MARROW NECK RUBBISH TIP.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 121, 22 May 1917, Page 7

MARROW NECK RUBBISH TIP.

(To the Editor.) Sir. —Replying to Mr. Henderson's ""emphatic denial" re the outbreak of diphtheria in Devonport. as caused ny the Council's breeding-ground at Narrow Neck. Mr. Henderson says: "H. has ha i no complaint for months past re the condition of the rubbish tip." Can he ex plain why the instructions of the Health Officer were not carried out until Dr. Hughes was again approached regarding the matter" Has Mr. Henderson inspected the tip since it has been supposed to be covered up, and if so docs he think that the work done so hurriedly is sufficient safeguard to the public health; Mr. Henderson wishes to place the hlame on the campers in the Takapuna Borough, and would wish to make the public believe that this area is largely .isr-j as a camping ground in summer. Well, as a resident. 1 can state abso!ute!y that only one camp has been erected anywhere in the Nar-ro-v Neck vicinity of Takapuna Borough for the past two years. The camp which wa- here this year for a period of nine day- was ne\t dour to my home, and a more satisfactory i-amp wa.s never seen, especially from a sanitary point of view. the refuse being taken away by the nightsoil cart. I might suggest that the sanitary conditions both of the old and new bathing sheds on the beach claim his attentions before making a statement regarding campers, a subject ■which I prove he knows nothing about. I think that this statement of Mr. Henderson's should warrant a reply from the Takapuna Borough Council, when an inspection of the houses in the vicinity would at once establish the fact of the cleanliness and sanitary conditions of the Takapuna Borough". Mr. Henderson's "emphatic denial" ■will be judged of its merits by his astounding contradictions, for he "states that two or three people are the cause of the trouble, when twenty people waited on him as a deputation, fifty signed the petition, and twenty visited the tip on Saturday to watch progress. -4s to his phrase "that things will soon return to normal," he certainly has it in his power to determine how soon, but le can rest assured that we residents of Narrow Neck have now entered on a campaign, and will not rest until we hare justice done for the safeguard of the health of our wives and children.—l am etc., ERNEST R. SEARLE. Hamana Street, Narrow Neck.

Mr. Fred T. Eyre, of North Avenue. Karro* Neck, confirms the foregoing statement, and says:—"ln company with Kflveral others I visited the tip this (.■Saturday) afternoon and found it in aoout the same condition as it lias been through ali time. A little earth spread over the upper end only served to hide its uglinesc. not its smell. Walking on this earth 1 found my boots sank through into liquid yellow mud; this will show the thin screen of ea.rth that really is deposited on the surface. . . . The face of the tip is about 12 feet high at the lower end. and how that end can be covered in four hours, as stated l>y the Mayor. I leave to the imagination. Until it is covered the nuisance exist in spite of all the denials that may be made by the officials interested. I fail to see that poisoning the rats will remove the smell. To my mind a dead rat is more smellful than a live one. The statement that the tip would make an ideal dinner table is. of course, preposterous, and in company with other residents I await the pleasure of seeing our Mayor and Councillors proving the truth of the statement."

Mr. E. Rewcastle, Narrow Neck, writes:—"Anyone visiting the tip can well believe that ' only four hours' work was done, but the offensive smell has not been removed. Mr. Henderson does not reside in the neighbourhood, and is really not in a position to make such a statement. Several residents have spoken to mc of the smell from the tip noticeable in the past few days, and I know it is so from unpleasant experience. In regard to two or three people making the statement objected to, I would undertake to obtain the signatures of 50 or more residents to a paper stating the main points of our contention. Does the Mayor forget that one of his councillors stated to the deputation the other evening; that we could tell him nothing about the tip that lie dirt not know, that Tie had the fumes in his windows for breakfast, dinner, and tea.' etc. Another councillor who has viewed the tip since the engineer's work states that we 'have »iot complained without cause.' Are these two of the people to whom the Mayor refers?"