WATER SUPPLY on GOLDFIELDS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 178, 2 August 1872, Page 6

WATER SUPPLY on GOLDFIELDS.

Memo, fok Hon. W. Reeves re Water Supply, Mount Ida District.

The peculiar circumstances of the Mount Ida District, which were well known to me, both from personal investigation and official information, induced me to form the opinion that the provisions of the Public Works and Immigration Act, IS7I, with regard to assistance by way of subsidies to works, for the supply of water, would fail to meet the difficulties encountered in the development of this important mining district. Having in view, also, the various i schemes which from time to lime had been I brought before the Provincial Government I and Legislature, in order to prevent an aggregation of the serious evils which .threaten the very existence of this Goldfield as a remunerative field of labor, I deemed it right, having first fully possessed myself of all the information" documentary, or otherwise, at my disposal, to request Mr. Warden Robinson to come Dunedin for the purpose of consultation with me as to the present existing shite of things, and the possible remedies suggested upon the spot by experienced miners, and other parties interested. Upon his arrival, after several conversations, I placed before him the following Memo., upon which he favored me with Reports A. and.B. appended hereto. ; " Memo, for Mr. Warden Robinson. "The question of -aWatcr Supply to the Mount Ida Goldfields district having received the serious attention of the Colonial and Provincial Governments, tlie information . up to this time available is. placed in the hands of Mr. Robinson, who, with the aid of his immediate personal and local knowledge, will be good enough to advise generaliy upon the subject; more especially as to the point whether the exceptional circumstances of the district would render tlie taking advantage of j the published regulations .with regard to subsidies impracticable or highly inconvenient.

'" C. E. Haughton,

" Dnnedin, 15th February, 1872."

It will be soon upon perusal that those documents are of a v. M y exhaustive character, and deal with the various subjects at issue iri a most lucid and precise manner. The papers attached (and upon which Mr. tfobinson to some extent bases: his reports) comprise the whole corres-! between the various local bodies; j Miners' Committees, at interval's consti- ■ tuted ; find the Provincial authorities ;: and also"the very valuable reports of Mr. Warden Pyke, and Mr.* Barr, Chief Engineer of the Province of Otago, upon' the questions specially referred to them ; the | innst important :of wliich would appear to have been the feasibility, of a construction of a main .Sludge Channel, in order to allow of the disposal of the tailings from the ordinary workings, and the brining in of a sufficient quantity of water to*flush, the said channel, and to be available for working at; a higher level than : is now accessible by the present supply.. : in the present Memo, it is not neccs-.-sary to enter into the question of the physical conformation of the country -which necessitates a particular form of mining. It will be sufficient to state that it maybe taken as proven that the construction of a j main tail race or Sludge Channel is essen-! tially necessary to the working of the I ground already occupied, for the further j development of the auriferous'deposits, I which are known to exist, and that, as a | natural sequence to such'construction, a supply of tlushing water for the channel must be provided. These are works beyond tho reach of private enterprise, not so much from the estimated cost, wliich is not excessive, but from the. fact that very grave difficulties lie iu the way of fixing the tenure of, and securing . the rights of tlw-properry when constructed. It would, indeed, be impossible without a special Act of Parliament to provide either' for the payment'to the proprietors of fair i dues by- the parties availing themselves of i the channel for the discharge, of their tail- i ings, or for regulating the maintenance .'of, i and*the water supply from the head race, j I take it for granted," therefore, that whilst I the construction of the works indicated J would be of immense and immediate ad- j vantage to the district, that such construe-j ti~n is not possible under the regulations j which provide for subsidies to registered j mining companies undertaking works for the supply of water with a view to whole-1 some dividends upon the invested capital. The question then resolves itself into tliis: Is the case sufficiently urgent to justify the f Governittent in undertaking..!he works themselves? I am inclined to think; that it is so. *' The Mount Ida Goldfield now crrries.a large population, and yields considerablereturns «>f'gold, and I have no hesitation in affirming that both would be doubled were a -main Sludge Channel, supplied .with, sufficient Hushing water, constructed.

