NASEBY SLUDGE CHANNEL.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 93, 25 November 1870, Page 3

NASEBY S LUDGE CHANNEL.

'■• -' ; MR; V./PYfi:E'S REPORT; : ■- -..) O Bihee our issue of last Veek, in which our leader treated on the subject of tlie Naseby sludge""channel, and the nonappearance of Mr. V. Pyke's report thereon, Mr, Main, the ; n*em<ber-forthe district, jhaßQeourteouslyj furnished us with a cony of,the Commissioner's rep6rt, \vh'ie t h] Keference to tne* Times ' of Thursday week will show; that the matter has been submitted to an engineer ifbr his report, and that under no circumstances will any appropriatiou f for-the wbrk be made during the present session.' of the Provincial Council."" ' "".'*''" j;

Warden's Oftice; Clyde, .. "'" . ";■'.]".' .'. July ; 23, 1870. :; :.- -' Sib,—ln'aocbrdance' witla |your iri3ti•ufcti'C) i n"s, , as cbriveye"d:in]let^r;^b.^lloss^3i : bftla(,e i aSOtvlr J.uii'e, V6 Report that on the 15th:hist., I«]pro6ee~d , ed i 'to' Nas.eby' i b'enqhirb iri&i'tertain rbattie'ra %kt forth, iii^he 1

petition (herewith retmmed) of miners and re-' l sidents at Nasehy. .-2v-For tiie better elncidaluon of the points ■ at issue I obtained from Mr; Surveyor Barron, land now forward. Ist, a rough sketch of part |. of the Main Gully, Hogburn; 2nd, a plan and | section of propo&ed storm channel, Hogburn ; 'and 3rd, a lithographed plan of the town of ! Nasebyir ' x '~ j 3.' •On Saturday, 16thi' in company with -re~ • preseutatives.of all; the parties interested, I an inspection,. Ist, of, the Main Q-ulh, iand of Dead Levels 1 and 2 below the towiijsbip; -2nd; of thesame above the township; iiJrd; prßoach^sHully ; and 4th, of. Wet and' j Ehterprije Gullies;"""' Tlie following Monday ' : (l8fch) 1 heard the various parties at the Court Houses where |evidence was publicly given., touching the grievances complained of.'"' i.)n J this occasion tliere present—Messrs. Farmer and -.Lewis,-,-representing the..Miners' Cominitfee V Mr. !R6berts, representing the race ;owners-; Messrs'." Glehii arid Harper representjing the to.wiishjik ; Mr." Brookes, representing No. 2 Dead Level ; J Mr. Carling, manager of the Extended Water Race and Sluiemo- C!ompany.(Registered)''or No.-1 Dead Level ! There was'also' a large number of ofciicr persons, chiefly miners,,in the Court House...

