THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1874.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 273, 29 May 1874, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1874.

Some time ago we drew attention to the folly of those who attributed the Taieri floods to the working of miners on the upper branches of the river, fortifying our opinion by the report made by, the Toloninl Engineer, Mr. Carruthers. Mr. Barr, tho late Provincial Engineer, has given the subject some study, and it will, we think, interest our readers to give a digest of his views, not so much ns to tho cause of these floods —which he barely alludes to—but to, the possible remedy within reach at an easy expenditure of money. It may be as well, at the outset, to say that engineers look upon lakes and estuaries as natural provisions for the storing of water in a time of flood—as catch-traps—and seem, to lay down an axiom that the more of such traps to arrest surplus water th«re are on' a line of river the safer that river is below, or, rather, the safer the residents dwelling on the banks near the mouth are from inundation.

It has been suggested that the Taieri, in the lower Plain, should be channelled and widened. Plans of embankment have been suggested, but, as Mr. Barr shows, such plans would shut off the water in some parts to accumulate it in other's, which would be no remedy at all. Alluding to these many schemes which have,been suggested for protection to property on the lower Plaiu, we are told that those which were most practicable have usually been estimated at so gieat a <-ost as to exclude the probability of their being carried out either by the residents on the flooded area or the Govern nent, while there is one which has beeu mooted upon several occasions, but dismissed almost as soon as mentioned, which appears to Mr. Barr worthy of more consideration. This is simply the artificial improvement of these natural catch-traps. The drainage areas of the rivers tending to flood the lower Plain is computed, at 2,065 square miles :

Taieri River... ... ... 1,730 Waipori ... ... ." 2G5 Silverslream .. ... ... 70 The Silverstream we may almost putout of the count, although, in proportion to its area, it no doubt discharges a greater quantity of water than the Taieri; but still, as a flood producer, its influence is not great. ' The Waipori Lake has a mitigating effect upon the evils caused by surplus water in that river, so that, after all, the 'laien is the chief offender. Mr. Barr institutes a comparison between the Taieri and the chief rivers of Europe, which shows that, in proportion to the country drained, it is much in excess of the most of these as a flood producer. " Thus, while it pours down its water " at the rate of 1-666 cubic yards in " the_ second for each sqtmre mile " drained above On tram, the Mississippi in flood Hows onlv at the rate " of 0044, the Ohio at its"mouth 0122, " and the Yazoo 0372 cubic yards per " square mile drained." The Tyne, in Great Britain, is the onlv one which approximates to the Taieri, its rate of flood discharge being 112. The Loire, in Fr«nce ? is pre-eminent for its floods' yielding at one point as much as 4'lß cubic yards per second for each mile drained. We should like to see how these figures compare with the Molyheux, or the rivers in Canterbury the < akaia or the Jsangitata. Taking all these facts into consideration. Mr. iiarr concludes that the key to the problem is the artificial conserving or tiding up of. the surplus water in the upland basin of the Taieri Lake. " The " lake," he says, "lies at the flank of "the Lammerlaw or J?ock and Pil'a'r " IJange'; and finds, along with the " Kyeburn, an outlet through a nar- " row gorge at one place not wider i"than 110 feet,, but unfor.'unately its !" low level limits the capacity of the |" whole riv r us a, flood r^odenUor. ''Tho point now is to consider tho " practicability of raising that outlet "to such an extent as to store the "greatest Hood w.iters that are likely " to occur, and release them only at " such a rate as shall not be prejudicial ••. to the low grounds lying below Out-- " ram." The flood of'the 4th of February, 1868, is taken as the standard The, rainfall at Dunedin for the months of October, -November, December, January, and February averaged from 5.0 to 8.078 inches, which is believed to be unprcH-i dented in the history of the