Mr. Warden Robinson, in his Report A (clause 8), remarks:—" With, regard to

the scheme for bringing in flushing water in connection with the main channel, it is important to notice that tliis- is clearly a, work that would never be attempted by private enterprise, although it would'be of immense advantage to the Hogburn Diggings. There ■would be no way for a company undertaking such a work to. make it return a profit. But the effect of a supply of flushing water, especially in connection with a main channel, would be to enable miners to work much good ground that they cannot now get at; to render the Diggings far more permanent, by indefinitely postponing the blocking up of the. outlet, and thus to maintain one of the most productive Gold&elds" in the Province, in at least its present prosperity, for many years to come. If something of the kind be not soon done, it is to" be feared that tlie mining population will, as the claims now held get worked out, take their departure probably to other Provinces, if not to other Colonies."

The question of cost and management is dealt with in the same report, and with regard to the latter, I think Mr. Robinson's suggestion well worthy of consideration. He says (in clause 8):—"I would therefore most earnestly recommend that, if found by the Engineer's report to be practicable, the flushing water race be constructed by the Government with the least possible delay. lam unable to give any reliable estimate of the probable cost, so much would depend upon the amount of tunnelling, and the hardness of the ground to be gone through.; bat assuming the length of the race to be fifteen miles, ; and the cost per mile-to be even £2OO, the ! work could be done for £3OOO, which I would be cheap considering the advantage .'to the mining interest. j "..'Jut I would propose that this work ; should be done in connection with the I c iuain channel,', and, with it, placed in. ; tlie hands of a local trust empowered to ! levy rates (on a system similar to the main ; tail racel plan as applied at St. Bathans). If that were done, the trust would derive an income from persons taking advantage of the channel and flushing water, and the Government would not only be at no expense for maintenance, but would probably, in course of time, be recouped for 'great part of.its outlay." j I may remark upon this that the St. j Bathans trust, referred to in the report, j has no legal status, bnt exists and per-: j forms its functions solely. by agreement | with the persons who :avail themselves of I the channel. I. do not think there would I be any practical difficulty in constituting j a similar trust at Mount Ida, possibly j without the delay and trouble of an appeal jto Parliament.. 'Summarising the above master, I would desire to express my jopinion:— _■•; ;• Y. . '

Ist. That it-is desirable that the constructiqn of a main Sludge Channel .at Ilogburn, in the Mount Ida district, and of a head race from the lower E/yeburn -River to the Ilogburn, for general and flushing purposes, should be undertaken by the Government. 2nd. That such works are practicable, and could probably be executed for less than £10,000.. ■ 3rd. That the question of management, afb.r construction, riia} 1- - be disposed of without insuperable difficulty. I would further refer the Hon. the Resident Minister to the papers appended hereto, especially reports by Ml*. Warden Robinson, marked A and B, report by Mr. Warden Pyke upon the accumulation of tailings in the Hogburn, Mount Ida district, report by Mr. Barr, C.E., iipon proposed .main channel at Hogburn, Mount Ida, and a sketch of the Mount Ida district.

C. E. Haughtost February 28, 1572.

Mb.. Wakden Eobdstson's Report (A) upon a Water Supply. Dunedin, 10th February, 1872. Sib, —I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your Memo, of sth insfc., reqnest.in.sr me to advise upon the subject of Water Supply for my district, more especially as to the po'int whether the exceptional circumstances, of the district would render the talcing advantage of vhc published regulations with regard to supT sidies impracticable or highly inconvenient. 2. In replying to this Memo., I must ask your indulgence if I repeat, in writing, same of the statements and arguments which I have already had the honor to brin*.; under your notice in the personal interview with, which you have favored me!;..

. On looking over the regulations referred to, I see that they are framed in Contemplation merely of the lending of money to companies requiring advances., 3utthere are some circumstances in connection with the district under my charge which would, I think, -.warrant .the Government in incurring some expense in ways not provided for by the regulations. At the more recently opened Macrewhenua Diggings there are several enter-

prises which may need some help.to bring them to completion, and- for these the regulations will, I think,/, sufficiently proride. But al the Hogburn, as in almost all the older mining districts, .nearly all the water , that can be. expected to be brought iu by private, enterprise lias been taken up ibr races already constructed. The few possible sources of supply that remain are so remote, or difficult of access, that it is highly improbable that anything will be done with them unless the Government make the first move.