,4. Evidence and infoi'mation were freely sought from all.and sundry, willing and able to render anyr "The only persons who gave any .evidence,"''''however, were Messrs. Lewis," Roberts, and Carling—copies of whose statements are appended hereto. <■„ I. believe-more evidence would have been tendered hidnotfall parties been satisfied that the personal inspection made by me rendered more explanation unnecessary.. . 5""1 in <y briefly mention here that during ITi y jn vcstigatiqns several attempts were made to induce me to review some of Mr. Warden j Robinsori's'deci's'ibns,' but'that 1 stead i ly decliried to do so, it not being any pp-.t. of my instructions -t6 enjbertain complaints of such a nature. Moreover, as I poinded out, there isa Court of Appeal establis. .Ed by law. 6 V The existing state of affairs ; I found to be ;as follows :—in the' Main Gully there are two | large, tail faces locally known as Nos". 'l and 2 Dead Levels'; JSFo: I* belongs to the Extended Company, and is held under a certificate No. 19149, dated July 9th, 1865, for a tail race six : miles long, commencing in the "Main Gully opposite Nokea', bakery" (above Naseby).. The ; certificate-is "signed "B. R/BairU.-p pro' Warden." By another certificate, issued by Chaff, Broad,- Warden, the same ebriipany are entitled •|to a " flood race, six miles long, irom Extended ! Company's claim Gully." On the ! b:u:k of this latter, the following condition is endorsed— * c _jWater to run whole breadth of gully." I confess my inability to uraei'stand this condition.- .No. 2 company, (kuown as the ; Rip and Tear) dmld a No. 322, dated ■2lst December, 1886*. signed Oy Charles Broad, Warden/ " for a rabe c he 5 and a'-half miles long, commencing at "Extended claim in ■ Main ; Gullyy' and terniiriathig: .opposite-■■ H orswell'a ;Garden in Main Gully." Endorsed upon this certificate are -the following conditions:— ."This tail race.-is granted by direction of- his ; Honor, tlie Superintendent upon the condition 'that parties w-orking along the line of such tail race are to use it free of charge. Charles Broad, Warden. . 22nd Dec,, 1866," And also, "The above condition is only to apply to- ; parties sluicing on the spurs along the line of race, who shall be permitted to run their tail water into the race free of charge, provided they are in oceupariey of theirclaims at the time-of the cutting of the race: (No signature), Warden:, 26th, 1866."- ("/This, condi-, ition placed on by the Sec. G. Fields. Vide his •letter, 2395-66. Charles ter referred to ;by-Mr. Broad can be found in 'the books belonging-to the late Secretary G. I Fields office in Dunedin.] No. 2 company j alsodvoldia certificate (No. 542. 11th- Feby., 1888,) " for an alteration of a tail race comlrencing abonti 50-yarda-above tunnel in the Dunedin Road—length, 750 yards. (Signed) !jdhnrNugentLV^bod,.Wardeni , 'ijf ! -t;i!f,; J ;:.. ) j ,-7-...1t wilLbe btiserved that .neither. company j holds any grantiof iwater.by .certificate, .as ;pto.-. | videdrfpr and required by the Regulat ions. But,it appearsjt.hat in J. an; action was j brought in-the Warden's Courtby Carling and | Party (No. 1 company) against "Farmer and Pariy.c(N_p<.2 company) for £SO. damages,;; and j at : .the.hearing.of this'case Mr. Warden Wood ; prbnbrincetli tlie ; very .peculiar judgment ,by which No lSjonvpany becani'e-d'eclayed entitled \ to.eight sluice heads of rwaterrfpr the first time. i This judgment was appealed against, and on hearing.oftlie. appeal :liis Honor -Judge Gray defined the eight sl.uiee.<heads to be " water derived from the natural supply of the creek, or water which, reaches.and mingles .with the natural creek water.'':,]..! append. of these judgmeiitfl.,, No'certificate has ever been issued for tlm/eight.heaasr *'.' .':""''] ,; " * - - 8' The effecV of these decisions has been to confer the water supply of the gully on No. 1. Wliat is left after No. I ]] is satisfied' is claimed by 'No: 2:' But as the' latter has' lately sold but"to No. 1, tliis matter can'be- dealt with- as a-whole. •• .■ - .'-• . i.•, ..-j. .:■•.. :•-.■-. ■■;.-_

"9. "The tail race of No. 1 now extends from about'half a-raile above the tb-wrisliip to three miles aiidWveriteeri chdins below it. '' To'pro- 1 tect their race from being silted up'by tailings from other claims-they have gradually 6odded up- (i.e. built .up a bank of sodsj their channel —thereby"stopping" the scour" of the tailinis and tail water combined from Koach's and the many tail'races coming'from the hill workings on the west side cf the Main Gully below the township, lo The effect; of this: action is fully set forth in the statement of Mr. Lewis. -,.:.;■. ,

10. So far as Roach's Gully is concerned, I have no hesitation in saying that,, unless action j is speedily taken, the town will'lVe swamped. j The ~f lay " of the land, is towards the : Main and - the town is placed between the two. 'Already: eod banks have had to be built up in !, the main road (within the township) to keep the tailings, off private property. J have seen several certificates, granted;-at'various times, fori tail :race» ;in iloach's Gully, and they all bear the same vague'. charaetoristics—having been issued merely, us ." from: the claim of A B

