VANDALISM OR NECESSITY? REGRETTABLE DESTRUCTION OF SHRUBBERIES.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 84, 6 October 1904, Page 6

VANDALISM OR NECESSITY? REGRETTABLE DESTRUCTION OF SHRUBBERIES.

THE ONSLOW BOROUGH AND HIGHLAND PARK. Many people have watched with curious eyes, and with a certain sense of disfavour, the spoliation of the beautiful plantations of many years' standing which has been going on during the last week or so, as a result of differences which have arisen between the Onslow Borough Council and Mrs. Rhodes, the owner of the Highland Park estate, on the northern hills. On this subject we have received the following letter from a Wadestown, "Ratepayer" :-- " Would you allow me as a ratepayer to offer my protest against the latest action of the Onslow Borough Council in regard to the roads through the Highland Park Estate? Tlie^ Council having failed in all endeavours to arrive at a satisfactory settlement, decided to establish their right over the roads in question by cutting a 6-foot track, avoiding the destruction of any fine trees met with. But now, to the wonder and dismay of many people, we find the roads being recklessly cleared of every living tree to their full width, notwithstanding the fact that the gradients are hardly practicable for anything but " a chamois. Everybody wishes, the Council to take the proper steps to assert its control over borough property, but this being esfiablished, nobody wants such a wilderness as is now being made, not with a view of being used, but seemingly merely for the purpose of putting the screw on, or of revenge, I feel that the ratepayers will be the losers without doubt in this matter. That the borough should possess a property covered with shrubbery is a satisfaction ; but to destroy it is a disgrace." As the matter is one of some public interest, we have been at some pains to endeavour to arrive at the facts which lay behind the refusal of the owner of the estate to see eye to eye with the Council, and vice versa, and with this object a member of our staff visited* the locality, while explanations were also sought from the representatives of both sides. STATEMENT BY THE RHODES ESTATE TRUSTEES. The solicitors to the Rhodes Estate trustees are Messrs. Moorhouse and HadSeld. In explanation of their side of the question, Mr. Moorhouse pointed to the fact that Wadestown was cut up in the early forties by ruling parallel lines on paper reptesenting the land without the least reference to the contours of the country (as any one can see by following fhe lines of road recently opened uj> by the Council), marking out roads only 40 feet wide. When these roads were first located on the ground it was found that in some instances one side of the 40 feet road was 50 feet higher thttn. tb.« other, the grade in places being steeper than one in one, descending precipices and ascending to the highest trig, point. Complaints having been made that the Highland Park Estate was lying idle, that it was cutting off Wadestown from the city and keepirU the district back, and there being a fear that the Government would adopt suggestions appearing in the press that the estate sEould be taken over as a Governor's residence or for workers' homes or other "purposes, the trustees decided to cut np the estate, and approached the late Mayor of Onslow. He i was quite willing, and anxious, for tho good of the borough to, in effect, exchange the roads shown on the old plan of Wadestown, comprising about 7 acres, a tram route from Wellington, a site for a Town Hall, and 36 acres of well made 66ft roads opening up the estate, and providing two additional easy-graded approaches to Wadestown. On the strength of this the Trustees obtained an Act of Parliament giving them powers to dedicate roads, and sell or lease sections. Meetings, which had been reported, were then called by the late Mayor to give effect to the closing of the old roads (if any). Tire meetings were adjournea from time to time. The present Mayor (in his predecessor's departure from the district) was elected, according to Mr. Moorhouse, on the strength of a promise that he would obtain several thousand pounds from the Rhodes Trustees for tho old 'roads. After Mr. Williams's election a long series of negotiation was commenced, during which a valuation of the road lines at £300 an acre was made by the appointee of the Council. The Trustees made many attempts to settle the matter, but the Council, feeling that it had the advantage, gradually increased its demands as the Trustees sought to meet them. In August, 1903, the Rhodes' Trustees offered £300 an acre for all the roads in' question which they did not desire to keep open as public roads. This the Council declined to consider unless a tramway route was arranged for. Latterly the Trustees were informed that the valuation of £300 an acre was many months old, and that the land had risen in value, and so on. In effect, the Council thought all along that the owner of Highland Park was bound to come to terms to be dictated by them. Offers of settlement from the owner were made so late as 24th September, 1904, just before the plantations were destroyed, of £300 an acre for such of the old roads as were required to save from destruction valuable plantations which could not be reinstated under 40 years.. The officials of the Borough Council have now for ever prevented the settlement they desire, by destroying acres of splendid plantations, and nave themselves to thank for the perpetnation of 40ft goat