The Evening Star MONDAY, APRIL 27, 1874

Evening Star, Issue 3487, 27 April 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, APRIL 27, 1874

Painstaking as have been the inquiries by the sub-committee appointed to circulate information with reference to deepening the Upper Harbor of Dunedin, neither they nor the engineers whom they have consulted can consider themselves bound to any definite scheme. Their text-book has been the report of the late Mr Balfour, who some years ago suggested plans for deepening and maintaining a channel capable of bringing the largest ship up to Dunedin that

enters Otago Heads.' The chief value of the reports of the engineers is the unanimous opinion that it is practicable. The difficulty they have to contend with is, that Dunedin Bay has no streams flowing into it

of sufficient magnitude to form a scour in addition to that of the reflux of the tide ; and as we know of no mechanical power, no matter what it is, that can react with greater force than the impulse that gives it motion; and as every application of force is diminished by overcoming friction and other natural impediments, the outflow of the tide will have to be assisted by dredging to

form and to keep open the channel. Whether a careful survey of the natural features of the country might not lead to an ultimately more economical plan, is worthy of consideration; because, however advantageous, and however necessary to the commercial prosperity of the City and Province making Dunedin the port may be, there are certain drawbacks to the training wall as proposed by Mr Balfoue, that should, if possible, be overcome. One great disadvantage of it is, that to render it effective no very extensive system of. reclamation can be carried on, as it is necessary to success that the volume of water entering the Bay should not be reduced. The disadvantage of not being able to form new ground must act detrimentally, for

instead of the necessary works being repaid in a few years by the sale of land suitably situated for business purposes, there will be an annual charge for interest that will render a perpetuation of a high rate of tonnage dues necessary.' That the proposed tonnage rate is not so high as the cost of carriage between Port Chalmers and Dunedin, although a very comfortable view to take, is not exactly what we should like to see generally adopted. The object should be to render Dunedin the cheapest port in the Australasian Colonies. If not a single penny of tonnage dues were levied, and Dunedin were created an absolutely free port, the maintenance of docks and wharves being borne by a small annual charge on property, the impetus to trade, to influx of population, and .to manufacturing industry would be so powerful, that, instead of being losers, every person in the City and within a large radius round it, who has invested money on houses or lands, would be large gainers, through the in-

crease in their value. It would be truly " throwing away a crab to catch an apple.” We scarcely hope to see this view generally adopted. People are so thin-skinned about that word “ taxation” that they lose sight of the fact that such a tax would be an investment, the profits of which would come back to them in dividends they can only estimate by general results; because no debtor and creditor account would be possible beyond the tax versus the demand for labor, for residences and for goods at cheaper rates. If, however, by any means, an influx of water can be

secured into Dunedin Bay, that would sufficiently increase the outward scour, the danger from reclamation would be avoided, and in all probability the training wall, either wholly or in part, dispensed with. It should not be forgotten that Mr Barr tells us the ocean level of high water is three feet above the level of high water in Dunedin Harbor. Thorough investigation should therefore be made to ascertain what use could be made of that fall. It will not do to jump to a conclusion, and pooh-pooh a plan which possibly might prove useful j for training-walls have other disadvantages than heavy cost. They are likely to present impediments to free traversing of the Bay. Our object should be to press this water power into

our service. The Peninsula is a charming place to live on, and we should like to see it dotted over with villas, which can be reached at all hours of the day by the steamers that will one day assuredly ply for that purpose, but training-walls wild interfere with direct communication. If, on investigation, any plan for utilizing the head of three feet of water is found to be impracticable, we must be Content with things as they are. The chief difficulty, engineers inform us, is that of keeping the mouth of the necessary canal open. Possibly that difficulty might vanish upon investigation, just as the 11 impossibility of constructing payable railways in Otago” has been found to be a mere

random guess. Surely some point might be found suitable for openingsoshortand desirable a channel. Our diggers generally find the way to overcome similar difficulties. They convey water thirty, forty, or fifty miles across gullies and

over rivers, and were such a scour as a fall of three feet of water available, all objection to draining the City into the Bay would be obviated. The problem would be cheaply and satisfactorily solved. It would enable recla-

mation to be carried on without danger; wharves might be constructed to any extent; the annual cost of dredging would be very materially reduced; the City might be drained without endangering public health; and in all probability the water over the bar at the mouth of the Lower Harbor would be deepened, so as to admit vessels of the largest draught of water. These conclusions cannot be considered chimerical, when the effect of a single earthquake wave was to deepen both upper and lower channels, but Mr Blair truly says “such a formidable scouring agent cannot often be reckoned upon." It is not desirable that it should ; but it has pointed to the use that a more constant if less violent agent, under control, may be put to, which there is good reason to believe may be made available at much less expense than the more doubtful expedients of training-walls.