The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1882. AGITATE! AGITATE! AGITATE!

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 582, 10 February 1882, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1882. AGITATE! AGITATE! AGITATE!

" Put not your faith in ])rinces " is as Irne a ])roverb now us in the olden time, and ii 11 the trouble one has to take to make it applicable to Akaroa, is to it 11 * r ih ■ word princes to Govc-nnient.

Somewecis ago, the. jsiteinal power that lulcs our destinies, devised the Sfhenie of running the Little River Railway into a lake choked up with sawdust, win re it could not be of the slightest service to anybody. 'this plan, too, was concocted in the face of the fact that, only a. few miles off, and divided from the <nd of the present contract by no engineering difficulties of any importance, is the Little River Bush, the traffic from which vill undoubtedly bring a lart;e revenue to the Railway Department at once. A private hniividunl who made a line towards a <jreat fonst or i ieh mine, at an enormous exf.rnsr, ■' distance of twenty miles, and, when within six or seven of the goal, suddenly ran his railway into a shallow, urninvigable, useless marsh, where in all time to come it must remain useless, 'would'very properly be looked upon as a lunatic ; avd yet. that is what our Goven merit resolved to do, in spite of earnest aiid repeated remonstrances. Thanks to the energy of our member and a lew residents who have some wish to see the county prosperous, si fresh appeal to " those in authority over us" ha- been made by our public bodies, begging them not to throw away money for an utterly useless purpose ; and, in the f.-.ce of such a universal opinion, ignorance can be pleaded no longer, lunacy being the only excuse left. One is not sure, however, own yet, as to the course that will be pursued, for representation after representation has been made before, and without any effect.

IJtii, smother case has arisen of a simi'ar nature. In the report of the Little River Road Board meeting, pub-to-day, it will be found that ttie Minister for Pub'iV Works notifies, in reply to nn implication from thnt Board, "that he has been instructed by his engineers that no i'ama,i;e occurred to the roads through want r»f waterway, etc.. on the Railway ; that.the Government can yrant no as-sistune" in tho nifitier, and that nothing prevents the local bodies from letting out Lake Ellosuiere as usual." This .marvellous > pistle lashed oven thnfclon"-suffering and miich-eiulnrimv body, its recipients, into indignation, and it » us resolved—"That the Government lie requested to furnish the iiiinu-'s of the enquirers rei'em d to, jib t'.iir. iJouni is prepared to prove that ([ion , ,:'. in<i, winter V, iu.ods t]n> witlw on r h''. eastern or north-eastern fide of the line has for a time been ISin. higher than on the opposite side, particularly along , the K.'iitunn Valley ; find this Loiird, from long experience, is of opini. n (Jim! h recurrence of thy same will be ihf; consecpience in every flood; luriher, , thut ''itlu'rio the Hoard has iiee.'i ,-;:!':vd ••■.. i.l by the Provincial Couni-'-'- ft ■ t : i" ;r"'inniiL (A £100 a yeur, for " !■ out ' v' '' ('ll'.-snif're, nnd charged •' ■ !'.->'(ivnl p'iits iuvruiiiL , - from ■ •,«■•■ i .r!i Iγ iiiver Knad .Hoard ! ~ l> •• sti ;: '■!' opinion ; a lance , siiicK at '''.at. wretched fetish, v , ,;;„■.■ on iii" Government. .r, ':-i.i('!!. of letlit)" , out lie' hike - .. (i v>: importance, for the r:ii!- .;'< v> iv C'::!>!e[ne d-'_)ends upon it. .■ uU'ih , vvho saw tho Ptate of the l:n ■ J;ci v, inier. tielore the \ Au) w..c '■■' or who it'llV'-ll: d will tlie ■("'!•!' :• ! r ill!'.; }~>■.■(•'] }■•, i !:■ !■'' i!,-- .:-.;•> ■.;■• •■:,!■ //;///; ~ ,'■■■ . . ■■/ ...-.-■ ■:.■ :.. ■: .'..1i.-M.-iUn . • . ,- ■ ■■',:■;: .':■:•■• .'. HIIIZ d ■ ■ t . wh.c'h . ~.. , ...•!>..1.!-.il '.' 1 ''■■> or tw.. »;;.;•') i;ii:cy

