THE SLUDGE CHANNEL

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 169, 31 May 1872, Page 3

THE SLUDGE CHANNEL

(To of the MotTKT Tt> a >fiTrßfvrrrnT;B.) ■ o /<. v.. • —rr* —~ »■'. . able and ; .fconiprehen-« sive> leader: of mark that; unless 'pressii^e',£ind strong pressure b&jfyrought to ; beap upon the thatj the -report of; Mr;; regarding »t}xe construction of the bl;u4ge Channel and -an increased supply,.:ot : water shall be shelved'-and'; forgotten,' ; f and iJ! you v suggest. 'that { ., a' strong petition should be drawn up upon the by our? .tp .the . Qouncil. t ,,,-.3Jour suggestion • undoubtedly- well timed and to the ;pointi' and acted i upon at once; but you know, Mr. .ffi, regard .to'public* affairs, w& are the most inactive, throughout, the length: and breadth of ■ the Colony, and»if.it were not that you thunder forth bur wants in your leading articles, we would seek, for nqthing which would the. general, good,; but,every- ;one for. . himself—and what should*; be: everyone's business-; would be no one's, if works .' ofsuch : magnitude, pf such infinite importance,' £,nd . of sucli. certain reproductiyeness to jSTasepy as the construction ocf the proposed Sludge : Channel, and the bringing dn ai grea'tly increased "Water Supply, were about to. ( be .commenced - in any other .district,, andthere were the-least - chance of. the G-overnment hesitating in the matter, how different would the people act'from us:: Noaivgument—nothing whatever that,, could, be done would be left undone * which would have for Its object the furtherance of the scheme. Yet here we are, to all appearance perfectly indifferent as to whether these works, shall be commenced or not; and> still we • all know. that without these Works being constructed, Naseby, in a very few years," must " go to the wall."

In regard to an increased "Water

Supply, . the Government proposes bringing ia the Little- Kveburn; but every .one who is acquainted with that

*" burn *" knows that even should it. be

brought in it will be but a.very insufficient supply, and by no. means a permanent one; and, moreover, vested water rights will have to be compensated for—making the affair costly, and then . but a miserable make-shift. It is. to be hoped that the Government will,take this into consideration, and leave the Little Kyeburn to be*taken in by private parties, and by one wise and liberal stroke bring,us,in the. Manuherikia, which would .always be a large and permanent supply. Many, no doubt, consider that cut-' ting'-a race along the steep sides of the Ida ranges, to carry a large supply,. of water from the Manuherikia, would be rather, a gigantic undertaking; and so it would be if it had to be brought at. so high a level-—but there is no oc-

casibn for this. If it were brought in to enter the Main Gully a mile below the Court 'House, it would be the signal to the opening of a new Goldfield. All those ridges • for miles below P. Kearney's r are known to be highly auriferous,, and only .require water ..tobe brought to bear upon, them to give profitable ejgfffcyment to hundreds of miners. In petitioning the' Government, as you suggest, in regard to the contemplated works, .there is another matter " of equal importance to be considsred —namely, the securing of all auriferous land "for mining along either side of the proposed line of Sludge Channel. In one of your correspondents' letters, signed "Hogburn," this suggestion was made.. On reading the suggestion then, X thought it unnecessary ; since then, I understand it is absolutely necessary that all such lands should be secured. Our rich neighbors, the squatters—-now that sheepfarming is % become 'so payahle a business—may take„ it jnto their heads to buy.up blocks of land near Naseby, and -we may rise gome fine morning to find'ourselves tf soldr" No use saying that h jthev would _ not do

that—think of. .the sale .to. big Clark last year. So we should at least try and get a promise from the tGovernment that no land along either side of 'the. Hogburn Creek, for three or four, miles inland, shall be sold or let for agricultural purposes, but that these lands may be held by the pastoral tenants, who cannot claim compensation for the injury that may be done to the. land by the workings of the miners. Forgive my trespassing so far on your valuable space. —I am, &c, :,. Nasebt.