settlement. It, will he remembered that iVIr. Thomson had an opportunity, ;:t that big flood, of guauing the river r.t Out ram, and he found that the flow was at the rate of 4,653,068 cubic feet per minute. In any considei'atioh of the effect of such a storing up of flood waters, the time of duration of.floods is a primal factor in the calculation. Mr. Barr hazards a calculation that, as it has been ascertained that on this occasion (the big flood) 4,585,996,800 cubic feet were the total flood wafers, and that the rate of rise of tho flood was at 4.548,000 cubic feet per minute. that therefore the period of flood would be equal to seventeen and ahalf hours This, he states, is only a hypothetical statement. He goes' on to say "that he has now to consider " the amount of water which would " be desirable to prevent flowing upon " the Plain by the Taieri Kiver, in'or- " der that the floods may not attain to " such an extent as to overflow the " banks." Mr. Thomson has shown that the smallest section of the river can carry safely 1,173,74-1. cubic feet per minute. Mr. Barr purposes "to " take it to be on the safe side at onlv "900,000 cubic feet, looks to store the " remainder in the Upper Taieri Lake, " or upon some of the tributaries of " the river, such as'the Deep, the Sut- " ton, and the Lee Streams. It will " be observed that this makes no pro- " v ; sion for the waters of the Silver- " stream or the Waipori river. The " first of these could probably bo " stored in the lagoon near its junction " with the main river, and which is " e\idently the flood moderator of that " stream, or 1 in some reservoir -higher " up, while the large flow frouTtlic ! " Waipori would be allowed to spread " over that and the Waihola Lake. " Thegenoral result, then, may be ar- " rived at thus : "At feet per jmimite. " The quantity powecl flown the .Taieri ... ( . .. 900,000 " The quantity poured down the Waipori 730,000 '1.630,000 " Outflow to sea ... ■ 1,187,000 443,000 " so that the flood, under these eondi- " tions, would accumulate at tho rate "of 443,000 cubic feet per minute." Now Mr. Barr proposes to store threefourths of the total in the Taieri Lake.' To do this he thinks the lake would have to have its outlet so raised as to enable it to store as much as 3,002,400,000 cubic feet in eighteen hours. JNfow the area (he says) of that lake, and part of the Kyebu?*n Valley, which would be affected so far up as the present ford on the Dunedin road, is about 91,546,260 square feet, so that the increase of depth would amount to.tbirty-tbur f«et. This additional depth would be required over the whole area named ; but, owing to the fall of the valleys, this be got on an average without raising the dam to a, height above the bank at the bridge, and thus requiring a considerable extension in length. A modified form of tho same principle we. notice is also proposed. Finally, the engineer meets an objection raised, which is of special interest to our district; and we must quote pretty freely, although our extracts already have extended further than we intended:— "One objeciion to this method has " been so of:en urged that,, paradoxical " though it may appear,' I believe that " had it been founded on facts, they " would ere this ha\e been recognised " as- an argument for its immediate " adoption. 1 refer to the belief that, " supposing such a work were erected, •' the lake would quickly tie si ted up '' by tailings derived from the diggings, " so that,the bottom being raised there- " by, the weir would specdilv become " useless _ Now. the a ea proposed to '" be occupied by the reservoir is pre- " sently as much exposed to those de- '' posits as it v.'ould be then, and " f hough some parts are so acted upon '' to a considerable extent, yet, had the " evil been of such proportions as to " be pr ictically felt, a necessity would " have existed ere this for the immedi- " ate erection of a weir at the outlet to " counteract thp shoaling process, and " thus prevent a more rapid discharge " of the water than would be consist"ent with its natural condition. An •' examination of the locality would, "■■however, convince anyone that there "is little to fear from this evil assum- " ing dangerous proportions ; for, taking the r> T aseby diggings alone,: it "will be seen that even after about ." nine years of extensive sluicing ope- " rations, during which the 'heaviest " flood on record has been experi- " enced, the greatest distance to which " even isolated shingle of large size, or ;" small boulders, have been carried has " been about three miles, and they are " still about fifteen miles off from the •" lake and with less chance of making '■' even the .same progress again, for i" the creek becomes flatter as it ap- " preaches the low grounds. It will ;" be observed also that untill the whole |" lake, up to its lowest water level, has " been ■jfi.Ued- by solid material, its |" utility for storing flood waters is " unimpaired. I am not in a position " to state the contents to that level " but taking its deplti at five feet—- " which I believe to be within the mark " - it will be granted, I think, that " even with much increased diggings it 'is safe for many years, (f not, then "the sooner the outlet is raised arti- " ficially the better." In comdusion, Mr. Barr states that, from the formation at the outlet, and that while before the 1868 floods there'was only one ou'let while now there are three, floods are greatly facilitated. " If it '' s! ou'd so happen," he says, "'in suc- " ceeding floods that the same enlarge- " ment of these three outlets should " continue, the utility of the lake as a " regulating reservoir will be very

"much reduced, and the more rapid. " delivery of its waters unay almost " enable a flood equally as destructive "as that uf rebruary, IS6S, to result " from lens rain."

