Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News. THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1907.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVI, Issue 43090, 9 May 1907, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News.

THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1907.

Ihis above all—to thine own self be true , And it must follow as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any mar Shakespeare.

In the report upon the silting of the Ohinemuri and Waihou rivers, prepared by Mr James Stewart M. Inst. C.E. at the request of the Ohinemuri County Council, some interesting facts concerning the two rivers in question, are contained. Mr Stewart says that owing to the fact that previous to the advent of the mining industry, no record of soundings or

marine survey of any kind existed of the Ohinemuri River, comparisons with its present state are made more difficult. Such records of a later date that do exist, he finds of no assistance in the computation of the amount of deposit, as they disclose a most erratic state of things. Mr Stewart finds that thirty-one years ago, the head of navigation of the

Ohinemuri for heavy freight was at Tarariki Creek, a point about two miles below Mackaytown, and that in 1876 cutters drawing seven feet six

inches of water came up to that point. It required no detail or elaborate survey to show the contrast between that time and the present, for at the time of his recent inspection there was about one foot of flood in the river, but between Mackaytown and far below Tarariki Creek it presented the appearance of a succession of shallows, with from two to three feet of water, the whole stream being

thick with flowing sand and slimes. Mr Stewart lays stress upon the fact that the rivers will continue to silt up at an increasingly rapid rate, in proportion to the increasing output of tailings from the mines, and his general conclusions on the question may be seen in another column. As Mr Stewart has only recently been over the ground and made up his report, it may safely be- taken as presenting an up-to-date aspect of a

question which is rapidly becoming more serious. Although the farmers along the banks of the Ohinemuri and Waihou rivers are the most direct sufferers from the tailings nuisance, the farmers on this upper portion of the Waihou, have every reason to be greatly interested in the question, for there has of late been great loss through the unprecedented flooding of the Waihou River, assisted no doubt, in a marked degree, by the obstruction of the lower reaches by the accumulations of silt. Unless the present enquiry and agitation results in some active steps being taken to provide a satisfactory remedy for the trouble, voluminous reports and lengthy discussion will have been in vain, but

now that the matter has been placed before the Minister for Mines, there

is hope of some suggestions from that quarter. Undoubtedly it is high time that steps should be taken to prevent the further choking of rivers which, had it been known some years ago that the present output of tailings would be what it is, would probably never have been proclaimed sludge channels at all. At any rate, whether it would have been wise or not, to withhold the proclam-

ation when the mining industry was in its infancy in that particular dis-

trict, the position is somewhat differ-

ent now, when the said channels

have been in use for over ten years, to the benefit of one industry and as

it proves, at the expense of another

Facts already known show that the

present arrangement is merely one which robs farmer Peter to pay miner Paul. The suggestion that the silt is brought down the Wuihou

river from the Mutairiata drains eun

only bo regarded as frivolous, for there is no indication of luirli do.

waits at any point in the river above

Paeroa, and it is not likely that such a large amount of material would pass through thin district without leaving traces in the river. Whilst we do not wish to see a thriving mining industry hampered in any way, yet the farmer, who is after all, the

mainstay of New Zealand, must bo

respected, and it scorns only fair that

the creators of a nuisance in mining

as in other occupations, should be under the obligation of making arrangements for its mitigation or discontinuance. If a remittance of gold duty can be made by the local bodies concerned, it is difficult to see where any unfairness to the mining companies would come in, for the farmers through the local bodies would be

thus losing revenue that might otherwise be spent on roads and bridges. Certainly gratitude ought to be due to mining enterprise for the whole of the gold duty paid to the local bodies, but as things are turning out, the gold duty looks more like a compensatory payment which is in danger of being either wholly or partially swallowed up in order to provide a clear channel in the rivers.