the Akaroa and Selwyn County Councils moved in this matter, requesting the Government to place a Bum at the joint disposal of the two Councils for keeping Lake Flksmeredowu to a proper level, Hiui so 'trserving the railway. In reply tin-; Government wmte saying, that the Aiini-ter had given directions to liave the railway secured against damage at high water level, and they could not comply with (he request. This lvally means that the Government intended to instruct the sea not to hurt the railway, for it leaves the letting out of the lake to the locnl bodies, who can do the work how and when they will. Our County Council were quite pleased with this reply. The, Government h:id taken all •responsibility, the Government would see ihe railway safe, the Government engineers knew whnt they were about. Clever f Hows, those, sir ' .fustglance at the lake a few days when the water's out -end intuitively know all about it No doubt have some devilish clever scheme we never dreamt of to keep the water down when required. What is the opinion of those worth who have passed all their lives near the lake, have had to devise all sorts of schemes to protect their own property, compared with thai, of n, stranger ? Nothing. Now we have all possible respect for scientific knowledge, and should be the very Inst people in the world to underrate the opinions of a skilled engineer, but engineers like other people are sometimes wrong, more particularly in localities of which they know little. Many a great work has been carried out in the Colony against the opinion of Government (Mgincers, and some which they recommended are by no means unqualified successes. They are invaluable to the Colony and york hard for its good, but at the same time they are fallible mortals and make mistakes. What w« object to is the blind, unhesitating acquiescence in all they happen to advance, without enquiry ; the fatal apathy with which we view the proceedings of a paternal Government that does the very least it possibly can do for us. From remotest times philosophers have pointed out that people who expect aid from others must put thr-ir shoulders to the wheel. The French proverb, '•' Aide toi et h del fnidera,' may be well translated in this Ci'Se, " llelp yourselves and the Government will help you."

Our County i. ouncil are, we are afraid, tco much disposed to look calmly on, with a touching trust in the benevolence of the Government, while other bodies of the same description are urging with tierce energy their claims on the public purse. The usu4 result will follow— the clamorous claimants for their rights will be a; peiised by a substantial bone from the Government dish, ard if there is a tiny scrap left, it will be thrown to poor. pH'ient, Akaroa !

We do hope that the Council will awake to the fact that their re il function is not to sell dog collars, but to obtain justice for the county from the Government. VVe were shocke 'to see the indiffeience with which a proposal, having for its object aw en do your to reclaim waste lands that will support hundreds, was met. Purely, if any one proposes a scheme of such great public utility, it is worth looking into, for it can only be proved untenable after all, a fid then we am no worse of]'. To blindly remain still because certain people say a thinjr is difficult, when that thing is a mutter of vast importance to the district, is the very worst position a public body can take. I'eople said the Kakaia could not be bridged ; people said wheat could not be taken Home ; people said iron piles could not be driven into tlie bed of the Rangitata ; people. said cheese could not be sent Home in a lit state for food. But we might quote on and on without putting it in any stronger light, for no improvement would ever have taken place if the vast crowd that are perpetually crying, " We can never do it," had i ecu listened to Let us entreat the County Council not to reject too hastily any scheme laid bef< re them for the public benefit Let them take our -word for .t, that they cannot possibly take'up a worse position than that of-waiting for a Government engineer to devise a sch'-rne for their good. They are the body most interested in the matter, the body to whom the people look to have all their just claims laid before the Government ; the body to whom the Government look to rocomuend schemes for lhe benefit of the locality they represent, it is for them to strive mid girin id! possible information on the subject of any greul public wmk for the benefit of the comity, and, when a feasible scheme is ready, urge it on the Gov>thment with untiring zeal.

Surely the fiction of the Govern-neni with reg;-.rd to the civliiig , of t'.ie rsviUvay in sawdnst-ehc •• od Like Forsyth, and their I'.'tler (o the Littlo iiiver Uojul i'oanl regarding tho lake, are sufii'jient to prove to the (jcuucil that hlinil trust in the Oovenimcnt is idiocy, and that if lli'V want Government in help them, they must help themselves lirst.