THE LATE FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 21, 10 June 1867, Page 133

THE LATE FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

! ; May!*:} 1 c~ ‘ | The sun Was once again/assuihed the ; ascindeacfjt-the-tflouds tliat~obscured ; kisj beams hav£ - discharged rises ; -witli|the mercury;--iur, r the, batomettficntubp. . So much 'are, we the creatures -'of - the: hour: -that r frdm r the depthsdespondency we hre apt to leap .to the pinnacles-of hope’, and ; are forgetful’and careless r ot■ the past as peasants,; who, though they hear the warning vOice'Of ‘ Vesfrviu3, and know that : the : overwhelming flood of lava will pour forth, as it has agan and ajgain poured forth to the distraction of their forefathers, itill creep up its sides,' and snatch' a perilous subsistence from the very jaws of death. Before the casualties occasioned by the late i floods are forgotten—rbefore the evidences of the destruction of life or property are hidden from our eyes—>it will not be amiss to.give them a passing; word.

It; requires more philosophy than most people are possessed of to endure a fortnight’s rain without visible signs of impatience. Even after the long continuance of an obstinate drought, a| dayfs rain is found to be quite sufficient for most tempers. The tendency of a protracted gusty downpour is to depress the spirits. We suffer in our persons or estates; and when we arb not personal sufferers,'- we suffer by sympathy with those who arty Froto the highest to the lowest, all classes feel the pressure of the cloud-blanket! Those who are not absolutely exposed to the "vicissitudes of weather find occasion to: grumble because their amusements are interfered with. The money market is at a standstill. The frostbite is not a greater cheek to the budding of spring than the rainy day to the budding of speculation; and he who company prays as fervently for fine weather as he who meditates a summer holiday. The course of trade, too,: is impeded. The ships lie idly beside, the quay, and the shopkeepers watches lb vain for his customer, and wonder, how vi: his acceptances 7 ‘will be met shpuld the goods for which they were given remain- unsoldi Every way, to a city population, a rainfall like that which has been experienced must prove a serious disturbance. A days rain in London is said to send 60,000 people supperles3 to bed. Though the discomfort and misery produced here is less iu extent, it is probably similar in degree; it must at any rate be very considerable where the great bulk of the people win their bread by out-of-door pursuits. When it is taken into consideration that from the Bth day of April to the close of the month there were only five days on which no rain fell, it is difficult to realise : the interruption to the ordinary affairs of life that must have occurred. We fear that the loss of supper will scarcely express the distress of that large class of workpeople who are said to live “from hand to mouth.” Nor has the ruralpopulation been less sensible of the disastrous effects of-a protracted rainfall. The.most distressing reports have reached us from townships and. villages scattered along all valleys subject to-flooding. Hundreds of bosoms have been filled with alarm as the copious showers, gravi • tating to the river, have raised its waters foot by foot; hundreds of bosoms have been racked with anguish 1 as these waters have / gradually overspread the fertile field and buried the smiling 1 crop, and' invaded the homestead and tered the flock and the herdand dty stroyed -the roads, and torn away the bridges. It is hard, to gaze upon the work of years thus undone: in afew days. - From the records of the. Government Astronomer we ascertain that during the' month of: April - the rain' gauge registered a fall of no less?than IT}* jnches. 7 This, as was ; showty m ’!* notice of thtPsubject contained in yes? terday’s issue of this jputnahis umisual : Since 1861, there has> .been frothing like it. In April; 1862,VL j.inch rainfall ionly was j 1 ’ ini >April •? 1865,/ 2}. inches?ri in /April 1866, : there * was hut l ihch rain fell, la April;lß6o, tlie ratQfall ? waa te 24}. laspwi Jthe

present, were times of flood and disaa-' terj Tliii^Qnn^ r wquld'£^e r less injurioua had it beien more evenly distributed,-but when it comes with l such copiousness as it i did ; during ‘twelve hours of the l.lth and" 'days of last month,'TdUchifef'must inevitably careful prevision' 7 is made to’ deal with torrent-water? which ensues. In that-short space of time no less than:;five inches of rain

fell anl the" Hunfter and Hawkesbiiry Rivers‘rose’severdi~feet. 7 Thus the former^during,the continuance of thty rain has risen; 22! feet, and flooded all the.:low lands aboat Maitland. The

Ratersdh; its banks, inundated‘farms,; and swept.away large quantities of stored-produce! The Williams Riyer; overbore' its bounds, and flooded the town and/-suburbs of Dungog: Thousands of tons of potatoes,’ and extensive areas of growing maize, lucerne and other crops have been destroyed. The Meruya district hiss suffered heavily. AV& place Kiora “.whole fields were carried away^ —the resistless water tearing up the soil in huge lumps, and leaving vast chasms in its course. ■ The whole district was due scene of confusion and excitement,;, people were running about in all directions striving to save property or obtain shelter for themselves. The rivers were covered with floating timber, articles of furniture, bales of hay,, and occasionally with drowning horses and cattle.” Such is. the scene upon, which we are called to loot; such the suffer-

and losses; with it is our painful pleasure to sympathise,- • Looked'at apart from these sad occurrences how beautiful, how admirable is the provision thus made for the sus-

tentation of animal and vegetable life. ■ Behold the atmosphere as a vast appa- : ratus, lifting from the tropical seas by evaporation sufficient water each year ■ to cover this land tb a depth of forty : or forty-five inches, this body of vapor, ? thus raised by an engine that never '<■ breaks down, never fails, is conducted to these thirsting lands, and. by another arrangement of fciiefriachinery is drop- . ped here; the greater part being returned by means of the river system to the sea, while the remainder, in its ‘ passage upwards by the process of

evaporation, moistens and genialisea the air, which would be fatal to life, were it not thus tempered. Thus autumn is the .period of moist sea winds and deluge. The atmosphere is the sponge. which, filled in warmer

latitudes, is born hither by the monsoon, and constrained to yield its fertilising burden when pressed, as it were, by; the hand of flie temperature, and further ' gives but that amount of heat, which was rendered latent during the 1 conversion of water into vapor. Let us, moreover, consider that every inch of water thus deposited- represents one ' tun per; acre, and! that each tun of water represents, in solid pounds and ounces, the-amount of^aliment required to supply the wants of.animal and vege-' table life delivered free of cost, as well : as the condirions under which- life is \ possible at all.

> If was once said by.-Lord Palmerston that, dirt is. soil in,,the wrong place;’, may it not also be said .that flood water is, waiter! in . tlie wrong place ? It i® clear that we 'wa'nfc the water, that we cannot cariy on the affairs of life—nay, cannot live——without the water, and that our present- difficulty arises only from the fact that this water, is npt.! evenly d'ritribtited throughout the year., Neitherarethe cereals on which ■ we, subsist equaUy distributed. The ! Aimighty fras given something for ua to do’ .in the/ matter. , Our prudenco. and foresight are employed to store'up! tlie" surplus -of one season for the exi- -/ gencies of another, and We ;canndf but ! think; that; the • same; foresight which* we ’manifest in turning to our uses oue * tage, be employed by us ; in dealing - writi others. : If‘ men, tempted .richiiess, and convenience, will settle uppn7alluri along thh ' courses of rivers liable to be flooded,': ttiey should take the necessary; precautions 5 to draw aside and stbrty the ; surpius 1 water which else will deßtroy the! iree7t6! nomish; the!parchedsoilwhen thewih-j in!the u feliriba!c^

irattmrt' If one be used to temper the other, the thirdr;willbeasunknowna-quantityin it ibiashecomeia most cmlKed^coantriesi,