NASEBY WATER SUPPLY.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 229, 25 July 1873, Page 3

NASEBY WATER SUPPLY.

The following are copies of a petition and letter against the Manuherikia head race which have been laid on' the table of the Provincial Council: —■ To his Honor the Superintendent of Otago. ' The Petition of the undersigned Proprietors of Water Races at Mount Ida Humbly sheweth : 1. That your Petitioners are Proprietors of "Water Races at Mount Ida.

2. That many of your Petitioners are Pioneers of the Mount Ida Goldfield, and by their exertions opened up and developed the field.

3. That they have, at great expense, constructed Races and Dams, and have hitherto supplied therefrom the miners at Mount Ida. 4. That the prosperity of the District is mainly and chiefly due to the pluck and energy of your Petitioners. 5. That your Petitioners learn with alarm and surprise that it is the intention of the Government to sell the water they are now diverting to the miners at Mount Ida.

6. That, if the Government sell water to the miners at Mount Ida, the property of your Petitioners will thereby be greatly depreciated in value. 7. That your Petitioners humbly submit that, if the Government carry out their expressed intention of selling water to the miners, it will be a most unwarrantable interference with private enterprise, and an unjustifiable invasion of private rights at Mount Ida; and will further operate very prejudicially to all future mining enterprise in the Province.

8. That for Government to compete with private enterprise, especially on the Goldfields, is entirely without precedent, and is calculated to erect an insuperable barrier to the development of the industry of gold mining in every instance where an outlay of capital is required. 9. That, it appears to your Petitioners, there exists no necessity for the Government to sell water, seeing the indirect profits of the Scheme in the shape of increased gold duty, Goldfields revenue, including miner's rights, and customs, will be quite sufficient to pay the interest on the money expended; and a small charge for the use of the Sludge Channel (besides the accumulation of gold in the Channel, which must be very considerable) would, in the opinion of your Petitioners, pay the working expenses and leave sufficient to provide for sinking fund. 10. That the Government Water Scheme at Mount Ida, whilst it will confer an undoubted benefit on miners generally and, through them, the business people of Naseby, your Petitioners will not only not be benefitted by it, but be positively ruined, through their inability to compete with the Government under such unparalleled circumstances. 11. That, had the efforts of your Petitioners to develope the Mount Ida Goldfield been unsuccessful, they would have been allowed to suffer the consequences of failure, in the loss of their labor and capital, unshared by the Government; they therefore view with very great indignation the action of the Government in seeking to share the results of their successful efforts, and submit that such action is the reverse of honorable. 12. That your Petitioners therefore pray, for the above reasons, that your Honor and the Provincial Government will be pleased to take the matter into your serious consideration, and adopt such measures therein as will be just and equitable to your Petitioners. And your Petitioners will ever pray. Signed by the Managers for and on behalf of their respective Companies. William Newman. Walter Inder. J. Lory. Henry Anderson. Lancelot Hore. Mathew Young. Mathew IsF. Cooper. Mount Ida, April 17, 1873. Dr E. W. Alexander, Dunedin. Dear Sir, —As you are aware, the General Government has decided to construct a water race from the Manuherikia River, sixty miles in length, to this field, in order to supply the mining community with constant water, and at a price which, if T am rightly informed, would not only defy competition, but also to bring to certaij**grief some of the water races which, unfortunately, are situated on or about the same level with the Government race now under construction. At first we were made to understand that the Government had no intention to compete with private enterprise, but adhere strictly to its original scheme—that is, to use the coming water simply for flushing purposes. Ultimately, h we have been informed by Mr Bastings that the Government intend to dispose of its supply of water at a nominal price, or at such a figure that will pay the working expenses of the race. With the above facts before us, we thought the only expedient left open would be to petition the Superintendent, with a view to having the matter reconsidered. Mr C. F. Roberts, a member of the Band of Hope Company, now in Dunedin on some business, had consented to act as a deputy, with a view of presenting the petition to the Superintendent. On the request of a considerable number of gentlemen interested in the several water races at this place, I beg to ask you to be good enough to act with Mr Roberts in presenting the petition, and the same time use your influence with the Superintendent in order to have that truly unreasonable decision reversed. Mr Roberts will be glad to acquaint you with the contents of the petition. Concluding with the hope that you will

kindly undertake to act in this important matter, I beg to remain, Your truly obedient servant, Henry Anderson.