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Hokitika Guardian, 5 January 1922, Page 2

In the settling down process above referred to, there is an obligation on all to assist where they can in promoting industry and helping to create reproduc- ’ tive labor. The local bodies in tills district could assist no doubt by going on with schemes which have been in i the air for some time. The building of i the new ward and annexes at, the pub- I lie hospital might well be pushed ahead , now, particularly as lately the hospital . authorities had a handsome addition to J the funds. New works are to be pushed ahead also at the Mental Hospital, t Private building is spoken of in Revell I Street and the suburban portion of the j , town, and there is an obligation oil all | to assist where they can. Road and • drainage works which can be .put in j i hand should now be advanced as a j means to create employment and help tide over the coming stringency. At the moment there is not much of an outlook in regard to mining, but' the dredge at South Hokitika continues to do well, and perhaps before the year is out, the erection of the greater leviathan might be in hand. Sawmilling it . is hoped, will restart in good style in the near future. With respect to’ this highly important industrial avenue, the people, as they have been warned previously, will require to see that the forestry regulations do not stifle the industry unduly. Instead of restrictions such as are being imposed on the enterprise of the miller, there should be a. loosening of the rein. This country wants reproductive industries in active operation now, but the tendency’ is to restrict export and otherwise limit production. This cuts at the very root of profitable employment just now, and if persisted in will tend to accentuate the difficulties ahead. Free export to the Australian market is one of the things which will have to come before the overshadowing slum]) is past, and the sooner the market is made free for export, the better for the general wellbeing of the existing people in the! Dominion. It is possible, therefore, as far as Westland is concerned to go through the year helpfully. Co-operation on the part of all is requisite, and given the necessary help, the year will not be as ominous as some of the quidnuncs are prone to predict.

Tn 4 fact that the Mines Department contemplates a, change in regard to the Rumara water race suggests that those charged with the direction of local affairs should interest themselves in the matter. The first step taken by the Department in doubling the price of the water to the miners is going to have an adverse effect on the* gold production. This increased impost, it is clear, cannot be paid, and that happening, will still leave the Government property showing an annual deficit. If the Minister of Mines is not reasonable in regard to the price of water, there is the dalnger of the water race gointt on the market. If that were so, it would be the duty of the local bodies interested to endeavour to secure the race for the development of electricity. The race is centrally situnted at Rumara. Considerable power could be developed to be used either indusrially locally, or transmitted to Greymouh or Hokitika for domestic and industrial purposes. No doubt satisfactory terms could be ' arranged with the Mines Department as to the taking over of the water-race, ; and if the Minister is adamant in his ' decision to keep up the price of water I at' the increased rate, the alternative will he to consider the utility'’ of the water race, fer power generating purposes. The race has a carrying capacity of about 80 sluice heads, and the nvailagle fall at the Teromakan pipe line is over 300 ft. The situation for a power station is a good one, and l could he reached by a service road at a rea 1 -

sonable cost. The matter is therefore one which! should not be neglected by those charged with the welfare of the district. Electric power is coining into groat utility in New Zealand for industrial. purposes, and with the coming of the through railway, manufactories could be as economically established and run on this Coast as elsewhere, adjacent to the railway line, if ample electric power is at call. In Canterbury the power can not be provided fast enough to meet requirements, and as

there is a market, Westland with its advantages might aim also to participate in the special opportunity which seems to offer through the channel now referred to.