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Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18893, 7 January 1927, Page 11

j to rae coitoi cr tb» raiss

Sir,—ln many of the letters to 'J'hb j Press it is still assumed that' the I Waimakariri river is a real danger to I the City of Christchurch. That result j lias been brought about mainly by the j insistence of the "Trust" upon the •j "imminent-'' danger of the river to the City. It seems to me that the last big I Hood destroyed that bogey once and for I all, for ou the occasion of that flood no j water came over the river-bank at the point -where it overflowed ■ and flooded j Christ church in 'GS. Now I submit that j the AVaiuiakariri changed its course I from its old to its present one, owing to the gradual rising of the land, which now forms the right bank of the river, from Court-winy to the sea. That process is still going on, and herein we have the best guarantee that Christchurch will never again be flooded by the Wainiakariri. It is well known to geologists that the crust of the earth is not rigid but "breathes," and such breathing is gradually but slowly altering the contour of the earth's surface. Now in view of the above stated fact supported by a hypothesis which has I behind it a "vera causa," I submit that it ought to be reasonably evident to the people of Christchurch that the scheme which they are asked to support is a scheme which primarily concerns .Kaiapoi and the surrounding dis-■ tricts. —Yours, etc., J. JOHNSTON. i