TIIE ENCROACHMENT AT ST. KILDA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2323, 8 September 1898, Page 40

TIIE ENCROACHMENT AT ST. KILDA.

WELLINGTON, August 30. The A to L Petition Committee to-day presented its report on the petition of W. J. Burk and 20 others of St. Kilda regarding the encroachment of the sea at St. Kiida. The report is :— " That in the opinion of the committee the petitioners have sustained considerable damage through the action of the officers of the Defence department in the minner of constructing the Central Battery. The committee, therefore, recommends the petition to the favourable consideration of the Government." Mr Taylor said that before this matter was referred to the favourable consideration of Government the House should know the evidence upon which the recommendation was made. It opened up a, very wide question of the liability of the Government in connection with damage caused by natural forces. In this case it was, urged that the damage was due to the confcUuction of certain defence works, whereby the natuial formation of the Sandhills wasy broken, &o that the sea forced its way through on to the flat land on the city sida. Now tho evidence of the department was very strongly against the allegations of the petitioners.- — (Hear, hear.) It was a question of whether tho case was substantiated before the Petitions Committee. The en-

gineer of the Public Works department had stated that there had been a s : milar inroad of the sea before the removal of the sand for ■ defence purposes. Of course the member for the district fought very strenuously for some compensation for the petitioners, but he pointed out that these and similar beaches in the colony were always changing. He instanced as a case in point the sandhills at New Brighton, near Chri&tchurch. Mr Pirani moved the adjoiirmnent of the debate till they had the evidence before them. Mr Morrison said Mr Taylor was taking advantage of a snap visit to the committee to discuss tho evidence. He was proceeding to speak to the main question, but was ruled out of order hy the Acting-Speaker, and the debate was postponed.