Wo do not know that any of our subscribers who think they" may be swamped need take any present steps to petition against these, works. Mr. Barr merely ventilates the idea in an able paper contributed to the ISTew Zealand Institute,which we have dwelt upon simply to «iv« our subscribers an idea of rh« rnrrent, of thought running in scientific minds with regard to the Taieri floods. In the comparison of the flood powers of ! different rivers we have referred to the river Loire as an example of a dangerous river discharging at times a greater volume of water, in proportion to its watershed, than the Taieri. Our faith in artificial embankments is a good deal shaken bv the history of attempts on this river. One authority we hare at hand, of a somewhat old date, states that:—" To " prevent the Loire from spreading " over the low grounds along its ecurse •" it has been banked in by dykes built " much above its ordinary level. These " embankmenls were never known to " give way previous to the great floods "of 1846. They gave way at the same " place during the fearful inundations " of June, 185S, carrying awav the " bridge and Valley of Savorevieres, " and inundatintr the Communes of " La Eiuhe-extra and La Chapelle-aux- " causingr a dreadful loss of. life " and property.''

The English mail, via Suez, leaves Naseby on Friday, oth June.

The Home mails may be expected to arrive in iNaseby on Tuesday next. The English mail, via San Francisco, will close at the post office, Naseby, on Friday, the 29th. instant.

At the half-yearly meeting of the Bank' of New South Wales, held at Sydney oh the 29th ult., the net profits were £92,700,"0ut of which a dividend and bonus equal to 17i per cent, were declared, and £oOQO voted to the officers' guarantee fund. . . We understand tbat the cutting on Abbott's contract on the upper part of the Head Race is speedily progressing towards completion. About twelve miles w.ut of the eighteen have been cut, and, should favorable weather continue, we may soon expect to hear of the remaining portion being finished. A dance took place in the Masonic Hall on the evening of Monday last, in honor of the Queen's Birthday. There was a fair attendance, and those present seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly. The arrangements generally were all that could be desired—the music being exceptionally good. Monday, the 25th, was generally observed as a holiday, the public offices, banks, and most of the stores being closed. Ihe day was intensely cold, with smart showers:of hail and a piercing wind. Royal salutes from guns and anvils were given during the clay, and the display of bunting' gave to the town quite a gala appearance, in the evening a slight fall of snow took place.

A special meeting of the Town Council was held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday last. Present: His Worship the Mayor, and Crs. Craig, Brookes, Wilson, and Hjorring.—The meeting was called to receive and consider fresh tenders for work required to be done in Leveh and Earn-streets. Mr. Joseph Wilson's was the lowest tender sent in, which, on the motion of Cr. Wilson, conded by Cr. Brookes, was accepted. It is with painful regret that we announce the death of Mrs. Carew, who was well known and for several years resided in this district. This bereavement has, we understand, caused Mr. Carew to retire for a short time from his duties, and Warden Robinson will take charge of the Tuapeka district for the present. The deceased lady was the daughter of Mr. Charles Broad, sometime Warden at ISTaseby, and now of the Nelson Goldfields.

We extract the following, in reference to the Palmer diggings from the 'Cooktown Courier' of April 4:—" The yield of gold is falling off, and the field is over-rushed. Hundreds are leaving by way of Etheridge, and for this port. Men are working for the Government in forming -a road,-..over.-the The water is pretty low on the river, and °on tlie branches. Most of the diggers are making up the main branch prospecting, and making about three pennyweights a day on an average. Flour, 2s. per lb.; tea, 65.; beef, Is.; sugar, 25.; salt, scarce and not to be had.

On Thursday afternoon the Council got through all the work on the Order Paper, and adjourned, after an hour and a-halfs sitting, till Tuesday last. Monday being the Queen's Birthday, the majority of the House thought they might as well not meet on Friday, but let the country members get home if they chose. Those who lived far away coidd not agree to this without a division. Mr J. C. Brown suggested to the Government that they had better adjourn for a fortnight, and • let members away to their businesses the Government would then have time to get the work ready: It was sheer nonsense bringing the House day after day together for one and a-half hour's work. - A meeting of the Naseby Cemetery Trustees was held on Wednesday last Present: Messrs. Grumitt (chair), lnder, Busch, and Bremner.—The minutes of last meeting were read and,confirmed.—The Treasurer's statement was read, showing:a balance in hand of £24 3s.—Tt was resolved that the Secretary instruct Mr. Kowlatt to collect the outstanding debts.—Tenders were opened for cutting a drain round the cemetery. Seven tenders were lodged, and that of Peter Poulson's, for 225. per chain, was accepted. The Secretary was instructed to remind the Government of the promise made last year for a supply of trees for planting in the Cemetery. The 'Southland Times' publishes the following : 'An eccentric German at Auckland nominated a numbyr of his friends to emigrate to New Zealand, and amongst them-;the Emperor William. An autograph reply was received in due course, to the effect that he (the Emperor) felt highly gratified at the interest shown in his welfare by his countryman so distant as fchp Antipodes. He had consulted with his Ministers in the matter, ■mid they had all agreed with him that he had better stay where he wns, and that it wns quite uncertain that, he cnuH better his prospects by emigrating to Now Zealand. Thanking liii,] for the consideration shown, aud wishing him (the eccentric German) prosperity in his now home, ho decided to remain. &c."

