The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1882. THE DEPUTATION TO WELLINGTON.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 61, 26 May 1882, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1882. THE DEPUTATION TO WELLINGTON.

Mr Joblin and the Rev. R. R. Bradley deserve the warm thanks of e/ery one in the County. It is certainly a most disinterested act for them to go to Wellington at their own expense, to lay In-fore the Government clearly and distinctly, the new scheme for the drainage of Lake Ellesmere. We quite agree with them in thinklig that the fact of such a deputation waiting on the Minister for Publio Works nt the Capital during the session, will be more effectual in procuring a thorough investigation of I lie scheme than merely leaving the ma Iter in Mr Kollei-.Ws hands, No doubt that gentleman will fulfil the pledge he gave to Messrs Baker and Joblin of seeing the matter is looked into, but, after nil, a mass of written evidence and mm s are dull advocates without somo one is there to explain them, to answer he thousand questions that must necessarily arise from their perusal, to reconcile this difl culty, and .explain away that apparent inconsistency. Besides, as Mr Joblin said, the mere presence of a deputation from the Akaroa County Council will show how much that body are in earnest in advocating the scheme : and persistency is •■always respected by Ministers, who, it must be recollected, have so many things to attend to, that they are very likely to take little heed of those that are not brought eiiisiantly and vividly before their notice.

We .must recollect, too, that tbe scheme, is one which is based on a ■t'ftnlly -new idea. It appears to have been iiitlierto n received opinion that the ■•only way to lower the lake was to keep a channel open to the sea to let out the a<uimul.ited water, and the great fact insisted on in the new theory, that the rit-'iiagof the lake is in a great, measure attnWfcable to the influx of the ocean, apieavs to have taken a great many people by surprise. Mi* Rolleston seems to have been ; quite astonished at such an idea being mooted, and no doubt it •rudely dispelled all his previous opinions, which, like our own and that of nearly every member, of the County Council a few months ago, were undoubtedly that, the bar being closed, vast masses of fresh water accumulated Iroui the various streams running into the hike, and gradually raised it, till a fresh channel was opened to let it out. That the ocean contributed in any great degree towards flooding th n adjacent lands, was thought of by few indeed, ami before the deputation from the Council had visited Taunrutu, a good f'eal of fun was made of Mr Watkin--*' proposed embankment. Thanks, however, to the earnest and praiseworthy efforts of Mr Joblin, who would be heard, the deputation went, and from that moment, opinions began to alter. When those gentlemen who ■Iliad not visited the lake before saw the vast .area of excellent land covered with a few inches of water, when they beard .witness after witness declare that they bad seen the lake rise time after time through the sea dashing over the spit, they began to think there was something in it, aud from that time to this there has been a growing belief that the new scheme was worth a trial. It is a truism that if a man sincerely believes in anything bo advocates, he will make ■converts ; and Mr Joblin'*! earnestness has borne good fruit. Through evil report and good report he has never slackened in his untiring advocacy of the proposed work, and lie i.s now supported by many who were once inclined to stand aloof.

In speaking as we have of Mr Watkins' scheme,, it must always be kept in mind that we are not advocating thp commencement of the work till competent authorities have decided that it is likely to be a success. It would be madness to expend a penny till those whose life has been devoted to the study of such matters declare it feasible All we desire is to let the matter be laid fully before those capable of deciding. It is only bare justice to the unselfish young engineer who has taken so much trouble, that his ideas shoul I be fully ventilated, for the results to be attained are so v.ist, that the estimated cost shrinks into insignificance. Keeping down Lake Llles-met-y means safety for the railway, a large revenue from the land reclaimed, a great increase in the population and im-

portan c of the county, and the probable extension of the railway, if not to Akaroa, a long way on the road.

That the new theory is right has received iiimiKi g confirmation du-ing the past lew" weeks s our readers ;>rp aware, i-mipnnitivclv little rain has fall-'ii. There has hem no Selwyn rushing <'o\vn in a body of \--ater a mile wide mid three feet deep ; the vast expanse of wooded bills that* pair their streams into Lake Forsyth have not succeeded in raisi g that small basin, so peculiarly susceptible to the influence of floods one single inch; and yet the immense expanse ot Lake Ellesmere is at least three feet bighe.-, and is close to the line. What rais.d the big lake? It was not the fresh water, or Lake Forsyth would also be up to a greater degree. The answer seems to u«* obvious. We nil know there has been a heavy sea on the coast; the disasters at Timaru, alas ! tell the tale only too well Depend upon it, then, that those mighty rollers that da«hed ashore the unfortn. ate vessels at the port of South Canterbury have been rolling over the beach at Taumutu, and it is they that have.been tbe cause of the rise in the lake. If such is the case, and if the engineers are of opinion that Mr Watkins' embankment will have the effect of keeping out the sea, it seems tous that the probl m of permanently keeping the waters of Lake Ellesmere at a low level has at last been successfully solved. All honor to the County Council for the energy they have displayed in the matter 1 all honor to Messrs Joblin and Bradley for their determination to leave no stone unturned to see the matter thoroughly investigated -; and last, but not least, all honor to the young engineer who, with out any hope of reward, has, by preparing plans and writing explanations, reduced the question to such a shape that it can be laid before the highest engineering authoriies of tbe country for iheir approval or rejection.