THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 1, 1871.

Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 861, 1 May 1871, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 1, 1871.

The action recentlytaken by Mr Haughton. the newly-elected Secretory for the Gold Fields of Otago, in asking that suggestions should be sent to him by practical men upon the important question of watersupply to the Gold Fields, is one worthy of imitation by the representatives of all Gold Fields constituencies in the Assembly, | so that, when the question again comes up during next session, they may not plead ignorance of the wants of their constituents. Every district in the Colony has its own special wants, according to the natural features of the country, or the mannerinwhich the populationiseither concentrated or scattered ; and, consequently, the principle upon which the division of the promised £300,000 is to be made, will be the most important point in the scheme. It is still problematical whether even this sum will be applied to the purpose for which it was voted, being contingent upon the floating of the loan on the home market ; upon alteration or erasure by the approaching session of Parliament ; upon a possible change in the personnel and policy of the Ministry ; and upon many other circumstances which lead those who are intimately acquainted with the manner in which the strings are pulled behind the scenes, to the belief that the whole affair was only so much dust thrown in the eyes of the mining community of the Colony, in order to blind them to the fact that they were, under a spacious pretence, being saddled with a heavy burden of taxation in the shape of another loan. The sum itself would lead to this belief, for what is ,£300,000 to pro vide watersupply for ali the Gold Fields of the Colony 1 It could beallswallowedupeither in Westland or Otago, and what, then, is to become of the other Provinces ? Even supposing it to be divided among the Gold Fields in proportion to the population, it would make very little impressiou for good, and might result in positive evil. So far, the manner in which the money is to be spent is left with the Governor, for we find it provided by the Immigration and Public Works Act, that the Governor may, at the request of the Superintendent of any Province, in which any proclaimed Gold Field is situated, cause to be constructed, completed, extended, or repaired, such works for supplying water to the Gold Field as he may from time to time think fit, and may enter into contracts for the construction, completion, or extension of such works, or for purchasing or otherwise acquiring any drains, dams, water - races, reservoirs, or other works, already constructed, which may, to the Governor, appear suitable for any of the aforesaid purposes. So that, in reality, any favored Province in the Colony may have the whole of the vote expended uporj ifc, to the detriment of the other parts of the Colony. But what is it at the outside ] If Westland's proportion were given to it (which is not at all likely), in accordance with its population, it would not construct a main trunk race to supply any district in the County ; and as for Otago, upon the same principle, its share would not supply the wants of the Kawarau District alone, leaving all the principal Gold Fields in the Province out of the calculation. And it is for this that the mining population of the Colony, who are already the heaviest taxed portion of the community, are asked quietly to submit to the additional taxation caused by another loan ! We notice that the miners in the Otago Province have taken this question up in a practical form, and are initiating an agitation which may extend throughout the Colony. At a recent meeting, one of the speakers said — "If the Government, instead of apportioning for immigration, and £300,000 for watersupply, had transposed these sums, it would have been far wiser. The expenditure of a million sterling in obtaining water-supply frr these Gold Fields would render assisted immigration unnecessary. The Colony would then be attractive enough, and settlement would proceed rapidly. The smallness of the sum proposed makes it look like a sop thrown to the raining community, to divert their attention from the huge burden sought to be imposed upon them through the Ten Million Loan. Miners being the greatest wealth-producers in the Colony, the bnrden of taxation will fall most heavily on them. The Government reckoned on buying the quiescence of the miners too cheaply. The talk of ' reproductive works ' is all stuff. The proposed railways will not pay even for the grease required to lubricate the machinery. Probably when the first instalment of the loan arrives, a Maori war will break out." There is a good deal of truth in this, and we do not wonder that the meeting came to the following resolutions : — "That this meeting views with alarm and regret the manner in which the Colonial Government proposes to expend the £300,000 devoted to water supply on the Gold Fields, and begs emphatically to express its dissent and disapprobation thereof." And " that a petition be drawn up and signed by the inhabitants of this district, for presentation to the Colonial Government, praying that the Act authorising the expenditure of .£300,000 on water supply for the Gold Fields may be altered or amended, so that the expenditure may be apportioned among the districts requiring assistance, and expended on the special requirements of such districts— on water supply or otherwise, as may seem best suited by a majority of the miners of such districts, and that the presentation of the petition be entrusted to the member of the General Assembly for this district." The mining

community of Westland ought to give this subject their serious attention, in view of the approaching session of the Assembly, and take some action in order to strengthen the hands of their representatives, and give them an opportunity of laying the wants of their several districts clearly before the House.