THE COLONIST. Published Daily.—Mornings. Nelson, Monday, January 23,1899. A MATTER OF INTEREST.

Colonist, Volume XLVI, Issue 9385, 23 January 1899, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Daily.—Mornings. Nelson, Monday, January 23, 1899. A MATTER OF INTEREST.

In the early days of the settlement ii was not unusual to include rivers within the areas alienated by Crowe grant, and the result has been thai private people have acquired rights that were never contemplated. Bj the actions of the Acclimatization Societies most of our rivers are now well stocked with trout, and the hope is that before many years have elapsed salmon will be found in manj of them. It may very safely be predicted, too, that within a comparatively short time our rivers and streams will be largely made use of, that the power now running to waste will be harnessed, and turned to the account of man. For many years past the Government has made a practice of reserving a strip of land on either side of every river and important stream, so that in respect to areas that have been sold since that practice was adopted the streams running through the land may be approached without a trespass being committed, and, broadly speaking, such streams will be available for industrial or public purposes. Where, however, rivers and streams are privately owned there i 3 a possibility, not to say probability, that difficulties will arise. It was never contemplated that private owners should derive profit by selling fishing rights, and it cannot be contended that those who have contributed nothing whatever to the introduction or the maintaining of fish have any just claim to reward, while it would be manifestly unfair were private owners to prevent the utilisation of streams for the generation of electricity. At the last meeting of the City Council another of the earlier practices was brought prominently under notice by a threat to restrain the City Corporation from taking gravel and sand from what is commonly regarded as the foreshore. The practice alluded to was that of Belling lands near the seashore with the! water frontage described as the line of high water. The praotiee was a bad one, because it cut off the public from the sea— at all events at high wrter — bnt, as in the case we have previously alluded to regarding rivers, the error has bean seen, and in no case nowadays is the line of high water made the boundary of land sold by the Crown. " The Sands" estate, which commences at the further end of the sea portion of the Rocks Road, was sold, however, before the newer order came into vogue, and its sea boundary is defined as the line of high water. Within the last | twenty years nature has reclaimed very many acres from the sea adjacent to the land which was formerly in view, and no doubt the owner is desirous that nature should go on with its work. At all events, he appears to object to the Corporation removing anything that will interfere with or delay the natural reclamation of the flats. When objection was first raised by a private landowner to per* sons trespassing on the Sands, the desirability of securing to the people the undisputed right of frequenting what has been regarded as public property was referred to in these columns, and a suggestion was made as to whether a right of road round the sea side might not be acquired under the Public Works Act, that access to the Sands might be scoured and further reclamations prevented becoming private property. There may be some difficulties in the way of taking efficient steps to prevent the people being debarred from enjoying what many conceive to be

their rights, but the letter read at the. City Council meeting places tha subjeot before the people in a concrete from, and it is highly desirable that something should be done that will prevent what must become an increasingly valuable asset td the district* if made seGurfy beiiig lost to the peojil'ev It niay be unwiae at the present time to attempt to deal with the question of private ownership of rivers and streams, because the matter of the Sands appears more urgent, but that also should be kept in view.