SANITARY CONNECTIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8, 10 January 1905, Page 2

SANITARY CONNECTIONS.

(To tbe Editor.) Sir.—l consider a great injustice is !being done %o property holders in Auckland by their being ordered, at a month's notice, to cause W.C connections to be made, or a penalty will be enforced, seeing that Mr Mestayers plans have not been definitely adopted, and should they be so, then fresh connections and drain pipes would have to be laid. Property holders will thus be put to a -douhJe expense, which is manifestly unfair, and cruel to those who can iU afford to pay such heavy charges as are entailed in these constant changes. Rates also have been considerably increased of late, year after rear, so that odp cannot wonder so many properties an? now advertised for sale in the papers. May 1 ask your kind assistance ill' renjedv this wrong? —I am. etc.. i * X. DOGS. no the Editor, i Sir. —If there is one nuisance more than another that requires attention :t is that caused by f-trayinp degs. These roam at will through our main thorougl-- ; fares U- the annoyance of pedestrians a_=. we]] as to the positive danger To horsemen and those driving. Whilsi walking along Karangahape-road on Saturday lust, and within a distance of not more than 200 yards. I counted between 20 and 30 of these mongrels sporting themselves in different -ways, by snapping at horses' heels, yelping, and performing sundry evolutions, apparently to their own satisfaction. Not i only are they a nuisance and a danger !in these ways, but shopkeepers and tradespeople generally are perplexed and considerably exercised in mind as to the best to be done to prevent their goods from being soiled and damaged by peculiar canine propensities. There i.-= also the danger of disease arising from the presence of dogs. It is well I known to the TOeriieal faculty that hydatids on the and stomach frequently i arise from the contact in some way or other with dogs or i-ai>- and everything possible should be donp to minimise the risk that may be incurred by the dog nuisance. The trams have served the purpose well to a certain degree by "dealing" summarily with a number of stragglers, although I have often noticed that motormen have been considerate enough to apply their brakes and bring their trams almost u> a standstill 'to prevent some of these creatures from being nip over. Steps should be taken by the authorities to abate the nuisance. I .jNonie ?uch system as is in vogue in Mcl- |- bourne, Sydney, and other cities could be very well adopted here. In the former city an inspector is appointed, and he or his assistant mtfkes periodical visits to \-he streets of the city and suburbs, and with a little ingenuity, which it is quite 'amnsing and interesting to j>as.->ers-by to watch, the stragglers are "gathered" in '■ ■*vhh the aid of a sort of a lasso, and j swung into a specially constrm-ied cart, . by which they am eonreyed to a certain j ■piaec. A description of the dogs in cus- j • tody is posifd on a noxice board for a ; few days, during ■whi"h owners may claim and release their dogs if they conelder them -worth bailing or.t and pay- j ! ing expenses on. Should any- dogs be | I unclaimed within the specified time they j 'are taken away and "deak " whh in as humane manner as possible. They certainly do not appear on the streets j cgain. The presence of so many dogs !in our midst is caused by the fact that , every man and wotnaji thinks he or she I has a riffht to ker-p onr. Perhaps this Icscnot be aJtojretber objected t-o proi rided the dog is kept at home. But the I responsibility should remain with the .owner, who should be fined for allowing the dog to wander in the streets or the : animal ought to b? destroyed when found, running about unattended.—l am. etc, PRO BONO PUBLICO.