3. Confining my remarks for the present to the Hogburn District, I may mention that there are three possible sources of additional supply—viz., the water sheds of the Mount Ida Range, the.Kakanui Kan see, and the Hawk dun JRange. . , ~ With.regard to the first, itis from the water shed of the Mount Ida Kangethat the supplies of water for the Hogburn Diggings are drawn, and it may be.taken as a fact that the races at present bring in. almost all-the water that can in the ordinary way be got on such levels as' to' command the workings. But it would be possible, in my opinion, to bring in a race from the Little Kyeburn, to start at a lower level than any of the races referred' to, which, by fluming across some gullies and travelling through-one* or two spurs, would save distance, and therefore economise fall, and thus probably, deliver water at such a height as to be available for sluicing. On the' accompanying tracing I have indicated the line of such a race approximately thus . A race made on this ■ line would pick up the water of • the creeks at a lower level than the 'present races, and would thus, without interfering witli their supplies, intercept all water that in times of pfenty would pass the heads of those races, as well as the constant qunntity accruing to the. creeks* in the interval.. -This constant,quantity would perhaps be small, but, by : the con-; struction of some good-sized dams, a large amount of water could be. saved : which now rims to waste whenever the gullies are a little better supplied than, usual. . 4. But even if the from this source could not be, without too much expense, brought in at a cost to be serviceable for sluicing,' it would, I believe, be found comparatively easy to bring in a supply .at such a level as io serve for flushing the .proposed "main channel" for carrying off tailings. I have made the main channel the subject of a separate report, but I may here remark that, without a proper supply of flushing water, no channel of the kind could be of much service. I would also point out that a race to catch water for the flushing only, as it could be made at a lower level, could intercept a larger and more regular supply of water than one formed immediately below the lowest of the present races. From the streams flowing out of the Kakanui, Eange it might be possible to bring in a supply by fluming across' tlie E/yeburn, but the work would most .probably .be found'too costly in'proportion to the quantity of water to be.obtained. Even the Jvyoburn itself could'be. brought in, but as there are a number of races heading frpm. that river, it would, most. likely be found that enough water to lie, worth making a race, for could "not be taken without injury to the. interests of the owners of these races.

6. The next possible'source of suppljris the .Manuhorikia liiver. It lias often been purposed to attempt to bring in a race to JNaseby. from the Manuherikin, but the undertaking has appeared too formidable, and nobody has ventured to incur the heavy expense that would have to begone into for surveys 'to determine whether the scheme is practicable or not. On the accompanying tracing J have marked, "by a plain red line, the probable course of the race. This race would head from a point on the Afanuherikia where, by approximate observation, the level of the river is 2,60U feet above.the. sea. T?he Trig. Station X. on the' spur overlooking Isascby.is 2,055 feet above the sea. thus showing a fall of" 5-13 • foot: The actual distance is twenty-two, miles, hut,, the' length of a race.between; the two points would probably be between fifty and sixty I miles.. Assiiming the length.to be sixty miles, this would give a.fall of nine feet to the mile. But by uumingaud tunnelling the race could "be sliprtened. This race, coming 7 along the contour of the ranges, could be made to. intercept the waters of several, streams, and'it might probably be found advisable to increase its | carrying capacity as it neared'Nascby. ■ l In reference to this race, it should be observed that there is every reason to believe that besides the immediate advantage to the. Hogburn Diggings, a large race brought along the" bases of the Hawk dun and Mount Ida Ranges would command a great extent of gi-ound which, for want of water, has not yet been tested, but which, it is almost certain, would pay for sluicing .on a large scale. 7. ahit although I am. sanguine that additional supplies of water could be brought in from'all the sources I have indicated, I woirid by no means be understood to say

