THE CHANNEL COMMITTEE.

West Coast Times, Issue 957, 16 October 1868, Page 2

THE CHANNEL COMMITTEE.

To (lie Editor of the West Coast Times

and Observer. Sir, — The labours of the Channel Committee have been crowned by unqualified success — the sneers and carpings of the few notwithstanding. It is not pretended that the committee, or indeed any body of men could have effected the good that has beeu done, unaided by the elements. On the other hand, it is equally certain that the elements, if left to their own operat'on, would not have given lis oiir pi'eseht fine navigable channel ; Avould not have (lammed up the old north one ; Avould not have averted that destruction with which a most im ortant. part of this tdwn Avas imminently ilireatoned. The Channel Committee never put forward any pretensions to engineering skill. They saw there Avas work to be done, which energy, perseverance, and watchfulness, Avere more likely to accomplish than engineering talent unsupported by those qualities ; and they set themselves about doing it. In thus presuming to rentier their services for the benefit of the district, they have incurred the displeasure of a sect Avhich is found in all communities — usually styled" growlers."

By one correspondent, in your -journal, Sir, the Channel Committee have been disparaged, and sneered at, and placed in ridiculous comparison Avith the County Engineer. To that, however, they pay but little regard. They succeeded in prosecuting then* Avork to a successful issue, Avhich is more than can be said of certain Avorks up the river, undertaken by engineers, Avhich cost thousands of pounds, and failed most lamentably^ I say this. in no fault-finding spirit. An engineer is not necessarily the best man to cope Avilh rivers, although his professional education gives him an advantage over others whose energies and natural abilities are only equal to his own. tf lam rightly informed that rapid river the Shotover Avas turned by miners, unassisted by professional skill. Probably they would haA r e availed themselves of such skill had it been obtainable, but as it avrs hot, they relied upon their own energies and common sense — very g od things to rely iipon at all times— and successfully accomplished 'the task they had undertaken. The Channel Committee were desirous of availing themselves of Mr .Roch fort's advice and opinion, and invited him to attend one of their meetings for the purpose of obtaining the same. That gentlemen, however, declined "to consult with the rest of the engineers," who, however, have managed to do very AVell without him. Doubtless, Mr Rochftn'd can give good and sufficient reasons for not attending ; but, until these reasons are stated, the impression Avill exist that he has. treated^ his fellow-townsmen badly". Tile aspfcel of affairs c'duld ncit liave been more critical tlian at the time the Committee invited him. The port was effectually blocked up, and had been so for some Avceks previous. Its trade Avas going elseAvhere, and its re-

putation as a port being ruinedi Vessels

lay in the roadstead for Aveeks— and in some instances I may say months— and trade languished. In addition to all this; a large portion of the main street Avas in the most imminent danger of being Undermined by the action tf the river. Iri these circumstances, it Avas thought by the Coir.lm'ttee; and I believe by the public generally, that any .citizen, Ayhatever his position, Avould gladly, when asked, tender advice and reasonable assistaiice. No one was asked or expected to make a sacrifice, although some did this. To the Channel Committee it vl'tfs it\lmaterial Avliqtner Mr Itoclifort came in his public capacity of County Engineer, or as a simple citizen interested in the Avell-being of the town,. and willing to lend a helping" hand to extricate it from its pressing diffi culties. They knew that he had had experience in dealing Avith the river, and they desired to avail themselves of it ; and they no more expected him to decline to come; than they 'would liaVe expected a man to I'efuse to assist iv quenching a fire^ because his own house Avas safe and at a respectable distance. Sir, your cdrres|;oiideyt, who snetr i at, and endeavors to cover with ridi cUle the lii'ai A\ho undertook tho channel Avorks, displays the same amount of sense that he Avould do Avho should ■ abuse persons for extinguishing a conflagration on the ground that they Avere not bonafide firemen. Sir, I have heard the argument used in this toAvn, that in. the matter of the river and channel avc should " let Nature take its course." Had this principle been acted upon lately, dame Nature would have punished us seA'erely foy our fojly. • We should have still been Avithuot a riaA'igable and inauy buildings tliat now stand channel, on the West side of lievell-street Avould be disporting themselves at sea. The effect of the late heavy rains Avould have been to Aviclen the mouth of the old

channel, by eating into our main street. The same channel Avould also have deepened, and probably for a day or tWd after the rough weather had" subsided, Avonld be navigable to small steamers, but it never would have become a suitable chanucl for towing purposes, and only in the finest of weather fit for the harbour steamers to Avork. We should, in fact, so far. as the navigation of .thd port is concerned-, be ho better off a few days after the fresh than we have been for the last two months, while much of the toAvn property Avould have been swept away. It is an incontrovertible fact that during the freshet which occured at the time the new channel Avas opened, the Avater rose considerably higher than it has done for the last two or three years. Nevertheless, it did not rise within a couple of feet of the lowest part of the crown of the spit, and consequently could not have broken through Avithout assistance. But supposing it had broken through, does any one believe that the aperture Avould have kept open in the fac of the tremendous sea that lashed the beach for several consecutive days afterwards, when there was no more than the ordinary current in the river — unle?s the Avhole of the river Avas forced i-.to it b3 r damming up the old channel ? Hut, admitting for argument's sake, that it Avould have kept open of itself, Avould not the north channel haA r e kept open also? A nice fix the place would hiwc been in with two channels ! The laissez faire policy ns concerns rivers and channels Avili uot do on this coast. We cannot afford, nor do Aye require, to be continually spending money on the channel, neither can Aye afford to look supinely on, and see our best interests ruined when a judicious outlay of money can prevent it. A philosopher of some repute, yclept John Stuart Mill, Avinds up his work on Political Economy by saying that "compelling the powers of human nature to be more and more subservient to physical and moral good, is the legitimate employment of the human faculties." Some of our coastwise philosophers say, " Let nature take its course." Which is right?.

Sir, your correspondent of Monday last expresses a doubt as to the power of thq Corporation to gpencl so rough money on wi>j'ks ceimeßtoc! with $o vlyep ami ensn» ml, U mpnlm) %m k m $wU mst

subject whatever. It has the power ; and if it has not, its members would be unworthy of the trust reposed in them by the citizens if they did not usurp the power, even, to the extent, if necessary, of mortgaging the whole of its revenues for the next twelve mouths. If " Fiddlesticks " cannot see the vital necessity of keeping the port open and protecting the town from the river and sea, the citizens and their representatives in _ the Borough Council can ; and so far as it is practicable and within their means, they will do both. Hud the works recently executed not been undertaken, I have no hesitation in saying that the" money lost to this district would have been incalculably, .greater .than the' sum. spent in prosecuting them. The latter'} however, has not been lost. It has beeiispent in our midst, and by it, ends have been attained of momentous importance to all interested in the welfare of the district. . . -

Not wishing to monopolise too much of your space, I must defer replying to such other parts of " Fiddlesticks' " letter as are worthy of notice to another occasion.

Tours respectfully, JOHN: WHITE. Hokitika, loth Oct., 1868.