INTERCOLONIAL WATER RIGHTS AS AFFECTED BY FEDERATION. 241 



already in the latter river is scanty, that received from the 

 Macquarie may prove to be of considerable benefit to navigation. 



On the Lower Macquarie there are immense areas of low-lying 

 plains and swamps which benefit greatly from inundation during 

 floods in the river. In ordinary seasons the whole of the water 

 can be advantageously utilised in this way. Works have been 

 constructed for distributing surplus water for stock purposes, and 

 other works of a similar character are now in progress. These 

 works while providing water for several hundred miles of creek 

 will furnish the means of materially mitigating the damage which 

 sometimes arises from excessive flooding of the lower holdings,, 

 but they may at the same time diminish the quantity of water 

 which would otherwise reach the river Darling. 



The storage of water on an extensive scale on the upper part 

 of the catchment of the Macquarie would be a most useful work. 

 The Engineer-in-Chief for Public Works, Mr. Darley, has this 

 matter under investigation, and it is to be hoped that a satisfactory 

 site for a reservoir will be obtained. In dry seasons the flow in 

 the Macquarie frequently fails to reach Warren, but a suitable 

 storage reservoir would aflord the means of keeping up a per- 

 manent supply beyond that place, and as far as the Macquarie 

 Marshes. The water would be stored in the reservoir in times of 

 abundant supply and allowed to flow off by degrees in periods of 

 low river. The management of such a reservoir would require 

 much care and judgment, as the interception of a large quantity 

 of water during moderate floods would affect the flow which would 

 reach the river Darling. Landholders along the Macquarie may 

 be expected to hold the opinion that it is perfectly " reasonable "' 

 from their point of view to make the utmost use of its waters by 

 storage and distribution works ; but it is equally natural that 

 persons interested in the navigation of the river Darling will be 

 disposed to raise the question whether such interference with, 

 natural conditions should be considered " reasonable." 



So far as the navigation of the river Darling is concerned, the 

 Namoi is a much more important river than the Macquarie. It 



P— Dec. 5, 1900. 