Some very singular d ■pisions were arrived -it by the Licensing Commissioners at. Hol;i----tilca recently. " In one instance (says the ' Wosiliuid i-.'egisfer') an applicant, acknowledged that he had no interest whatever in the for which lie so.'.jjht a license, tliat he never slept in it, and got none of the profits, ii ltd that he was a more agent for the owner of another public house ; yet the Court grant ed him a licnse. In three instances where the police reports were strongly adverse to the -r.inting of! tho Ikvnsee they were granted'

although the Court seemed, to have iieeu guided in their "refusals in other eases by the police reports. Two licenses were refused—one to, a. single woman, whose house has been irreproachably conducted ; another, to a publican, apparently because he had called a meeting of his creditors and arranged with 'them satisfactorily. The Court had, however, previously granted a. license to a single woman. One peculiarly hard ease was that of a landlord, whose tenant, h,ring applied for a, license, had absconded, and thus precluded the proprietor from getting a license to his house. In one instance a publican owning houses of ill-repute'was licensed ; in another similar case the license was refused. Doubfclesss, the Court had informal-ion which was not disclosed publicly, otherwise their decisions iu many cases are incomprehensible.

Ftcom our northern papers we learn that G-orernmenfc will introduce'a new Lieensiug Act during next session of the Assemblyamending the present Act. The ' Wanganui Herald ' says :—" It is notorious that what is known as the Permissive Act is a piece of the most unsatisfactory legislation. It is 'neither one th''ng nor the other ; while aiming at giving- people power to control the granting of licenses, it withholds the machinery by which alone that power can. be applied. It casts suspicion on the Justices, end establishes a junto of nominees in each district. We believe the Krsideut Magistrate recommends the members of the Court, so that we have the President escaping responsibility by the happy mode ofallowino him to associate a few others with himself. If any general measure Reintroduced, it is hoped it will piovide that th« Resident Magistrate alone shall constitute the Licensing Court of each district, and that the utmost facility may be■ 'given fo" applyingtheprinciples and provisions of the measure, whatever these may be." '■.."":

The Waikais" correspondent to the 'Tua" peka Times ' says : —The latest and most important here is the collection of signatures to petitionsre Maerrwhenua River-pollution ease, and for the abolition of .the gold export duty! There was also a subscription list attached for the defence of Howe and "Co., -which was in some eases liberally subscribed to, but several who were able *o subscribe were conspicuous by .the absence of their names from the subscription list. It is strange, but true (with exceptions,'of course), that those -who are best able to subscribe are generally the most reluctant to do so ; while those who are poor give their mite freely, and that/without those -who refused to sign the subscription li3t hud no objection <o sign the petitions which were for their benefit, and cost, them nothing. Every man in this district (European) with one exception (that exception being a representative of the squatting interest, of course) signed the petitions. The Chinese-were not asked to sign, as the collector had no instructions to (hat effect.

The Dunedin.papers are not very scrupulous in their advocacy of the harbor works at Dunedin. It would almost appear as if their Provincial Council reports were altered to suit their leading articles in some cases. The .'Guardian' of the 21st has an article praising Mr. Fish for succumbing to the pressure brought on him outside the Council while adjourned for the dinner hour, and toU7idrataing his amendment, thus proving he did not approve of factious opposition. To suit this, the report of the proceedings says the amendment was lost on the voices, and the division was taken on the motion. This would, of course, if true, be a factious opposition. But it was not true. The amendment was not withdrawn, neither was it negatived on the voices, but was pressed to a division—seven voting for it, seven or eight leaving the room because they were partis unwilling to divide on a hopeless question and partly did not choose to offend Dunedin, and the balance—as reported, with only one Goldfields member—voted against the amendment. Then, in dut course, the motion was put and carried without a dissenting voice. So much for the 'Guardian's' self-raised phantom, of "factious opposition." If factious opposition is, as : our contemporary would have us believe, an honest expression of a difference of opinion on the most important public questions of the day, we hope our members will always be found among the f actio as oppositionists. We hardly understand how a paper which has taken so deservedly high a position permitted such an article as the one we refer to in its columns. It does not stamp editorials from that quarter with much value if a sound, polished article of one day is to be followed up by arrant nonsense the next. It is to be suspected that on the night, of publication, the cats were away and the mice, or the friends of the mice outside, were at play.

