THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1902. KAPUA DRAINAGE.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 263, 30 September 1902, Page 3

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1902. KAPUA DRAINAGE.

The village settlement of Kipm has from its commencement, been greatly handicapped by the lodgment of flood waters in rainy seasons. The settlement is in a small valley the centre of which was a few years back a dismal swamp. The sections were so divided that each contains a portion of the swamp land. From the fiist the settlors were not enamoured of the swamp, but they were lead to ’’elieve that the land would be drained, and on this understanding they took up the holdings. However, but little has been done by the Government to improve the drainage, and every heavy rain spells loss to the unfortunate settlers who have, despite their efforts to drain the land, suffered heavily. They have made repeated applications to the Land Board for relief in some form or another, hut with little success. Now they propose forming themselves into a Land Drainage Board. The procedure in this case is simple. They must first make out a description of the district, then a majority of settlers in that district would petition the Governor to decl&re tliis district a drainage district. The Governor would appoint! a Returning Officer and fix the d|ite for the first election of members of the Drainage Board, which must consist of not less than five not more than seven. Tlds Board has then practically tjhe game powers as a County Counpil being able to borrow up to t|he value of the land in its aria. This, in the case of Crown hoid-

ings, will of course be based on improvements. The position of the Government in regard to the settlers would not be a particularly happy one, for extensive works might be entered into, the monies raised would have to be subsidised, and the probabilities are that it would take a good part of the rents accruing from the settlement to meet this and the preliminary expenses, which would be vei y heavy. The settlers might \nvolve themselves further than their circumstances warranted, and the last sba’te would be worse than the first. Consequently our idea is, as we have before suggested, that the Government should remit the rent on the area chiefly affected by flood waters. Then if the settlers had a favourable year it would compensate for those in which they lost all their crop from this area, and if they had a bad season it would be less of a direct loss. The Land Board could either adopt this plan or spetfd a fixed sum in drainage, bht we are inclined to think that the remission of rent would be the plan most favoured by the settlers, and it would entail less direct expenditure by t.!m Government. In any case something should be done before imxt .iarTest, and the present would bean opportune time for securing tlie attention of the Legislature.