And State Papers 363 



farms carefully tilled. Water made available under 

 the terms of this law becomes appurtenant under 

 the law to the land, and can not be disposed of 

 without it, and thus monopoly and speculation in 

 this vitally important commodity are prevented, or 

 at least their evil effects minimized so far as the 

 law or the administration of the law can bring that 

 end about. This is the great factor in future suc 

 cess. The policy is a policy of encouragement to 

 the home-maker, to the man who comes to establish 

 his home, to bring up his children here as a citizen 

 of the commonwealth, and his welfare is guarded 

 by the union of the water and the land. 



The government can not deal with large numbers 

 individually. We have encouraged the formation of 

 associations of water users, of cultivators of the soil 

 in small tracts. The ultimate ownership and control 

 of the irrigation works will pass away from the 

 government into the hands of those users, those 

 home-makers, who through their officers do the 

 necessary business of their associations. The aim 

 of the government is to give locally the ultimate 

 control of water distributed and to leave neighbor 

 hood disputes to be settled locally; and that should 

 be so as far as it is possible. The law protects vested 

 rights; it prevents conflict with established laws or 

 institutions; but of course it is important that the 

 legislatures of the States should co-operate with the 

 National Government. When the works are con 

 structed to utilize the waters now wasted happy and 

 prosperous homes will flourish where twenty years 



