THE WAIRARAPA LAKE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1608, 13 August 1861, Page 5

THE WAIRARAPA LAKE.

(To. the Editor of the Wellington Independent.)

Waiohine Bridge, 4th August.

Sib, — At a period when there is a war mania ia the North, and a furor for the gold regions of the South, it may be inopportune to claim a share of public attention, even when the matter may be pregnant with results of the greatest importance, not only to this District but , the Province at large.

It is unnecessary to remind the experienced colonist of the great and increasing demand for timber, nor is it likely that the gold diggings of the South or the war in the North will diminish that demand. There is already a valuable timber trade, carried on from th 6 port of Wellington, and the subject of thiscommunication, is to draw public attention, to the best practical means of increasing t^e timber trade of this Province. It may be observed that the provinces of, Otago, Canterbury and Ahuriri, are dependent upon the other provinces for their supply, of timber, and it is well known that no province is better supplied with extensive, forests of timber, tban the Province of Welliugton ; and its central position gives it every advantage, for the supplyiug the other Provinces with that indispensable article. The forests available to the North and West trunk lines of road are becoming exhausted, except at a distance, that the cartage renders it too expensive to take by land to Wellington for shipment. This gives rise to a very simple, but important question, as to the means of getting these valuable forests of timber to market, that are now only wasting their utility, year after year in the sylvan shades. Nelson has its, Dun Mountain Coppej Mining Company, and murdered Taranaki, has its Irpn Sand Company, and there does not appear arty valid reason, why Wellington should not have its Timber Company, as the forests of this* Province are an almost inexhaustible mine of. wealth, and while the Gold Diggings are lavish-' ing a partial prosperity, all who embark in the timber mine will have a sure prospect of prosperity before tbem ; as the timber trade is unclouded by any unrevealed consequences, while the Gold Diggings, the Copper Mine, and Iron Sand are all subject to a chapter of accidents, that have to be developed, and riot" for a rao ; ment let it be understood, that the writer has any reason to doubt, but that all those enterprising undertakings will have a profitable result and they have only thus been alluded to, to show that the energies and also the capital 'is always forthcoming, when there is a prospect of ittf being profitably employed, and there seems less venture iv a trade, where the article is sure to be found, as there is a sure market for it when it is found, aud there is no doubt but that hundreds as well as the writer, who see, and know this; but they also know that the capital is wanting, to place the business upon a proper footing, and therefore decline to move iv tbe matter.

It is the opinion of many that the Mauawatu *,is a favorable district for this important enterprise, and so far as the writer's knowledge of that district enables him to judge, he is of tbe same opinion, yet, (although the Manawatu river is never wholly closed); the advantages for opening . valuable timber trade are infavor of the Wairarapa.

It bas already been stated io a former~e"ommunication,'that there exists no engineering impractiabiiity as to the opening of the Lake, or rather keeping it open when it is opened, and there is good reason to believe that there will be at least ten feet of water in the channel, when opened, and the outlet protected, and had tbis valley fallen into the hands of the "Canterbury Pilgrims," as it was once, likely to have done, the practicability of its being opened would have loug ago been fully demonstrated to tbe eyes of the most incredulous, or is it a vast undertaking, and one that would be long eie it would be accomplished, if undertaken with ordinary skill ; therefore all that is now wanted is capital, and to obtain tliat it iscle*rly necessary t'J form a company, and it is to be hoped that some influential Individuals will come forward and support an undertaking that is likely to give a stimulus to the progress of the Province.

