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HUON RIVER RECLAMATION.
-OF
THE MINISTER AT FRANKLIN.
In view of the largely signed petition
placed in the hands of a member for
Franklin, and frome correspondence in
the press on the subject of the Huon
River reclamation scheme, the Minister
of Lands and Works (Hon. E. Mulcahy)
visited Franklin on Saturday to confer
with Mr. DE. alvan, the Warden, on
the subject.
Mr. Ryan immediately convened a
meeting of about 20 of the leading residents
who discussed the matter with
the Minister, who informed them that
there seemed to have arisen some doubts
as to whether the people of Franklin desired
the work to proceed.. Tenders had
been received for it, but up to the present
one had not been accepted. An
idea seemed to have got abroad that
the reclamation work proposed would, in
some way, prejudice the desire some people
in the district had to have the river
deepened to a minimum of 30 feet from
Shipwrights' Point to Huonville. He
explained to the meeting that, instead
of prejudicing that scheme, if Parliament
ever desired to adopt it, the result
of the erection of sheet piling immediately
in front, and the solidifying of the
flats and reclamation of 23 acres of land,
would be the consequent straining and
contraction of the Huon Channel at
that point, and tend to a natural deepening
of it by the increased scour of
the river. The sheet piling would be
driven to a sufficient depth to allow any
further deepening of the channel by
dredging that might be authorised. He
stated that while petitions were being
sent ground and press letters published
against the scheme, no one seemed to
have considered it necessary to contradict
the statement publicly made that
the reclamation scheme was a gross
waste of money. He suggested to the
Warden the propriety of cnjling a public
meeting, so that the residents could
declare themselves on the matter, it
they so wished.
Mr. 0. S. Mather, who was present,
explained that he was the writer of one
of the letters that had appeared in the
press, and that his objection to the
scheme lay largely in the probability of
its taking a very considerable time to
carry out; also because he did not think
sufficient money had been voted for it.
Some warm words ensued between Mr.
Mather and the Warden, but eventually
a resolution was passed that the work
should be proceeded with immediately,
Mr. Mather being the only dissentient.
It was decided, also, to request the
Warden to convene a public meeting for
Monday night.
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