The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1884.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3886, 3 January 1884, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1884.

During his stay at Napier Mr Goodall has been enabled to dispose of one of the fallacies in connection with the travelling shingle, and to discover for himself where this shingle comes ftom. On his visit to the mouths of the Tuki Tuki and Ngarnroro rivers in company with Mr Weber, Mr Goodall satisfied himself that the shingle was r.ot supplied from either of those .streams. It was necessary therefore to find out from whence it. did come. All the reports on tho subject agreed in this one pnrticular, that they either pointed out the Tuki Tuki as the source of the shingle, or loft its source to tho imagination of the student. Mr CiuYheth, wo know, was under tho impression that it earne from the Bluff ;Mr Goodall was taken to the Tuki Tnki to convince him that it came from thnt river. And wo suppose that everyone of tho competing engineers has been given to understand that it is brought down by one or other or by both of the rivers. Mr Culcheth was not satisfied with this theory, and so built up one for himself equally erroneous. Mr Goodall , s presence here enabled him to make his own discovery. On Monday hist, accompanied by Mr Saunders, he rode out to Olive, crossed the river, and proceeded to Clifton station. In crossing tho Maraetotara he had tho opportunity of seeing the shingle hills on cither side of that stream, and, with throve of a geologist and a surveyor, guossod that the character of tho country would be much the same to the Kidn-ippers. Passing Clifton station Mr Goodall rude along the beach, and after proceeding sotno distance discovered a piece of liynito. This immediately attracted his attention, because h?had understood from Mr Weber that a strong argument in favor of the shingle coming from the Tuki Tuki was that the shingle was accompanied by lignite, and that lignite wan only to bo found up the river. By this time Mr Goodall wan under the cliffs leading towards the Capo. These cliffs are composed of bands of clay stone, shingle, and while clay. Proceeding onwiirds he reached a point where a recent slip disclosed a fall of shmgle and some large lumps of lignite. From the beach to th<i top of the cliff was fully 300 feet, and this ■whole formation was shinsrlo. Here then was evident ly the source of Mr Weber's bug-bear. Beyond Clifton station and towards tho Cape the beach is steep and narrow, of a clay stone character, upon which shingle would not rest, though some little is to bo found upon it, together with boulders. Tt may be presumed, therefore, that, ever oceuringslips alone* the Kidnapper cliffs supply the shinglo which is carried by the action of the sea to the bend of tho bay where the trend of the waves directly opposes tho outward currents of the Ngaruroro and Tuki Tuki rivers. Mr Goodall has made an important discovery, and one that we cannot, help thinking should not have been left to him to make. This discovery seems to us to show that tho reports on the harbour question hitherto have boon of a most, superficial, and, perhaps, of a misleading character. The Board is likely to derive more substantial benefit from Mr Gonrbill's visit than from any previous expenditure it lias incurred to solve tho harbor question.