The sixth anniversary of the Loyal Naseby. Lodge, M.U.I.0.0.F., was celebrated by a banquet in the lodge room, Empire Hotel, on Monday evening last. The brethren mustered sirongly on the occasion, and, from the hearty manner in.which the brethren representing the sister societies in Naseby took part in the proceedings, the evening's entertainment was a most enjoyable one. The tables were supplied by Bro. Thomas Pinder, and the good things provided were excellent and in abundance, giving great satisfaction to those present, and spoke well for the Host as a caterer. The chair was well filled by the N.G. Bro. A. G. B. Mitchell, and the vice-chair by V.G. Bro. James Hore, both officers being well supported by the P.G.'s of the Order and officers of the sister societies. The tables being cleared, the Chairman gave the usual toasts of "The Queen," and "The Manchester Unity." Song, "Rhine Wine," Bro. Grumitt. "The District Officers," bytheV.G., was responded to by Bro. Grumitt. Song, "White Squall," Bro. Wilson. Song, "The Merry Haymakers," Bro. Ladd. " Kindred Societies," by P. G. Bro. Inder, was responded to by Bros. N.G. W. Currie and Pres. Kealy. Song, "Up with the Lark in the Moraine," by Mr. Whitefield. "The Doctor" was next given, with all the honors. Dr. Dick replied. Song by Bro. J. Morrison, "My Native Highland Home." "The Loyal Naseby Lodge, by P.G. Bro. Brookes, was replied to by P.G. Bro. J. Bremner. Song, "The Mariner's Grave," by Bro. Arthur Simnson. Song, "Begone Dull Care," by P.G Bro. W. Tnder. "Officers of the Loyal Naseby Lodge" was responded to by N.G. Bro. A G. B. Mitchell. Song, Bro. Kealy. Son*, "Dublin Bay," by Bro. Mitchell. . The fallowing toasts concluded the programme of the entertainment, which was a thoroughly harmonious and enjoyable one : "'The Host," "Absent Brothers," "Poor and Distressed of the Orders," " The Ladies," "The Naseby Corporation," "The Miners," and "The Press."

A PUBLIC meeting was held in the Reading Room of the Athenceum on Thursday evening last. The Mayor was voted to the chair!; Tin: Chairman s!:if:ed that tho "meeting was' called for the purpose of electing'a newborn- 1 mitf.ee, and to receive the resignation of the lute Committee. The Committee had on'twei occasions endeavored' to get, a .meeting.of sub-j sci'ibers for the purpose of ele<,',t.irj"-„p, new Committee, but they had failed, rreeting was thought advisable t<* bo convened for that object He then called on Mr: G-enrge, the Acting-Secretary, who read the balance sheet, from which it appealed, iflr-it"' a bal-mec of £2l-is. 5d icmaini-'d. io the credit f the Institution, exe'usive of £"2O 17s .3d -fir bo(;Ics paid for but not. yet received. It was stated that the future n'oi-lriug of the rns'ifu■ion would be le:-s expensive, as most of tlie papers and periodical? had been naid tor for the next twelve months, and that only the librarian's salary, coal, and light would hnve-fo be provided for. Twelve gentlemen were nominated as iv Committer of Management, and a ballot- was taken, when the fqllqwia ' eidit

wore elecred : —Messrs Busch. G-eorge, Barron, Menzies' Lory, Cooper, Wooflh-'ll, and luder.—Tlic first nulling of.the new committee took place on Friday evening List. PresentMessrs. Bnseii, liarron, Cooper, Lory, Woodhill, and Menzies. Mr. L. W. Busch was called to the chair. The follawint; business was done:— tint Mr. Busch be permanent chairman. Kesoived that Mr. George be Secretary and Treasurer. Notices of motion were given, "That the portion of rule 4 re signing cheques bo rescinded, and that the Chairman and ±'rrusurer sijju all cheques;" "That rule <!., Library Rues, be now rescinded, and tiiafc ss. deposit bo fixed instead of 10s.;" " That three instead of two weeks be allowpd for keeping book* ;" " That the subscription be 15s. per annum, Bs. halfyearly, and ss. per quarter ;" " That any subscriber may get a book out. of the library by applying to any of the Committee, in the absence of the Librarian."