THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1870.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 72, 17 June 1870, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1870.

The Select Committee of the Provincial Council appointed to inquire into the cause of the floods in the Taieri Plain, and suggest a remedy, have sent in their report. The report is in every way an important document. It establishes the fact that, in the opinion of the Committee, the Government are bound to protect properties which have sustained injury by operations to which the Government has -given its sanction. The words of the report are—"The " principle which has entirely guided " your Committee in their decision " upon the present occasion, is the " principle of the liability of the State " in consequence of injuries caused by " operations to which the State has " given its sanction." True, the Committee, though affirming a most important principle, namely, that of the liability of the Government upon the present and similar occasions, and their duty to take immediate action in order to prevent, as far as possible, future inundations, have failed or neglected to offer any opinion as to the method by which the desired end is tc be obtained, and the probability of future damage reduced to a minimum. The Committee have contented themselves with recommending " that should the Govern- ' 4 ment, upon making further enquiries, " be persuaded that an expenditure of " £50,000 would remove the evils com- " plained of, they should take steps to " carry out the necessary work.'' INfor do the Committee, in their report to which we are now referring, confine their recommendation to the Taieri alone ; on the contrary, they freely and unhesitatingly admit that the settlers of AVaipori, Clutha, and other places similarly situated are equally entitled to consideration and assistance at the hands of the Government.

The affirmation, by a Select Committee, of the principle of the liability of the Government is, as we have said,

an important one—not only to the j settlers of the Taieri and other agricultural districts, but to the holders of land in the mining districts also. If the principle of liability to which we 1 have referred, and which has been af- * firmed by the Select Committee, be a ' correct one, then common-sense and common justice must at once proclaim that the principle must be extended to town lands also. jSow, this town of Naseby is, as we are all aware, iu a state of prospective distraction in consequence of the immense accumulation of tailings in Roach's Gully—in fact, i the utter annihilation of the lower part * of the town is, unless remedial measures be at once adopted, a mere matter of time Can it, we ask, be denied that this accumulation of tailings, and the evil consequences likely to result therefrom, have been occasioned by operations " to which the State has given its -f " sanction." It were absurd to suppose that any one would be found sufficiently bold to hazard a contrary 4 opinion. Such being the case, it is the manifest duty of the Government to look the present state of this township fully and fairly in the face, and lurnish the means to protect the persons whose money they have taken from the injuries which may arise " from the ' " effect of operations to which the " State has given its sanction." In the particular case of this township, justice on the part of the Government would be true policy, also. In protecting the town from the effects of the tailings in Roach's Gully, the Government would, from the very nature of the necessary ' works, assist materially in developing, to a very large extent, the mining interest also, whereas, longer delay in dealing with the grievance will compel the miner to desist from working many valuable claims which Roach's Gully contains. Already has there been litigation on this subject, an I a 1 ready have damages been given against the miners who have allowed tailings to be deposited upon freehold properties in the • town; and similar suits might at any moment be insMtut jd, which could only result iu similar judgments, thus compelling the miners to relinquish their claims in that gully. If the Government be wise, they will no longer, look on With indifference while an important interest is threatened almost with destruction. The same principle which has been affirmed by the Committee as being applicable to the Taieri, is equally applicable to t'lis place, and we have no ' hesitation in expressing our conviction that, at a comparatively small expense, a sludge channel could be constructed, which would at the same time protect the town and give an impetus to mining, by opening up a considerable amount of ground which now lies unworkable from the want of the necessary fall.