report thereupon by-Mr-J:' [.■^.''Thomson,' Chief Surveyor. * ' Accom-. \ ; panying- tikeiueport of- the Chief Surveyor, '. there' are, alsp. published some interesting ' reports from the different District 'Sur 1 - ' , . yeyors, having^ especial. .reference to the * work of the mining branch of, the Depart...meat.' . ..--' , ■ ' ' The Chief Surveyor opens his' report with a; summary of the results shown by r ( the. various returns,; By the summary, it '" appears that, the complete return' shows 524£ square miles of minor, triangulation, " J #t>26o acres of rural section survey, and 'C 3,88 ,allpijments. surveyed, in various town- ' eDiips. The, 524£ mijea of minor triaugulation cost L2fQ2 17s Bd, or at the rate of Sj somewhat less than 2d per acre. The '74,260' acres, of .rural sections 'dost L 7091 ' 9s'9d, or at the rate of about Is lid per acre ; and the 188 town allotments, geneV yally, of, sizes, less than quarter of an acre, cost L 203 Is 7d, or at the rate of Ll Is 7d each. -Comparing these results with those ' of former years, the Chief Surveyor state 3 that "the cost of minor triangulation is ' the same as it was last year, and somewhat in excess .of years preceding that ,' agairi^the cause of whjich is to be ascribed to diffuse manner in, which these operations are now conducted, extending, as "they do, to the most remote parts of Ithe Province, At the commencement of thissystem of check survey in 1857-8, the .cost did nbt exceed l£d per acre, owing to the most' part of the settlement survey beings close at hand,' and confined to limited districts. The cost of the rural Section survey nearly doubles that of any preceding year. Last year, it was at the rate of Is 2£d per acre, while in' 1857 and 1858 the average was only 6d to 9d per acre." • ■ This result is ascribed by Mr Thomson to the present system of land sales, i. c. to free selection before survey. This free selection extends' from the Waitaki to the Toetoes, ' and over this dispersed area the numerous and distant choices of eettlerß must be followed after by the Surveyor, connected for recordi and marked on the ground. *t The now extended- privilege* of settlers in their lands applications," he adds, '•' cannot,, therefore, be expected to be met by this department at • the same cost as previously, when complete blocks were surveyed, the sections marked on the ground, and thus prepared for sale after survey, i It is evident, in the present system of selection - before survey, that the cost to Government must depend much- on the sizes of the applications and their comparative dispersion — small and distinct, selectiPns costing more than large and close one 3." As to the general result of the year's operations, he states : — " I feel it to be my duty, notwithstanding their greater cost, to solicit the favorable .consideration of the Government to the general energy, good conduct, and zeal of the officers at present with me. That the returns of each' officer have not been so great was fully anticipated by me, and. of which I have several times advised the Government, but more particularly in 1859, in my report dated 20th July ; and, also, under date 11th August, 1863. While in previous years the average work of each Section Surveyor ■working on the block, or aggregate system, was about 20,000 acres per annum ; I see no possibility of each Surveyor doing more than 10,000 acres in the present mode of spotting, especially where small applications' are numerous and distant. If, therefore, the Government desire to increase the annual acreage, one Surveyor will be required for every 10,000 acres sold." ' The present year, as is known, is the first in which the Goldfields Surveys have been placed under the supervision of the General Survey Department. Of the steps taken to put the Surveyors in a position to carry out the various operations, Mr Thomson reports :—: — "After visiting the various fields, in company with my principal assistant, Mr M'Kerrow, I perceived that the first step necessary was to divide the whole country into survey districts, and at once apply the check- of the Geodesical bearings to all work emanating from this branch. Four offices were also, suggested to be established, ,afr Lawrence, Queenstown, Clyde and Hamilton, and ' which met the approval of the Government. By the establishing, of,' these- offices in the principal mining, centres, the applications for TrtinjTitT and agricultural leases could be at once entered into the application maps, and the positions so made known to the respective surveyors. The mining property, by this step was also placed on a more safe basis than formerly. MrM'Kerrow ai o#ce Applied! himself to the instruction p| ,^he various in the routine of tl^hOtago system, and which/I am happy -to ■ say, waa easily mastered by the more,- intelligent of the officers. Proper