tracks which the owners were willing to replace with 66ft well-made and graded roads, which would have enormously benefited the borough. The Council has spent the ratepayers' money in law costs, surveys, and bush-felling, etc., with the result that it has forced the opening of narrow roads such as Parliament has worked, hard to prevent by fhe various Public Works Acts, and has also kept back the settlement of the district, refused a tram route and easily graded roads from town, and destroyed the most beautiful gardens in the district." THE BOROUGH COUNCIL'S VIEWS. The attitude taken up by the Borough Council is shortly that it has all along been acting in what it has conceived to be the best interests of the ratepayers of the borough, whose trustee it is, and by the advice of a ratepayers' commitniittee, and that the present position has practically been forced upon the Council. The Mayor, Mr. R. B. Williams, in the course of an interview, met the objection regarding tne destruction of the bush and plantations with the statement that the scheme for subdividing < and roading the estate originally submitted by the Rhodes trustees involved, if anything, a greater destruction of plantations than is actually being carried out by the borough, or is proposed. This applied to all parts of tho estate excepting in the immediate . vicinity of 'The Grange. Mr. Williams briefly sketched the steps which had been taken by the Council. In the first instance, after the decision of the Supreme Court holding that the Council had the legal control of the old roads, the Council, finding that its attempts at a compromi.ie were hopeless, called upon the trustees to remove the obstructions from the streets, in oider that they, might Jje firoflerly;

defined, and that the inhabitants of the borough could use them without running risks of prosecution as. tiespassers. This also was declined. The Council then proceeded to itself cut a six-foot track over the roads. "But," said Mr. Williams, "as there still seemed to be no prospect of getting the owner of the property to fence, it seemed necessary that we should clearly define the area upon which people might walk without fear of trespass, proceedings for which had been threatened if any snch offence was committed, and it was therefore decided to open up the streets to the full width of 40ft. There was a demand for this from a number of individual ratepayers, who wished to make use of the streets. The Council has all along acted with the advice of a special committee appointed by the ratepayers themselves, which special committee was in consultation with the Council as late as a week or so back." WhHe it was quite true that a six foot- track ought to have sufficiently defined the streets, the Council, Mr. Williams stared, felt that there ought to be no opening left for actions for trespass, such as were threatened. The question was put whether the purpose of the Council, and of the ratepayers, would not have been met by cutting, cay, two small tracks, one on either side of the street boundary, leaving the large trees and shrubs standing, so that users of the roads might have had the benefit of their grateful shade, and saving the spoliation which is now going on. The reply made to this was that it would then have looked as if the Council had some ulterior object in view, and in any case it could only have been a makeshift. If these streets were to be of any utility, such as was claimed by the ratepayers, and the land thus opened up was to be put into the market, as was the obvious intention of the owner, it was surely the duty of the Council to show the people exactly where the streets were, and clear them of obstructions. As to the question of cost, Mr. Williams gave an assurance that the Council had been put to very little cost as a result of the recent lawsuit, and all they had to contend with now was the cost of opening up the streets, which was not an expensive matter, as the streets were not to be formed, but meßely made available for foot traffic. In return the Council would be giving its constituents access to a hitherto inaccessible portion of the borough, and providing a short cut to and from Wadestown, while if the land was cut up for sale, and was built upon, as would probably be the case, th© borough would benefit in the future by the increased value of the rating area. He denied that the Council had acted in a spirit of revenge, and he denied also that he himself had gone into the Council pledged to settle the matter to the advantage of the borough from a monetary point of view, and at the expense of Mrs. Rhodes. When he stood for the Mayoralty he was unaware of the true legal position with regard to the streets, as afterwards defined by judgment of the Supreme Court, and when he learned that, he and his colleagues had simply acted in what they conceived to be the best interests of the ratepayers, and* to obtain for them their legal rights. The Council had tried to settle the matter amicably, and had failed. It had been willing to sell to Mrs. Rhodes the old streets, provided the rights of the borough were conserved in return in relation to a scheme for straightening and widening the main road and providing for a possible tramway line in the future. The Council was bound to insist upon this, in order to redeem its pledge to other owners of property in the locality, who had already dedicated land for the same purpose, and which would connect with the portion which it was desired td v wide?n and make straight.

