THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. THURSDAY. JUNE 22. 1899.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 11, 22 June 1899, Page 2

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. THURSDAY. JUNE 22. 1899.

Lv T an article we pubiidlu'd idii week, we dealt \esy Ivi-fly with some o£ the statistics involved in 'the discussion ox ins qa &tion — Wuat is to be done with the Tunaru Harbour ? We also rougnly outlined ita history*. The Harbour Board nave bjea brought face to face witirine fact tuat tae seas, are damaging the pivsent breakwater, iliac sjmgh is coming over it into th; na;-boar, and also tiidt the entrance \6 being filled witJi sningie driving worn the south.; jtiuc -tue turbo -U" will b<j milled it nofciiiiig is idj-ie. The Board ai'3 iujvLij ia thy direction 1 of, asking tno ratepayer of the' harboai" district iov authority to bori'OvV £LJJ,UvX) at 1 pei'Oiiit., to langthea ■ tiie present' moie -by 3JJi>fdot., ( Tuis is Mr Maxwell's schema, and- wo will summarise tne bja^iiU erpjctdd to accruu from it. • Txie, present structure, as is well kaown, takeja-beud. noi'Lliward, aul a3 tai -proposed new rubbie nuie will extend from tha aiujla ■ of ■ tha b-jni ! -ia an easterly direction, the kant will be profcejted, and its maintenance cost less. Jt will also lessen the sand or the range in the harbour, and it will secure a sufficient depth -of water for the largest vessels to eater- and leave the port. According to the memorandum attached to the Loan Bill, it will settle the shingle difficulty for 40 oroJyeAj-^and'n will form a dhelter i'or dredges, enabling them to work uud doopcn the entrance should shingle come over as it has doi^e j-ecently*- and finally it is said the reclaimed land produced by the shingle banking up on the south side oi the- breakwater- will form a valuable frontage lor the town, This is all ver.y clear, and satisfactory — but, and it is a very largo but, we ask how long is the shingle difficulty going to be settled by our extend od mole ? Mr Maxwell say s 3<) to -10 years, the- chairman's memorandum,. - already quoted, Bays 40 to 50 years, and a section oi* the public, who have, watched the progress of the shingle so fai\ say 10, 15,. or $) year* at the 'outskte. . -Mr -Maxwell appears^ in the past to have treated the' drift question -lightly; uRe , estimated at firsi QAson , imperfect datgu "hp

expli-in-') that 200,000 cubic yards p3f annum represented the coastal drift. Now, when all the IAIS353 FAIBE theories have, by force of circumstances to be abandoned he esiim ites it at 400,000 yards, flu diminished cost' of dredging wis made the fourth important i t .oi jt among lh'3 reasons given in ' ivo -ir ol" a mole, but when pressed by Mr Gain'iejs, ho admitted the saving was problematical. Mr previous advice has ! always been, lot the shingle go over tin mole into the Harbour, and (hedge it from there. Now he ibmdous this advice. Mr Acton j a.previo is cli.iinn.in of the Board ! points out tint Mr Mix .veil's proposil will result in £25 J, 000 I oeiug foan I necessary to carry it fciiroagi, insteid of th j Sam lie mentions, a. ad. th.it this mians £20.00) a year interest instead of i£lo,Oi>J and tint supposing the shingle was one third more rh-in has baon estimated, still dye Igiug it at 3- h per cubic yari wo aid cily be an annual expense of £1875. Mr Acton mikes a strong point out of the fact that Messrs O'Connor, Goodall, Wilson and Napier Bell, the engineers consulted in 18.) I, all ag/eed- as to the futility of supplementing' the break w .ter by f ui-tlrar structures which the s jingle would inevitably grind to pieces in the course of tiino. It will be remembered that the band or leant is nowbaing se rio idly d imaged by the shingle-charged waves, aad this is what further extension may mean as regards- the new mole, though Mr Maxwell proposes to prevent that by making' the extension of rubbla ; which he says the shingle would not appreciably damigc). We are not inclined to take the gloomy view pf Mr Acton, and, he has- not, convinced us as to the accuracy cf some of his figures — at.lea^t those quoted in regard to the loan. It maybe conceded, wa bolieve, that the' extension proposed will be pf great temporary service to the 'harbour — that the kant will be protected, that more dredging can -be successfully accomplished under the lea, of the mole, thus deepening the entrance, and that -the difficulty will be staved off for some years at least. ,It seems equally evidelit that ' the powers of nature; will assert'themselves in time,, and 'that .the shingle will be no more restrained by the new mole than it >has been by the old one r andif another loan is required within 10 or 15- years there will be curses both loud and deep.' ,On another occasion' we * propose to pursue this matter a staga further- It' is a difficult and complex qiie,stto,n> but every ratepayer of th 4 district will doubtless soon be called, on to express his opmion-by record*ing bis 1 vote, and' it is,wejUJ;liat nil should study the problem with that care and feeling of responsibility'

that such an important subjeq demands. Mr John Manchester the representative of a portion'©: this county on the Harbour Boartl| has views of lii 3 own which, aff not all in accordance with, th' 6 engineer's proponh. Bjfora the question goes to the ratepayers, we liopo that a strong' endeavour will be made to induca Mr Manchester to .id lrssa hisco-a3:itu3nts; and instruct them on v/Hafc i^ admittedly a momentous question.