THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1857, 18 July 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1874.

.The prompt and liberal manner in which! the Public Works Department of the: General Government has dealt, so far, ; with some of the claims for compensation; made by persons whose interests are in-i terfered with by the construction of the Government water-races on the West Coast, would seem to indicate that no unnecessary delay will be made in com-; pleting" the works already begun. Mr Bee- ; tham 3 Warden of the Lake Wakatip district, the Arbitrator sent on behalf of the < Government to examine into the claims made, according to official notification given in the beginning of May this year, has completed his task as far as regards the Lake , Hochstetter and Nelson Creek Race, and with the exception of that put in by Magee arid party, he did not consider it necessary to entertain any of the claims preferred. As stated in a recent issue, Magee arid Co. hold the prior registered right, dating from 1863, to raise j forty sluice-heads water from the bed of Kelson Creek, at a point not far from the source of the Hochstetter Race. They alleged in the claim they made for compensation that the works in connection with the Government ditch would have the effect of curtailing their water supply, or depriving them of any adequate supply, and they claimed £3000, either as damages , qr as the surrender value of their privileges. We are given to understand that the Minister of Public Works, on the recommendation of the Arbitrator, has ..allowed the claim of Magee and Co. to. compensation to be a valid; one, and after negotiation an awari has been made,: whereby Magee and Co. are to receive L 2150 for the absolute resignation of all their registered -water-rights ; the Government to take over the property at the i expiration of twelve months, and Magee and Co. to be permitted the use /of the water, now running in their race, ,forl one year, or until such time as the Hochstetter ditch is sufficiently far advanced to-carry "the water. "This 'is a vepy satisfactory arrangement as far as the Messrs. Magee are concerned; but there are sgveral other cj[4mants wbg, if pur information be correct, have not sfych good reason to be satisfied; j The Government would be in a manner compelled to purchase Magee and' Co. V< right, sooner or later, because although, according to the opinion of the ■ local' authorities/ they could 'only ''claim compensation for the loss of just as much water as their race usually, /famed' — 'about twelve sluice heads— there'w n# doubt Ithey could, according to law, claim and recover compensation for the full quantity najnpd in their certificate' of registration, that ia fortyraluice -headsv ~The-validity of their claim would lie- in the, fact that, if they made their We of sufficient dimensions to carry the larger Quantity, there was nothing to prevent tti&m 'raiejng forty sluice heads, from the / creek, .provided benefipi^ise wer^iaade of the'wa^ri ac-

cording to the Gold-fields Regulations, and the terms of their grant. And if it should be decided by a competent authority that Magee and Co. were entitled to take the quantity mentioned in their registration -.the/supply^available for the Hochstetter race would be so' greatly diminished that the value of that undertaking as a public work would be materially lessened. Consequently Magee's right had to be respected, and its proprietors had to be dealt liberally with. But, as before mentioned, there are other parties whose interests are in danger of being interfered with by the makicg of the race, or by the construction of the works in connection with it, and whose claims are now, it is stated, ignored, because they do not come within the terms of -the. notice to claimants issued by the Government. Some of these parties have valuable water-races and claims situated along and below the line of the Hochstetter race and within the limits of the ground set apart for the work, as defined in the Government Gazette, No. 62, 23rd October, 1873. ■ It is feared that the trees necessary to be felled in. clearing the course of the Government race will injure the properties of these individuals, and there is also danger that the debris thrown out while excavating the Hochstetter race will be washed down by the natural rainfall into the lower races, thereby necessitating constant work in kueping them cleared. There is besides the imminent probability of damage being inflicted at any time after the race is made, by the water overflowing, by the bursting of the sides, or from landslips which will be of almost certain occurrence for the first year or so after the water begins to run in the newly-cut ground, and from present appearances the owners of mining property who maj r suffer injury from any of the above causes will not have any substantial remedy. In the notice issued by the Government on Ist May, "all persons occupying or mining in any portion of land or claim under a miner's right, business, or other license or lease, legally issued (such portion of land or claim being along the line of the Hochstetter race}, the owners of such claim, if they considered themselves entitled to compensation in respect to it, or any portion of, or interest in it, which shall have been taken, or injuriously affected by the execution of the works in connection with the race," were directed to send in full particulars of their claims within fourteen days, or such claims would- not be considered. Acting on this notification, several claims were sent in by parties whose properties are so situated, that the Government race cannot be made without doing them more or less injury, butnow they are told that their claims are not valid because no actual damage has yet been sustained .by them, and that their claims are for prospective damages. These persons are thus placed in an awkward position, because the notice was mandatory with respect to the date by which all claims should be made, and those made after the 14th of May would not be recognised. It will therefore be useless making claims for compensation a year hence, when the damage has actually' occurred, and in the meantime the value of all property within reach of the Government race will be materially depreciated, owing to the uncertainty as to whether any compensation for injury will ever be given to the parties making claims hereafter. To allay this feeling of uncertainty, it is the duty of : the Governmentto issue a fresh notice, intimating that; every bonafide claim for compensation for! injury done, in connection with the race, will be considered as it arises, and be dealt with in a fair and equitable spirit, for if this course is not followed a great deal of the benefit likely to be derived from the making of the Hochstetter race! will be entirely nullified.