LAKE ELLESMERE.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 617, 13 June 1882, Page 2

LAKE ELLESMERE.

To ike, Editor.

Sin, —At the last tncei'xi»of oiir County Council, general surprise and interest were eici.ed by the aulben'.icaied lepoiis of: the unusual height lo wb'ch Ibe wafers of Lake Ellesinere had lisea ia a very brief peiiod. The sorpiise and inicet-t were excited not by tlie height to which ihe lake b.ul rise a, but to the circumstances under which the rising had taken pace. When be ivy ga'es from tlie soulh-eaat and Boulh-west prevail, oid setters know that the lake will rise rapidly, and when blustering sou-westerb flood ttie bills and plains, a kindred result may !>e aniicipaled. But on this occasioTi no heavy gales whirled Ihrough our val'ey, or howled over our hilltops, and no sou-westers flooded ns with their fountains. It was the absence of these phenomena which rendered the lise in the lake a matter of surprise and unusual interest to ihe members of the Council. The problem to be solved was (liis: If the rise of the lake be asciibable to itie causes indicated,how is it that Ihe lake rose in the absence of those causes? It was no trifling lise, let it be remembeied (although perhaps under the circumstances no rise however inconsiderable could be deemed trifling), but one which covered scores of miles of land that had previously lu j .e 1 pasturing ground ; a rise that had, in the escalation of the Rev. R. R. Bradley, raised the surface of the whole lake nearly a yard, whilst the sister and adjoining lake, Forsyth, during the same period had no perceptible rise at all.

Those who had cnrefully read the evidence obtained by the Reclamation Committee, were able to entertain the idea of the possibility of the sea having something to do with it. as the fishermen and some others had stated emphatically that in the winter months the sea often poured over the spit into the lake when there waa no wind whatever. Now thia I have admitted notwithstanding my strong confidence in the fishermen's representations, somewhat staggered me. I waa a bit perplexed. I could not digest it. And when this rise of the lake of which I am writing took place, several persons who profess to be well infotned on the subject scoffed at the idea of the rise being attributed to any action of the sea. Indeed, one of these gentlemen sought to terminate all controversy on the subject by the assurance that he had agents on the borders of the lake who were observing its movements, and that he had received information from them alleging that the rise proceeded from the rivers and streams that flowed into the lake, as the Kaituna, Halswell, Selwyn, and Ha't'screek werein flood, especially the latter, which was unusually high. But this was merely shifting the difficulty and not demolishing it.

We know that the causes that flood the rivevs and streams p oceed in summer from the thaws among the snowy peaks of the Western ranges, and from the rainfall at otburs limes. But these causes have not recently been in operation. The snow is not thawing amongst the peaks but accumulating and there has been no appreciable rainfall. Hence, swohen rivers and streams, in the absence of the ordinary causes that produce thorn, areas surprising and perplexing as is a risen lake under similar circumstances. In my own opinion all the probabilities appeared to be in favor of the hypothesis tint the sea was the agency tluit affected the lake. But something more than " all the probabilities " was required, and that something was proof. This I thought I might secure by journeying again round the lake. So on th ■ 29th of last month I started from Birdling's Bo;;ch to the Big Bay. I walked on the railway line, and I tried at several o£ the bridges to ascertain the height of the rails above the surface of the lake, but found beneath each the existence of a current. This I determined by dropping pieces of dry straw of about two inches in leugth upon tho water. They drifted away, and I rejeced tho measurement to be obtained as unreliable, as I wished to be particularly exact. Eventually, at the Kaituna Bridge, 1 found there was no current, determining its non-existence by tho same means that I had adopted to prove its existence. The slips of straw remained where dropped, stationary. The day was fine and culm, and I found that from the surface of tho lake to the top of the railway rails the measurement was exactly 4ft Bin.

At Lincoln I met Mr John Murray, and apprised him of the objects of my journey. He assured me there had been no rise in the rivers or streams, and that he thought my work one of superorogalion. As to the state of the Halswell and Selwyn he spoke from personal knowledge. They were as low as ever he had known them at this season. Further, he said ho had no doubt, but that the rise in the lake was caused by the sea overflowing the shingie spit. J have always considered Mr Murray's evidence amongst the most, noteworthy and valuable that was collected by the committee, and have repeatedly referred to it as such, because the object in view, which we seek to attain by his instrumentality, is one that will be adverse to his interests, and will affect him injuriously. Notwithstanding this, he has always promptly furnished the first and fullest inixmnation. But as somewhat affecting the reliability of his evidence, it has been stated that although living long on the borders of the lake, he, as a farmer would be engrossed with his fanning operations, would be unlikely to pay much attention to the rise or fall of the lake. This was most improbable, but come within the limits of possibility. So I pjt the question to him, are you in the habit or! paying close attention to the rise junl fail oli the lake? His reply was, ''I should think 1 am, and I will tell the reason why. A rise of six inches in its level will deprive me of three thousand acres oi : feeding ground." I was satisfied, and I hope you will be also.

On crossing the Selwyn I observed tliaro was luas water in it lhan whan the coiuinkice passed through it. Iα tl.o Irvvell I observed no diiferance. On reaching Loeslon I was introduced to Mr l< , . Uverioo. Hβ lives on tlie bcmk'is ol: ■f J./ii !".-i Oic.'l-... '!•;' ■■-i :"■:-:■} mo t!i.'!: ?.h?. ..•'■.'OK .V,\ !•, .'i-'J \i.?'!-' --i.-. .0, ::;:i;i :K I, I! 1 :.! , t -.s ."'I.; 11. , '. iho •;c:icd ■:;:. ''i ; ; Vr.nnm ,iis--r.o" '.:•:; we* ,-;: i :!•:-, !ahe, a.-cl ; J ;r# the ansa " roiling over iibo

spit nioi'Oin : '>s h';;'). . Of: ooo'se iue term "monnuuos bigU ,; was used Mve'y, to denote huge quantities. Mr McVinney con filmed Mr Ovcon's sta-e----inenf<B. 1 returned to Liiile IJivev oa iug Srd in at. On that day Mr Qoen'y. wtio lives at the U'liruna, nssored me H>afc no increase bad niken place ia (hat siteam. Well satisfied wiih my \>'.o. —Yonvs, e!c,

GEO. R. JOBLIIV, LvMe River, .Toon 9, 1832.