DESTRUCTION OF LANDS BY MIXING — A REPLY TO MR THOS MACKENZIE. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2572, 1 July 1903, Page 39

DESTRUCTION OF LANDS BY MIXING — A REPLY TO MR THOS MACKENZIE. TO THE EDITOR.

Sip., — A warning note ha 3 beer struck by Mr T Mackenzie regarding the destruction of. a.« he terms it, " thousands of acres of our richest lands by washing them down the rivers," more especially where the e,o\A obtained barely pays for the labour involved in such destruction And ho invokes tht Government to interfere to stop such destruction. Fust, let 11= sm> about the statement. That some land of f.ur quality has succumbed under the nozzle jet or the dredge buckets is certainly coirect, but that tlio-imands of acres of the best lands are being ruthlessly destroyed without compensatinp Teturns, I fearlessly say, is a gross exaggeration ; and, ju«t here let me point out that in many places the tail water from the gravelly Terraces has been the makinps of some of the lands below that before sluicing w.ia started did not jrrow a bla'le of pTass. Of course, a few acrr* of fair ground have been destroyed in this

locality during the 40 and odd years since the starting of gold mining, but nearly all the mining lands worked out have been of no use for fanning. And this holds good pretty well throughout the mining districts, and tail water could m many instances be used, where it is allowed to run to waste, by farmers and others for fertilising their lands. If Mt Mackenzie had possessed a thorough knowledge of all the pros, and cons, of this matter, I suppose he would not ha.ye forgotten to mention this, but his acquaintance with gold mining and its sequences is apparently veTy slight, and still he rushes m where angels would fear to tread. He wants the Government to put a stop to mining, especially upon gToundi that does not pay. Unfortunately, you can't tell -whether it pays or not until you work it. But if Mr Mackenzie <would take the trouble to think he would know that only an act of Parliament could enable the Government to interfere with present mining provisions by repealing them.

And now a- word with Mr Mackenzie. Does he mean to say that the result to the colony through the mining industry has not compensated a thousandfold for the land destroyed in carrying on the industry 'I Has he travelled through the interior of Otago without observing the many townships, with their social institutions, churches, and schools, with their numbers of well dressed and healthy children? What has brought this about ? When I came to this country 40 years ago there was none of that, just a few Bheep stations; — and on a Sunday you might have seen a. few M'Leans or Mackenzies in kilts, sitting on a stockyard rail et viola tout. Is it not possible that through the Tesult of gold mining, directly and indirectly, Mr Mackenzie has attained a more comfortable position and a more exalted one than under other conditions, perhaps, would have fallen to his lot. I write this, not because I think that Mr Mackenzie could in the slightest influence any thmkn.g man to come over to his ov.n retrogressive ideas, but simply to ejiot that it does not at all times require a gTeat amount of intellect to get returned into Parliament, as long as you can loudly advocate your views; but in assuming the role of pleader for the unborn millions I predict his work will prove result.ess.

With regard to the statement re improvements from use of tail water, I am prepared to give numbers of sections, blocks, and district, both of my own land and of others, if required. — I am, etc ,

Jem? Werner, Secretary Confederate Miners' Association of Lowburn Ferry, June 20. Olago