IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 289, 7 December 1931, Page 6

IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

< • ; ' THE DOMAIN. / OBJECTIONS TO NEW ROAD; ,/ - ■>• ■ (To the Editor.) . '/; 1. As; we must all be aware of-.the : citr engineer's sincere public service, it kdistasteful: io disagree with him, but surely th' construction' of this new road should be sub. : ject to reconsideration. With the expenditure ' of taste, more than money, the Auckland Domain should become the most beautiful park' in New Zealand or Australia, but this road will destroy : and commercialise its most delightful glade and its prettiest -bush' .to natural and planted. Surely the pedestrian ;s. entitled to some consideration, and to construct, at such a cost a road with .a "rade of one in eleven almost alongside - one °witk' a much better grade already existing 'seems a waste of money. 'lf we have nine, thousand pounds which must be . spent, surelv 'the waterfront road could be extended with tlio idea of ultimately bringing Buckland's Beach and Howick- about four miles nearer to town' ' If'it has to be expended in the Domain why not: lay put the', surroundings of the' War ■ Memorial or put this beastly road.through tlie paddocks on the hospital side of, the°stee path leading from Stanley Street to the kinsl-v In -any case, a duplicate road is a wast*~oi" * money.; ... '.''-.. .H. E. VAILE. •; PRESERVATION OF BEAUTY.- - ; I ;heartily endorse the protests made-by Mr. Hooper and others as- to the proposed wanton desecration of one of our most charming .beauty spots in the Domain. Is this world: made for motorists alone that in order}to shorten the road for them by a few minute's :' magnificent native trees -are to be sacrificedl and tlie sylvan peace and silence of a naturalv sanctuary destroyed forever?- If so, "Blessed' are the. motorists, for they shall inherit tk" earth," should be added .to the Beatitudes. Mr.' Hooper speaks of the apathy of the public in regard to these matters. Granted .tfiali•'•: it. is hard - to rouse citizens to do more than grumble-at ..the flagrant disregard'.of their' rights of property—for a town and its belong to its' citizens—still, it' is not all a I question • of apathy which keeps them-'silent'' in the face, of destruction, but rather a heartsick despair of ever making any impression on'"' a . "soulless ' corporation."-.' All- : our \ lovely bays' and golden beaches -are gone, bur pohutukawas are stripped fronuthelr native cliffs, leaving gaunt walls of stark yellow clay. One trembles for the .fate of the' incomparable ■■ Grafton . Gully should .the plan for making it a public park' be-.carried , out.- Nothing is'"sacred "to the despoiler,.n6 beauty so'appealing as to make him. stay:his hand. . What is to be done" about it ? \ Must citizens- submit to arbitrary decisions of the "'■ civic authorities in regard to the property, of \ . the -people -whose trustees they are? We need t a: strong body of representative citizens, something .on 'the lines of the British Beautification ? Assoeiatibii, who' will protect our' natural'' -beauties against-the vandal whether in a position of authority or. not. .Let us saveibur while yet we have tlie time by an appeal, if necessary, to our-Auckland members of Parliament' .to take steps to protect.the'- . interests of .the people who put them iri power, V so that they may conserve What is -left-qf_ Auckland's natural. charms for our future- '■■' generations.- Beauty-lovers, rally, to \the■ d -'Hands- off ? the Domain—the people'svpro- 1J perty!" '.'" ' -'[ ISABEL M.CLUETT.'''J '.,.'■■' ' BUS FARES. 'J- y^' 'The attitude taken up by the.Transport Board and Mr. D. Bodie, commercial manager of; the New Zealand Bail ways, is, to put: it mildly, ..moist extraordinary. and past understanding. I think I may say without fear of contradiction that, outside ten or a dozen dwellings situated -within a- reasonable; distance: of-the' Otahuhu railway, station.quite eighty per cent of Otahuhu residents reside approximately from one to two miles.from the'station, thus putting railway: travelling, even at reduced rates, out of the question. Otahuhu and '. nearby districts are dependent on a :bus service, and certainly nothing could be desired better, than-the service we now have.'i The attitude taken up by theßailways Board is much to be regretted,,and it is .tobe sincerely hoped that "the Transport Board will not stand .in the way of allowing the; issue of the suggested six-trip tickets at a reduced price. Bus travellers have long looked for. this- concession, and the Bus Company; w to be commended in making an .horiesteffortto help to bring down the cost of living. Would not: Mr.Bodie's time have been better spent; if he had inquired into the tram extensions Avondale? There is:a case where I think that he, backed up* by. the Transport Board, would be quite justified in strongly' protesting :»0 the needless expense, coupled with the problematical financial results, which "HjJJSg out of the venture. DRESS REFORM. "," Had "Common Sense" merely confined himself to remarks on the above subject,;J£jg£S hot .have written in reply to his criticism of my letter. As he has taken exception to mj English, I will endeavour to use shorter .www. which I trust he will be able to &**&*& I cannot defend the "dole" system, w»» existed in England for some time, '» ut *?™ he pats.himself on the back as to condition here, I would like him to ask himself ..u» question, "Are: we, after all, so y *?J. removed from a similar 'dole' system? JW thing derived, from the State without W»«"S i comes out of the State coffers, e.g., -free denw treatment, free hospital treatment, leniency repayment of Government mortgages,, charitable'aid, which has reached such a,w sale extent that it practically amountsi w- ~ "dole." ' All this, I admit, is very necessary, the present time, but the excess of tm»j . activities over similar ones in England w>. think, balance the "dole," however much y> mon-Sense" may despise it and tlu its origin. lixUJi , THE PUMICE. COUNTRY. ... As a settler of the Guthrie block quite justified in contradicting a st^ te "- in Q. R. Creagh's letter concerning the> diture necessary for breaking in. worked the gumland of the pumice country of the south and am ■ favourably impressed bv the ease witn the latter is brought in and the way . ™ m . it responds.to an ordinarily intelligent i"_ g ft of handling. The . pumice land re 3 ul^L try> more fertiliser than does the gum cu and I maintain that, taking into consioer .the ultimate r-eturns- from both, t«- $ comparison as far as the amount or* flf concerned in bringing these two <H country to a productive state. Certai u j heavy frosts retard growth during tue .. months, but thev are also instrnmenw exterminating pests. The flush suniniev i provides the means -ioi o against "the winter shortage, for tne . whousea^-W^s^e^^^R,