' To' those unacquainted with the locale of the (Lake) |Wairarapa, it may be necessary to to offer a few remarks. Palliser Bay is the outlet of the Lake, being open to the South, heavy gales choke up (the outlet of the Lake that receive the* whole waters of the valley. When the*water in the lakes has risen so as to burst the bauks, it rushes out with a roar like thunder the lower lake is influenced by a tidal stream that is sometimes felt at the mouth of tbe upper lake; the channel betweeii the two lakes is shoal in one place, being about 2ft. Gin. at low water, but at full tides is from 4 to 6 feet. The average width of the channel is 200 feet, and 6 feet deep except at tbe mouth of the fresh water lake, and where the Tauranga river empties into the channel. The lakes present a sheet of water of about 109 square miles, and form an excellent reserve for the floods, and check any great rush of water to the outlet. The " Ruamaliimga liTer" is navigable for about 6 miles, with little fall or current, into the upper lake. A little further on up the river its banks are covered with valuable timber for miles that may be fallen and floated down to the part of the river or lake where a floating saw mill would soon make money of them. Another floating saw mill upon the west side of the lake would make good work with the timberg on that side, while the " Tauherenikau river," that is also navigable for some distance, would form a safe retreat for the lighters ; and a source of communication with the other parts of the valley, that will have to be communicated with by a timber railway of a simple construction, a single line costing from three to five hundred pounds per mile, according to the cha racter of the country, anditscuutouris such that direct into the forty mile bush, a grading of not more than 1 in 500, would be required to reach the lake and the gradient would be all in favor of tbe luggage, and a steam tug would be required to tow the lighters about the lakes aud rivers, aud a more powerful one %o tow the lighters in favorable weather to Wellington; not but some vessels might enter the lake having the assistance of a powerful steam tug, or even load outside'; not but it would be tbe interest of the Company to tow the timber into Wellington harbor in all favorable weather, open, boats have worked the lakes from the Bay and surely with a protected entrance, and with the aid of one or more steam tugs, it can be done effec- . tually, and the demand for timber renders such ah" undertaking a necessary consequence, while it'wbulilTie s\ireto draw into its hands other important trade, and the whole of the heavy timbered land would then find purchasers. Sir, if this communication should appear worthy of' your notice, please to give it insertion in the "Independent," in the hope that some more able and influential person will take up the subject. Your's respectfully,. Wairabapa.