The elder scholars of Te Aro school, Willis-street, were to-day addressed by Mr. C. W. Palmer, the local hon. secretary of the Navy League. He dwelt on the advantages and privileges enjoyed by Britishers throughout the world and the wealth and security that had been obtained as a result of Britain's supremacy of the seas. It was pointed out that this valuable heritage of seapower had been handed down to us by generations of the past, and required to be jealously guarded if we desired to ensure our future national existence. Mr. Robert Lee" (the Chairman of the Education Board) was present, and supplemented Mr. Palmer's remarks. The League hopes by the dissemination of suitable literature to impress upon all Britishers the vital necessity of maintaining intact Britain's naval supremacy. The formation of the League has helped to enliven public opinion in the Mother Country and elsewhere in regard to naval requirements. The local committee has authorised Mr. Palmer to pay visits to the various other schools which have not already formed sub-branches of the League. The programme adopted by the Navy League in connection with the local school branches is as follows : — (1) Each school associate to be supplied with a badge and a diploma ; (2) a proportionate number of Navy Leapue Journals to be supplied to each school monthly, together with other illustrated literature; (3) magic lantern entertainments and lectures to be held ; (4) special prizes to be awarded by the League for competitive essays on naval history subjects; (5) visits to be made to warships in port. The scholars' annual subscriptions of Is are applied towards the purchase of the necessary literature, and the amount is largely supplemented by votes from the funds of the adult branch of the League. Mr. V. G. Day, at present in charge of the Hokitika district as Warden and Stipendiary Magistrate, is to fill the vacancy at Dunedin caused by the death of Mr. E. H. Carew, S.M. The export of gold from New Zealand for the past nine months totalled 404,350 oz., valued at £1,544,503, or 31600z, of the value of £14,228, more than during the corresponding period last year. Last month the colony exported 42,2590z of gold, valued at £161,767, as compared in September last year. Last month's total was made up as follows: — Auckland, 17,6070z-, £62,331; Dunedin, 16,9550z, £68,645; Greymouth, 75320z, £30,129 ; Maryborough, 1650z, £662. The quantity of silver exported from New Zealand last month was 77,5750z, valued at £7819. A reminder is given to the members of the Thorndon Bowling Club that they have been invited to attend the opening of the season at the Wellington, Victoria, and Newtown Clubs' greens on Saturday afternoon. A paragraph published in last night's Post contained references to remarks made at the previous evening's meeting of the Petone Technical School Board regarding the request for the establishing of a High School in the Lower Hutt. At the Petone meeting the Rev. A. Thomson averred "that Petone had gone through all the necessary statutory formalities, and gone to the Board with full and reliable dafea— steps the Hutt had not taken at all." Mr. W. Judd,' Chairman of the Lower Hutt School Committee, asks us to state that Mr. Thomson is incorrect in his statements. The l>.tt Committee not .only made its application before the Petone Committee's request was sent in, but the application was also in conformity with the directions set down in the Act. The Education Board referred the Hutt Committee's application to its Inspectors on the 25th August, and considered the Inspectors' report on, the 29th September,,