USEFUL RELIEF

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 95, 23 April 1931, Page 13

USEFUL RELIEF

PLANTING THE BELT

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

. There has been a good deal of..criticism, recently of certain of the relief works, other than street works, reserves formation, and so on, as being so much waste of money, and a number,of candidates for the City Council and the Hospital Board have indicated that in their ■opinion; that criticism !iss .'fully .warranted. .V■ ■. ■ .■... •■■■ i . :'■'-, :■.,■•'■ . ■■■:;;.1 :. :.;.,

A suggestion was made by Mr. T. C. A. Uislop, the Civic League and Ratepayers' Association candidate for theMayorally, speaking at New town last I evening, thai useful and permanent, work could be given those unemployed who could not bo given work in roading improvement and similar work wore more attention given to the Town Belt. "A great deal.of very valuable work has been done," said Mr. Uislop, 'fbut on tlio other hand much has been from the point of view of productivity utterly useless. It is very necessary that we should endeavour to find ways to receive a return for our money; to spend money without return, may bring about soino degree of alleviation,'.but is no cure at all of the problem, ""What docs pass through my mind is that apart from roading and other work of that nature, we might make some greater use of the opportunities the Town Belt offers for the provision of work for the relief of unemployment. I think what we require is a general scheme for the progressive development of tho whole thousand acres of the Town Belt. In the immediate past yeaTS very good work has been done in tree planting on the belt under the Director of Parks and Eeserves, but a plan is needed instead of more or^ less haphazard work from year to year. Not only would the improvement be of great aesthetic valuo to tho city, but at tho same time we would be providing something of high commercial value should a future council see fit to utilise the grown timber." - Mr. Hislop mentioned that the Christchurch City Council had recently cut from four-fifths of an acre timber which 'brought a profit of over £600.