DAMAGE DONE BY THE MANAWATU KIVEK.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 832, 30 July 1910, Page 10

DAMAGE DONE BY THE MANAWATU KIVEK.

; Sir,—Judging- 'from the report ill (;h<i papers "of Hie serious damage by the llanawatu Biver and the large loss incurred.hy reason of tho destruction of the groynes, it behoves the Government to at once take the steps necessary to protect the locality from further injury. Here we have a portion of the country, some of the best in the Dominion, threatened with destruction, and no one can tell, if the river breaks through, what will be the result. It . may mean losses of hundreds of thousands'of. pounds, perhaps loss of life, but at all events ruin to many hundreds of settlers. , The Government aro carrying on one of the, grossest piece? of work that has ever been started, I mean the Otira Tunnd : and the railway connected therewith, and all to please a few - Canterbury and Westland votes that, if given against them, would have prevented such waste. From tlio account in tho papers regarding the position at the Manawatu, it appears that a lot of piling faced with boarding was put down,- but the river has scoured under the piles, and the whole has gone. I am not an engineer,, but I have seen how nature works alone, and assisted by man. I suggest that as large as possible blocks of stone be procured, and they can be obtained in the Gorge, and be dumped over the bank into tho river until a big breastwork of stone has been'built up.' Such work has been done on the Teramakaii River, and also on tho Rolleston River to protect the railway formation, and with good result. It may be a costly work, but it is a work that, will save an enormous amount of daniago and expense in the future, for if the river once got into its old course there is no knowing where it will end.

Tho main cause of the trouble is duo to accumulations of shingle higher up the river, and so diverting it. If these could be dredged away so as to leave a straighter course, I do not think eo much damage would bo done, and it might bi> the cheapest.—l am, etc.,. URGENCY.