VANDALISM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 127, 21 February 1908, Page 8

VANDALISM.

THOUGHTLESS PICNICKERS. When an. application , from the Vivian Street Sunday ..School for' permission to use the.Sea-toun-Park as a picnic ground, on February 28, came up for consideration at last night's meeting of the -Miramar.Borough Council, reference was ma'do by,.the .Mayor. (Mr. C. J. Crawford) to the destruction, of trees in the Park by members of- picnic parties. "Recently,' he said, "the Council, granted the use of the Park to the Sydney Street Sunday .School, on the usual'terms. During the afterjioon in question tho Town Clerk and I' walked' in the,' direction of the; Park. We. saw numbers of girls swinging on the branches of the trees, which were, in consequence, being damaged, considerably. Next day I noticed that the limbs ,of a number of. trees' wero broken; and that a'mass of paper and rubbish' lay about."" ... ' . " In response to a protest made by tho Council," continued the Mayor, "the Sunday school authorities- have 'written stating, that the damago must have been done by somebody else. They point out. that they-used only a certain portion-of*.tho Park, and that happens to bo' the portion in which the most damage has been wrought.- -The Council must put down vandalism of this kind. I have knocked about the 'World a good; deal, and I do not know another place where vandalism is so rifo as in Wellington. I don't blame tho children so much in. this instance as the adults." A Councillor: It would bo better not to allow the Park to bo used as a picnic ground.' The. Mayor: We. can't do that, because it is a public park, but wo can impose a chargo to cover.the expenses of a caretaker. "The same day," continued tho Mayor, "I met a' clergyman who was carrying away from the-foreshore a flax bush—roots and all. When I spoke to him, he did not appear to' realise the enormity of his action. His reply was;. ' The foreshore is public, property, and anybody can take a flax bush,' I explained to him that -the foreshore' hereabouts was ptivato,' property down to the water's edge, and that if visitors did damage the owners would prevent anyone from-going;'.along.there." . . Subsequently, tho > Council decided to impose a charge of 10s. in future for tho use of tho Park; tho.amount to be paid to a caretaker whose.duty it shall bo to-see that no damage is done by. picnickers,, and to tidy up the Park afterwards. . \ The new Post Office Hotel, Grey Street, Is now ready to receive guests. As from Monday next- the proprietor (Mr. A. M'Vinisli) announces-that he will welcome all old and new customers- to tho daily luncheons, from 12 o'clock-till 2 p.m., as formerly; Messrs'. Harcourt and Co. announce an auction salo, this (Friday) afternoon, at their rooms, 4G Lauibton Quay, at 2.30 o'clock. Tho salo will comprise "all that piece of land, situated in tho City of Wellington, part of sections Nos. 49 and 50, of the Polhill Gully Native Reserve, having a frontage of 4-tft. Din. to.Ohiro Road, with.a depth of 110 ft. -tin., together with the residence erectcd thereon, and known as No. 25-in Ohiro Road," and containing six: rooms :and accessories. Tho rear of the section has 59ft. lin. frontage (about) to a new road,'facing the Brooklyn tramline. It-is claimed-that the land is suitable for the erection of another residence.