to-Roach's Gully," ix> point of termination being defined.* But ..itis, not, possible to roll back the chariot -wheels of Time* aaid since that w.hich has been done remains, it is only necessary to propose a remedy; for .thei future. 11. I am of opinion that, in the strict letter of the law, the claim-holders;in Roach'frGuny should be compelled to,carry their, tail races past the township to the Main Gully ; and I question -very muclr whether .No. .1 Company have acquired a legal title to eight sluice-heads of water,: since they have not complied with the Goldfields Regulations relating to tail races. • .... 12. But there would be great difficulty now in enforcing the strict'letter bf : the "law in there respects. I hare therefore sought for an alternative.! -/; ]"... _. - ,;[.,.;0. _;..r , ; [ . n . .'., . ■;; i 13. Without the aid.of .the scouring power furnished by;the water used ; by. the .Extended(No". 1) OoYnpany, it would not be possible .to accomplish anything satis fa'ctory. '*' l therefore: held a conference with the shareholders of'that company, and after Tnnch debate 1 I s obtained from them the following TSohcessibn That, for the. sum of £SOO, to be paid bv the Government; they would f permit thVtiubltfT their present tail race' ! from- anoint immediately above the bridge, on. the,Kyeburn (Dunedin) road, with the water flowing therein— Government, to make any necessary repairs o the race from that point downwards. The company reserve to r themselves'' their right to the use of such race without payment, and also their right to any gold therein:*"-' 14. u ln the eventof the Government acceding to this proposition (which I regard as very favorable to the public), I propose that Trusteed of the Channel should be'appbinted. to enforca the j rjper use and repair thereof, under a regulation hereafter to be' made similar in principle to the proviso now attached to section 2 of .Regulation xiii., so that the tail race shall be kept in an efficient condition by persons using the same rind-ho further expense thrown upon the Government. r •

15. It will also be necessary to construct a branch channel from a point 300 yards-above the Dunstan road to below'the "bridge on the Dunedin road,-a total length of about 710 yards. The fall in this portion of the proposed work would be about seventy feet, or, nay one in thirty. The fall in the Main G-ully is (as shown in the plan of proposed channel) very good. The quantity of water available for flushing varies with the seasons ; but of course 'when there id little water there are few tail* i inga. The following (approximate) statement was obtained by me:—- | ' SUPPLY'OF WATER AT HOaBTTBIf. Max. Min. Main G-ully (above township) ... 12 to 2 Do (below township) ... 12 to 2 Roach's G-ully udo . *.-.... 2 to i

... Total .... .., ... ....... 26 to. 4* These figures refer to Government sluice-heads of water. It, will be seen, therefrom that from 180 inches minimum to 1040 inches maximum are,available for tlie purpose." .As'.to.thejman- ! ner in which the channel should be repaired, ; the opinion of an engineer seems but, as a practical man, 1 think that were the present channel lengthened and built up with sods, so as to confine the discharge at the tail end of the race, and thence worked upwards, repairing where necessary the existing banks, the scour wouldjitself, free the -channel from all silt. Branch tail races shouldtheu be brought iii at oblique angles, so as'tb avoid the formation of bars h€ their mouths-l. ':' ..;... 16. The coat of > these works is -estimated at from £1,066't0 £1,200, in addition to the £SOO required by. No., 1 Company.;?-Both sluicers and townsfolk express a willingness to contribute «tjp the expense, in the proportion, of £1 to £2. If thisbe carried out, the'cost to the. Government will be slight hdeed as compared with the great benefits anticipated to the district from the proposed ohannel. 17. I was specially jlesired by -the Miners' Committee to report that the same evil as now exists m'Rbach's Gully, is in course of creation in; Enterprise and' VVet Gullies, 'Wherei'sod wing-dam's are placed across the' gully to check the" free flow of the'tailings, and strain'off the tail water. I have no doubt but that'these and. other gullies will be soon choked up if this course is .permitted. 1 1 '''' But' 'duals' a matter' sb entirely within the Warden's'-' jurisdiction that I refrain from-further comment tbereon. '" I have tlie kohor'to He', -' Your mos't dbedft 1 'servt:; -'•■' ■ I (Signed) VINCENT PY£E, &M., ;'. Commissioner.-' 1 The Secretary "of Laiida - : .. and Works,'Dun.edini'' ■-'■•'