THE WANTON CONFIDENCE MOTION? We have reprinted from the New Zealander, Mr. Fox's arraignment of the Stafford Ministry and Mr. Stafford's reply. Having done this and so-' placed fairly before our. readers the at? Xi tack and defence, yre intended, there tostop; but as. the settlers in the widely scattered district of Wairarapa are much' interested in what their, member does,--we add the speech of Mr. Carter-rra „ speech, which as it points put some of the ** money losses a war will entail,- is. equally interesting to the general reader. : ; X&j war must be, it must be, whatever the expense; but if it can be avoided by ne-/ gotiation, those who save the enormous • cost— to say nothing of the loss of life and demoralization, of the! population— 7' — will justly be entitled to he regarded' X as the highest benefactors of the Colony. ' Mr. Carter's ' Speech. Mr. Cabteb said—lt was not his intention to speak at this early stage of the debate ; but seeing the reluctance of hon. members to continue . the discussion, onthe great and important ques-,/ tion now before the House, and fearing tln»t, the , - debate might come to a premature conclusion, he/! (Mr. ; C) ventured to offer a few remarks' oh' the" * subject , now under consideration, land he would, '/ first promise, by saying that be did expect, a more// complete statement, and much fuller explanations,^' than what has been accorded hy the hori.me'mbejr at the head of the Government. ..In entering on this debate he (Mr. .o.)' felt great responsibility,, standing as this North Island does, on the borclers of the war, and representing aa he did a very^ , r "large district entirely unprepared' for war, 7 and with a population of about 1,500 .' souls, who with their properties, the fruits of *•' imariy years' toil, would be entirely at the "mercy ' of the Natives iri case of war; yet he (Mr. Carter)' ';; vat this crisis, would riot shrink from hia duty, 7 and, if war is necessary to establishing the Queen's .*! supremacy," he would not shirk the responsibility! / ] of supporting it, here, or elsewhere, (hear, hear). '*"' His objection to the ministers rests on no personal ' .grounds, or personal dislike to them. .He (Mr. C.) was not one of those personal enemies, alluded to by the [Colonial Secretary, which the ministry..;,,, have made during their five years! administration';.// ! it was the policy of the ministers that he disproved// of; and his first objection to ifc wifrnQt beitheiwar/ < question. He thought the debate, so/far, had,! ! been; too much confined to the war;. he objected/.! to the ministry, because it appeared, to him, that. / their desire, their wish and their policy, for the 7^ last five years, had been to undermine what he ; ! considered to be, the, people's part of the constitu- ,, j tion— Provincial institutions,— and , he , thought / that this House. would agree, with him,,that.what- ! \7 ever may have been the errors of bur Provincial;!/ Governments, in launching new institutions, in !a / new country, and which required but experience, /, of their working, and a friendly, hand.to correct^., their .slight - defects ; he , said- again, , .this. Hogsq T ■:■ would, agree with him, that; it cannot be denied j 7 not eyen bygtheir bitter opponents, that :they! s alone, these much abused locarself,-Governments,7/ have borne the,,'-' burden of the day," for. the last// seven years, in carrying on vast schemes of immigration, and great public worksj and to these local institutions,' and not to. the General Government, do we owe the present wealthy and -important po- -' ; Bitipn-o^-this' Colony, . (hear, hear), in fact the 7 whole practical government of the Colony ,has" v* been executed by the : various Provincial Govern- .s ments; yet, Sir, to curtail then* means,, and de- / stroy their power, those hon. gentlemen who form -: the ministry^ did cause to be passed the New Pro- :•; vincea Act, which while it accomplished that end :;*< is most "assuredly destined tp aosorb. all the revenues of these sinail Provinces, in official salaries t"he;bulk of which revenues ought to be. devoted „ to public works. On the anti-Provincial policy! of the present Government,, the Colony has already at the recent elections, pronounced " .its verdict , against the ministry ,and it now remains to be seen,,, whether those hon. gentlemen, sent to this House to give effect to that verdict, will conform to the wishes of their -constituents, by passing a vote of ; want of confidence of the present Ministry. The" Ministry are really on their trial on account of .their mismanagement and ultra-centralizing ten- ' dencies ; he (Mr. C.) was aware* that the" war. - question cannot be kept out of this" debate; • though a unanimous agreerilerit had been come. ( to on it, prior to this discussion; yet there was quite - ' enough of materials to condemn the present Go* vernment, without recurring to their mismanagement of the war, to which he (Mr. C.) would call the attontion of the House, before he concluded his remarks. The ministers have on many occasions stigmatised their opponents, as 'V Ultra-Pro- 7 vincialists," "an epithet unfairly applied, forgetting at the same time, thatthey themselves were really v and truly ultra-centralists, and' true to their creed, had done all in their power to weaken, impede, arid render contemptible the various Provincial Governments, as was but too plainly shewn by their Acts of the two last Sessions of the last Parliament. He further objected- to the Ministers, on account of their extravagence, and the want of economy in the various departments of Government ; it is too much for a young Colony/ like this, containing 80,000 inhabitants, after defraying all the expenses of its nine Provincial Governments, to be paying between £70,000 and £80,000, to a General Government which does so little of the real government of the Colony, although it employs 50Q officials ji&king into consideration our resources, the settlers of these islands are taxed to a greater extent, than any other Colony in these seas ; and that, at a time when the exports, (which are an index of a country's wealth) of the Northern Island werg . . falling off, as they have done during last year, at Wellington, and Auckland: Auokland used to export ship loads of wheat ; now, it is importing them; in 1857, it exported 32,000 bushels of wheat ; in 1858-1859, about 10,000 bushels, and now, in 1860-1861, the year of 1 great ([ministerial mismanagement, Auckland is importing wheat by tens of thousands of 'bushels'. (Laughter). Honourable members 'laugii aa though bad government had nothing to do with wheat producing ; now he begged to remind them, that the present government commenoed, and! misconducted a war/ and that that war has ruined Taranaki, where quantities of wheat were , grown, has caused great numbers of the natives to go a fighting, instead of growing wheat, and that while it has frightened away emigrants, and prevented others from coming to Auckland, who might have been wheat growers, it has deterred natives, and Europeans in this province, ' during the last 12 months from wheat sowing which they might never reap. (hear). I now come to another important subject. The Tariff *i which the Ministers have been asked by several Provinoes, over and over again, to amend, but t» which requests they have turned a deaf ear, or • returned flippant and unsatisfactory replies. I complain that this Tariff is most cumbersome, gives too much discretionary power to Collectors of Customs, and unequally distributes the fiscal 7 burdens of the.X*! olony, in short, it is a Tariff, the 7 effect of which is> to favour, the rich, and fleeoe the poor ; and lam afraid it is likely to remain so, so long as those hon. gentlemen opposite ' occupy the Ministerial seats. Shy I have now ; to. complain of the despotic tendencies of .the Minis-.;. : try, as proved by the Acts they haye introduced, and illustrated by their speeches,*! particularly. j!. ; by the speeches of the Colonial Treasurer.' The arbitrary Acts I allude to, are the Native Offenders' Bill, trie Arms Bill, and Militia BUI, whioh the Government introduced during the last session of last House, and which were withdrawn