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ANNEXURE B. SUMMARY OF REPORTS OF GOVERNMENT WATER-RACE MANAGERS. Waimea-Kumara Water-races, Westland (Mr. James Rochford, Manager). Waimea Water-race. The cash received from sales of water from this race for the year ended the 31st March, 1919, was £480 10s. 9d., and the expenditure on management, maintenance, and repairs amounted to £809 18s. 9d., showing a debit balance of £329 Bs. on the year's transactions. The average number of miners supplied with water during the year was 11.-83, a, decrease of 7-17 on the, previous year. The, sales of water, which only amounted fo £'150 Is. KM., were the smallest for over twenty years, and showed a, decrease of £250 2s. 3d. on. the previous year, and £577 Bs. 4d. as compared with the, year ended 31st March, 1915. The chief cause for the falling-off in the sales from this race was the scarcity and consequently high, price of labour, and the increased cost of mining equipment, caused by the war. The high price of labour and the increased cost of living pressed more heavily on the mining industry than any other, because, the miner could, not pass on the, increased cost of production to the purchaser of the produce of his labour, with the, result that claims that were, paying £4 to £5 per week prior to the war were closed down or abandoned, as they would not give the miner and his wife and family a living-wage. The Waimea Race is the only race, that commands the large areas of auriferous ground from Fox's to Kelly's Terrace and Scandinavian Hill, and, now that miners are returning from the front, the, probabilities are that some of those areas will be developed in the near future, more particularly if an active and progressive policy- of prospecting is to be adopted by the State. The cash received was £232 10s. 7d. less than in the previous year, and owing to breaks the expenditure, showed an increase of £72 12s. 3d. The year was unusually wet even for the West Coast, and the Waimea Siphon was running full all the time. Branch Race to Callaghan's and Middle Branch Flat. The cash received for sales of water from this race for the year ended 31st March, 1919, was £103 12s. 10d., and the expenditure on management, gauging, maintenance, and repairs amounted to £298 18s. Bd., showing a debit balance of £195 ss. lOd. on the year's transactions. The, average number of miners supplied with water from this race was 1-5, a decrease of 1-83 on the previous year. The sales of water amounted to £82 10s. 10d., a decrease of £14 14s. 2d. as compared with 11n; previous year, and the smallest ever recorded since the completion of the race in 1897. These decreased sales can in a, great measure be, attributed to the same causes as set forth in my remarks on the Waimea, Race- viz., scarcity of suitable labour and the increased cost of living and mining equipment. The Callaghan's Race, which is, of course, totally dependent on the Waimea Race for its supply of water, commands some of the richest unworked ground in the district at Middle Branch and Callaghan's Flats. A considerable area of known payable ground at Middle Branch has been locked up since the end of 1915, when the Inspector of Mines stopped the sluicing through the Waimea Main Tail-race owing to its being unsafe for men to work in. Since that time the condition of the, main tail-race has become much worse, and at the present time it would probably take £600 to put it in safe working-order. There is a very extensive, area of ground at Callaghan's Flat that would return- payable results if it were, properly developed and worked on up-to-date principles. The cash received was £10 12s. 2d. less than last year, and the expenditure decreased by £51 Is. lOd. In addition to. the cash received, £10 was written off W. Hanrahan's account by authority of the Under-Secretary. Kumara Water-race. The cash received from this race for the year ended 31st March, 1919, was £1.2. and the expenditure on management, gauging, maintenance, and repairs amounted to £201 14s. 10d., showing a debit balance of £189 14s. lOd. on the, year's transactions. No miners were supplied with water from this race during the year, and at the present time, there does not appear to be any likelihood of a revival of mining taking place on the south side of the Taramakau River, the, only reasonable possibility being that the lead that originally distributed the gold on the Kumara field may yet be found in McGrath's area at Upper Larrikins ; but unfortunately, owing to the shortage of competent mining labour, no work has been done on this property during the past three years. The sales of water amounted to £14 16s. Bd., a decrease of £24 Bs. 4d. as compared with the previous year. This water was supplied to the Kumara Flax-milling Company for scutching purposes ; and, although the revenue derivable from this source at any time will not lie large, it must be. admitted that the company's operations were unduly hampered by the break in the trans-Taramakau pipe-line, which stopped stripping operations and incidentally the whole plant for seven mont s of the year.