RE-NAMING THE BELTS.

Councillor Gray's suggestion that tha Baits surrounding the City Ward should be styled I avenues, and given the tames of the four > superintendents of tile province "will prob- j ably meet with general approval. When tlie Belts enclosed tha City of Christchurch i their title Was perfectly accurate, but with I the merging* of the city into Greater Christchurch, tneir function as lines of division has ceased, and the word "belt" haa become a B__o_er. As the •proposal now stands beforo the City Council, it is suggested that the _\o__ Belt shall be called Bealey Avenue, the East Ba_ RoUeston Avenue, the South Belt Moorhouse Avenue, end that portion of Antigua atnet between Armagh street and the Hospital Bridge FitzQerald Avenue. The choice of ___» has ba—i *__ded, ss far as possible, by tbe connection of the particular super_t__ene with the locality. Thus Mr Bealey owned property in the neighborhood of tbe North Belt, Mr Rolleston lived for some time, was married, and is buried ia Linwood, and the proximity, of the railway station aatoaOly ) suggests the adoption of Mr Moorhousa's . name for the South Belt, as he tamed , the first sod of the Christk church-Lyttelton railway, and his , name is indissolubly connected with i the instruction, of the Lyttelton tunnel. • At the same time it is possible that tbe , Rolleston statue will be erected in Antigua : street, and if this is the case that portion I of the street which ib ia suggested should [ be re_ta_ed should be known as Rolleston • Avenue, a title which is all the more apI propriate when it _ re_en_ered that the . province owes the College _td the Museum . to his wise forethought, and that he ever i took the deepest internet in both. Oa _• , Mayor's suggestion, the matter waa adjourned to aa to give the ■ public an opportunity of saying i what they think of tha idea. There is no ; fear, we think, thai any objection will , be made, except, perhaps, as we have re- . marked, to the allotment of the names, , which is an easy matter to adjust. In i tbe tneautims, w*» quite agree with Ooitnt cillor Hadn—d as to the de_rab_ty of ■ mating the streets worthy of their new 1 and honoured names. If the South Belt, ■ for instance, is to be called Mc_house l Avenue, tha least tha Council can do will i ba to see that the title "avenue" is not » almost as groaT? misnomer as the word • ''bell/." The rather broken line of youdg ,' trees on the footpath on the Christchurch ) side cannot by any stretch of imagination , be described as an avenue. Now that - Sydenham is part of the" city, perhaps the . obstacles that existed in the way of plan** f ing a double row of trees down the middle - of the belt bare disappeared, and if this t is tho case ths work should be put in ■ hand at the next planting season. Such t on avenue would relieve the monotony of s the view, and in time would break the , violence of tho that now rage - unchecked from end to end along the bare > wide street. There is one other suggestion • which might be considered when the mat- ■ tar, of nomenclature is being deals, with. . Would it not he well to re-christen the » "Canal Reserve," which is fast becoming an • important residential thoroilgh_reT It is - a fine wide street, which has been par- • tialty planted. It toight b* perhaps) _l!«d > Godley Avenue in futara. It is, at «iy - rate, rather an anomaly that no street"fir >. square in Christohurch is named jtfter.. the • founder of Canterbury, and il ho* better • proposal ia forthcoming the omission might ! he repaired in tho way we have suggested.