that the Government should hastilyiieriter upon any-very large, expenses. ; ;; 'ln thefirst instance, I should advise that a sura of. say £4OO beset aside:to defray the cost. of ,proper surveys and estimates to determine the practicability,.of the schemes, viz. : Ist. To bring in water, from the Little Kyeburn and" r ',other streams for .■ flushing. 2nd. To bring in a large race from high up the Mahuherikia Bi'ver. 8. With regard to the scheme for bringing m-flushing water in'connection with ■ the main channel, it is important to notice ■ that this, is clearly a work that -would, never be attempted by private, enterprise, ■. although it.would be.of immense. advan 7 .'. tage to the Hogburn Diggings. There would be no way for a company undertaking . such a work, "to make it return a> profit. But the effect' of a supply of flu shy ing water, especially in connection with a ' : main channel, would be-to enable miners • to: work much good ground that they now cannot get at,- to render the-diggings far. more permanent by indefinitely'-postpon- -. mg. the, blocking up of the. outlet,' and thus maintain, one of the most productive Goldfields in the Province in afc least its present prosperity for many years to come. ' If something of the kind be not soon done '- it is to be feared that the mining popula- = ' tion; will, as the claims now held get i worked out, take their departure probably to other Provinces, if not to. other. Colonies.- '.

Sm. I would, therefore, most earnestly recommend that, if found by the Engineer's report to be practicable, the fluking water race be constructed bv the Governme-fc with the least possible delay, I am unable to give any reliable estimate of the probable cost. So much would depend upon the amount of tunnelling aad the hardness of the ground to be°gone. through ; but, assuming the length of the ■rjsice to be fifteen miles, and. the cost- per mile to be even £2OO, the work could be done for £3,000, which would be cheap, considering the advantage to the mining interest. , -

■ But. I would propose that this work should be done in connection with the "main channel," and, with it, placed in.", the. hands of a local trust empowered to ' levy rates (on a system similar to the main tail race plan as applied at StBathans). If that were done, the trust would-' derive an income from persons taking advantage of the channel and flushing water, and the Government would : not .only be nt" no, expense for mainte-, • nance, but would probably, in course of time, .bo J recouped for great part of its oui lay. 9. As regards"the scheme for bringingwater from the Manuherikia, I would propose that the report of the Engineer be made public, and I believe that, if the re? port' be favorable, a company may yet be formed to carry,ib put. Such a.company would, of course, come, within the scope of., the regulations respecting, advances. < -,• 10. In conclusion,. I would most .res-./ pectfully urge upon the- Govei'nmeht' the-- . great, claim of the; Mount Ida district for a reasonable share of- the the •"-■' Government is empowered to afford.' The '• Hogburn is- the most populous of the. ; ,Otago milling localities, and, with the"' assistance I propose, might for many ' years to come continue to contribute' largely to the re venue of the. country. ', ; " The Macrewbenua is but riow,in.courso, ~ of being opened out, but gives every promise of being a sluicing district of the first . order, and it will be a wise policy to deal liberally with such applications for aid as . may come from that quarter. The otherparts of the district are, as a rule, not in a position a"i present to derive any advantage from works for additional water sup- -' ply, all the known available sources being -' already taken up under water licenses.' The only ■exception that I can think of at. present is Macrae's Flat, where a main tail race is wanted. But as this subject will' probably be brought under ,yoiir -. notice by a petition from the miners'and others resident at ]\lacraeV, I refrain from more than this casual mention of it as a. work likely to lead to the opening .up of , some valuable ground, net at present workable. I. have, &c, . • >* . 11. W. Eobinrox. • ■ Warden. Chas. E. Haughton, Esq., Under -. Secretary ' for . Public Works for Goldfields, Dunedin. , [Mr. Warden Robinson's Report (B) • upon Main Flushing Channel, and Mr! Barr's • Report upon Main Channel, will appear in our next issue.]

" ■' Bf.de white folks be so dark as dat out dar/'.said a negro who was'gazing at some Japanese, " I wonder what is decolor ob de black folks?" ' " Is there any danger of the boa-cnn-strietoy biting?".asked a visitor of a zoological showman: " Not-tlie leasf " replied the showman, " he never bites • he swallows'his wittles whole."