WATER ON THE GOLDFIELDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 918, 3 July 1869, Page 1

WATER ON THE GOLDFIELDS.

The remarks made by Mr Billon Bell when, the motion- for a committee to ' consider :the question of affording the encpuragemen,t of Govern-, ment,. either, by loan, guarantee, ,or otherwise, to, ,the, construction of permanent wbrks .for the supply of water onithe Goldfields,' deserve to be carefully noted by every elector in Otago. The honourable member, while fully admitting the importance of the proposal, did not feel himself at liberty to support it on account of the financial condition of the country. Every sixpence both of money and credit at our disposal,, said Mr Bell, is required for the maintenance of Government, and the security of life and property in, the disturbed districts of , the Colony, ' This is the condition to which the, affairs of the. Colony have .been brought by- the. outbreaks in 'the, .North Island, and ,by our ' fruitless' end'eayours to suppress them. No proposal for the construction of public works; however reproductive they may promise to become, can tbe entertained by the General Government. Our f resources <• and ottr revenue , are, , pledged for the purpose, of preserving peaqe , in,., the disturbed districts, of , the, North. That is our position at the present, moment. „ W } e .cannot - .help asking what, our .position,^, likely to be in, a few years, when additional loans j for war purposes have been added to our' , debt, and, the development of our "resbiirces has been brought, to, an absolute standstill. In the event of a dissolution taking place, we trust that no elector rin. the province wilL fail to give, due consideration' to this fact. The condition of our affairs could hardly fee more serious than i,t is. The disasters with which We are threatened, can ; be t averted^ ,pnly by a resolute dbtermination to stop the -war, , by 'stopping this supplies. , The, motion to , which we, hav,e, re? ferred is one, of the most useful charaoter, and. the, i labours' (! of,, the Committee < appointed, under ii- —^whatever 'financial reasons may be urged' on the question— cannot .fail to be of value to the colony. The subject has occupied a great deal of attention in all our gold-producing districts, and especially in Qtago. The Prbvinbial .Governmeftfc Jitw ■ Jutye' tfwii 'fciwfc.' been

,appli©drto'tfor~rt'^ $he[ ' (question( question "oi^the'J water i1"i 1 " sttjppfy^ 1 ! jsut ;t 'ncHvery> JfraotieaV resitlV 1 : has, ,V,een fl ! obtained* <l itk lEl atispiced; J -JWhatev'eV has 'been-'d6rie ! iri;th|ginattbr,* has! be^n'done r b"y- r private l enterprise!'; .but our efforts -in 'that dirydtioii"> have j -only tSended to^b-oV theWrg&iii neces--j sity that existS'fbr a comprehensive find well-digested scheme,-" ohMlei largW scale' than' unassisted private- enterprise r can' afford ■ -i We may, mention' the construction f of < the> 'Phoenix Water- Company's 4am' at Wetherstones, as- the 'one really ..practical movement r of ' the ' kind » that i has; yet , been carried • out - ; in" Otago. ;Thiswork was 'entirely the 'result'of' .private enterprisei- 11 ' ■ But for the increased facilities it- provided, the ground in the neighbourhood would have been 1 lqng- since abandoned by 'the'minersr

Still its carrying f capabilities are founds •we - believe, to > be' ■' -"insufficient for 1 , the |aotual> requirements of the place. Iri a report . furnished >tO ithe Provincial ;Governmeht ' some -eighteen months ago, we find tblefollowing- remarks -' on the. subject :— ' The surrounding" spurs are* to a considerable elevation: ■• c6na-iposed'-of the sirfme description* >of cement, and "which- is believed to be equally' auriferous/ as that* of the cele.bratedx Blue" Spur* at the» head ' of Gabriels. <'■ « If > 'the' water • ai the ,dam'<was storied' itt : sufficient "quan^ ,titifes v to enable the' Company^ to supply 1 the miners h. at a "third' or pven ofle half of the present costy' these spurs would be 'teeming' with' miners extracting a rich- reward- for their; hibour». To accomplish' this, the^ present embankment would require t6 be, raised twentjrfeet or more; and thecatch-water jrac&s supplying the reservoir,, extended ten or fifteen i miles, so* as 1 to embrace a large surface of rain-gathering country-, — rthe water of which now finds its way into the Waitahuha River, to the detriment of the miners at Havelock.' Here, it will be * seen,...^ jtyv.o.-fold . object is aimed at : in the first place, the husbanding of the waier 'at present ' allowed to run to waste ; "and in the second place, the protection of the workings exposed to its ravages. ' The importance of the suggestion in the report from- which we have quoted? is not by any means overstated. The Blue Spur formation has, it is said, been traced through various spurs down the whole lino of country from Tuapeka to the Waitahuna facings ; and the probabilities are, that it might.be traced very much further still. The limited supply of water nbw at the command of the miners renders it impossible, however, to follow the lead. Recollecting* the amount of auriferous treasure extracted from the Blue Sbur alone, the real jtnerits of the question at issue will be readily ( understood. Many other illustrations, of a similar kind, might be pointed out on the t Goldfields. On the other hand, the general, outline of the counfcry-^larg'ely consisting 1 of flats and extensive watersheds' hemmed, in by narrow gorges — renders the work of storing, water", a comparatively easy process.' ' The subject wa? pressed upon the' attention of the Provincial Council two years ago j and provision was then made in the Estimates for the appointment of a hydraulic .Engineer to report upon 'it.,'. I&r MIJ&A.R, F.S.A.,' was accordingly despatched to the Goldfields, for the •purpose of making the necessary sujpyey.i • For reasons' unknown' to us, his , investigations did "not extend beyond Tjiapeka. Th<3 result, however, fully confirmed the views entertained by febe promoters of this' enterprise. In his Report' on 1 the subject, ' Mr. , Milieu isaysc— *'l have ' seleoteid 1 . a site for the chief reservoir at Tuapeka, which may bo properly described as ,'the Tuape'&a' Ba^inJ From'ita peculiar ichnographical 'features, position^ altitude, and shape, it wilt^-on being embanked — form as fine > ! a^combined collecting, storage, compensation, and distributing reserypir, «f J I know Qf f impounding the

•ing but /^ensuring, M ,, to fthe-^ inine^cs •. ol ; the . n ; "a \ continuous^ L t ,^ater, , .^apply of .. | great,; magriitude^^ar^d^ .hydraulic < po^er, ti as. cpmpared.T^itii, , 'atiytliinjsj; hitherto, attempted' in' f JNfew. 'Zealand.; , ;Thp "jaise ',is-/Jih(e,'ied'. (^, f a" ; natui'ar basin, . partiqujarly; 'from its altitu'de^l being upwards, of , 200 "feet^aoove " ( the Blue Spur,' , and ', is" encompassed riiearly, all' round by eler vkted r ground, quite capable sof5 of beirije converted,, at comparatively small expenditure^, into a magnificent reservoir of lOd' or i'^6' ( acres ' in extent.'; The 'approximate^^'estimate' for th|Loonstruction f of such a r "v^prk, is , £1 9>9»7i a stim i which—Mr ''Mill'ajb adds—does noi^xceed' the , loss ; annually, incurred from the want of water., With the view of "giving effect, to this, proposal, theSuper•intendent'recommended, that ; .-a loan, of £120,000 shpiild Jbe raised for certain specified objeetsj- r -arn.ong which was included the construction. ,pf reservoirs. The recommendation does, not appear, to have proceeded any further; and here ■the matter may be said io rest, sp far., as the province of Otago is concerned* ,