camp and field J3£uipmenss a^'d jstaswere M^^^te^^wh'.mp^<u*^my< recommendation, thus allow t iQg fhe.yaribjua, parties; '-t^'ttlrpwrfess^in'thei^ pore, djs,^c£ ' duties I',1 ', WifcH 'c6njf)aWtive comfort and eflfciency?"! fouhd that ,'tTie' Mining Sur'-. 1 veyofs' h'ad'pr'eviously be'e,'n 'called uppnito perform . many . .quasi-public dutiss, not necessarily professional, „ and," to, relieve thehVbf" these, Without detriment to ;the .'public convenience, ' t , arranged, as" far as possible ' that, where' neces-sary,-■the Wardens 'should' call upon, the draughtsmen to execute the .same, Thus the higher paid .'officers, with, their : parties, who 'are kept' up at great expense, : were"at liberty to go, on with the' general survey and' settlement, of the',' country, without' constant retarding xalls on their time. This/ 1 am glad to say, 'has been agreed to without much murmuring by the "Wardens in> charge of the various Goldfields, and with whom I was so. fortunate as to obtain a generally good understanding. The work of the mining branch of the department is not so much to be judged of by the amount of acreage performed" a3 by the number of claims surveyed and settled. I found, when Ifirat took charge,' that all surveys requiring record in the public maps of tho Province; had to be done over again ; that with the staff then retained, about two years' arrears had to be made up, more particularly in Tuapeka District. I therefore despatched several of the officers of the general staff to assist in overtaking this -york, arid 1 may say that the survey duties of the Goldfields are now so far forward as it is possible to make them under the system of diffusive and indiscriminate selection that there prevails. Generally speaking, the officers have about six months' work on hand, fflxich they attend to by rotation. The system of application, indeed, necessitates arrears to some extent."

In illustration of the cost of surveying lease application, a table is appended, frpm which it appears that mere survey and marking! on ground of each application costs, on an average, L 7, and if the cost of connection or triangulation be added, the amount will be LlO. In reference to this table,' Mr Thomson says :: — v I have drawn this statement up in order to give the Government sufficient information for deciding on their measures relating to their charges on Goldfiolds settlers for survey, as I have had considerable opppsition from 1 the Goldfields authorities in allocating a fair charge. I may, therefore, now" advise, with good grounds, that a general charge should be made on every survey of 50 acres and under of L 7, leaving the connection or triangulation to be paid for by Government, as it serves to check future surveys of adjacent applications. Unless this be done, then it would appear that the survey staff on the G jldfields must be entirely supported by the Provincial Government."

Favorable notice is taken by Mr Thomson of the "zeal an A efficiency" of the Goldfields officers who now form part of the Provincial Staff, and particular mention is made of Mr W. C. Wright, " who has had this season the most arduous duties to perform, and the most inaccessible and dangerous district to labor in, yet who ha» acquitted himself most satisfactorily, and, judging from the plans, in a masterly manner." In reviewing the reports of the District Surveyors upon the principal works and pursuits of the mining population, Mr Thomson states :—: —

" Large sluicing operations would appear to be the ultimate great industry of the interior, and that the mining portion of tho population have been fully alive to thi3 will be proved by the enumeration iv these reports of their great and numerous water races.

"The principal Bources of -water are in the Snowy Ranges, such as the Dunstan, Umbrella, Nevis, Richardson, Pisa, Hawkdun, Kakanui, Rock and Pillar, Lammermoor, &c. , &c. But it appears to me that in the Golden Stream — that is, in the Clutha itself — is to be found, a power that will serve to wash away all its auriferous banks, and clear the same to the profit of the miner. The fall of this river from the lakes to the sea is about 1000 feet, in 100 to 120 miles, and the area from which it collects its waters above the gorge of the Dunstan is equal to 3,325,000 acres. From these data we can have' a rude or comparative estimate of the power contained in it. Allowing 24 niches of fall over the area, by averaging the greater fall in the mountains with the lesser fall on the plains, we have 289,674,000,000 cubic feet per annum as the discharge of the Clutha at the above point. This is equal to a discharge of 551,130 cubic feet per minute, but' allowing again half the fall to be absorbed by evaporation, the actual result will be 275,565 cubic fept per' minute.- , " Now, to arrive at the object of the inquiry, we have the fall from the Lakes to the Sea, as above stated, at' 1000 feet J , which gives 422,500 nominal horse-power. ,

This' may' a?uly iV said to be a very valu-•sbltr-Tiroperly'-' ot-""fli^;ProviiicerwHcH' .always- (remains- to; it, and which, if 'only ,very .partially made use of, may be fraught with,gre"at- importance to -the ' prosperity ;of pur interior, pppulation, ! ,>.,-•>

■ "It. would not.be -consistent with the object 'pf,,this. report for me" to suggest modes- for the economical use of this, power,; but I may shortly 'state that I am aware , that .the mining population have, applied .it to a limited extent to several" purposes. , Of all contrivances, however, simplest, -T have no doubt, will prove' the moat, successful, andthe merits of the .paddle-wheel , and .the • marine-screw <-a3 motive powers' -will, no 'doubt, eventually be much canvassed.- I would, personally, advocate the latter, on account of ' its greater hold on the body of the flowing stream, its ready management and applicability in swift or slow currents, and its easy connection with the apparatus for' raising- water."

In conclusion, some judicious suggestions are made by the Chief Surveyor 1 as to the propriety of professional skill being more extensively associated with the enterprise of the practical man, in connection with the more extensive projects which he anticipates will, from year to year, be undertaken throughout the Province.

The reports of the District Surveyors contain details of considerable interest as to the progress of mining operation in the Province, and we shall quote from them on another occasion.