A USEFUL SOCIETY.

Evening Star, Issue 10881, 15 March 1899, Page 1

A USEFUL SOCIETY.

The tenth annual meeting ofthe City and Suburban Reserves Conservation Society was held in tho City Council Chambers on Monday evening, when the report, which had been previously published, was taken as read ; officers were elected for the current year, and other necessary business transacted. Among the many associations which, in their respective spheres, are doing good work in Dunedin, this Society commend themselves as carrying out unobtrusively but energetically functions the discharge of which confers and much 1 jss credit than is deserved. The active members have no political object or aim in their self-imposed gratuitous labors, the only return for which is the knowledge that they have done something practical towards making the City more attractive, and have given an object lesson in the amenities which should bring about a refinement of the public taste, and be educationally beneficial to the rising generation of citizens. But for the welldirected efforts of the Society the most prominently situated reserves in the City would be, as indeed they were for years; leper spots—offences to the ' sensesofsightandsmell—the favorite loafing grounds of idle boys and budding larrikins. The Octagon, the Triangle, and the Southern Market Reserve are now ornaments to the City, and every year the Society are in evidence, causing the waste places to smile with blossom and verdure, making the City more worthy o£ the high cultivation of its residents, and of the somewhat ambitious nomenclature—the Edinburgh of the Southern Hemisphere. The Society declare that the issue of their tenth report marks an epoch in their history, when it is not unfitting that a short remind of what they have effected should bo given. This they proceed to give, and the account is interesting and significant, as showing what can be done by energy directed by intelligence with • very small means. The material support which might reasonably have beeu expected has never been afforded, and really wonders have been done at a cost proportionately insignificant. It is not uncommon with voluntary associations to show a minimum of results for a maximum of expenditure ; but this Society are entirely in the other way, and for every penny spent they show more than a penny's worth. It is to be regretted that the chairman of the meeting (Mr G. G. Russell) should have had to remark on the small support from the citizens which the Society havo obtained. The membership at present was under 200, and it surprised him that there was not a greater interest taken in it by the public of Dunedin, and that more people did not join, so as by the augmentation of the funds to enable further work to be proceeded with. In the course of the chairman's address and the brief speeches during subsequent proceedings several points were raised which are worthy of consideration. The Society, it is well known, have for some time been desirous of planting and generally improving the Anderson Bay road, which, as the chairman very truly stated, is the very worst out of Dunedin, although leading to a beautiful suburb, and occupying a situation exceptionally advantageous. The road in its present condition is dangerous to vehicular, horse, and cycle traffic; the air is nauseous with pestilential effluvia ; and altogether it is a disgrace to the City and southern suburbs. Any effective movement towards improvement, the chairman said, ho considered must be hopeless so long as the petty municipalities on the Flat continue in existence and have the power, which they seldom fail to exert, of obstruction to wholesome reforms. It is to be hoped that the Premier will next session take up the Local Government question in earnest, and that before long we may see the suburban boroughs merged in one strong and wealthy municipality. It would tend very much to the future beauty of Dunedin if (as was suggested by some members ofthe Society) the streets running through parts of the City which are not at present business thoroughfares were planted with trees, but there is no doubt a difficulty to be contended against in tho mischievous destruction by larrikins —not as a matter of course boys—which has already impeded the Society in their work. Mr G. L. Denniston remarked that what was wanted was the cultivation of a better public opinion regarding the conservation of the reserves, and he instanced tho United States, where not only public but private gardens are commonly left unfenced with perfect safety. Public opinion on the subject, it may be noted, is cultivated in that advanced community with a thick stick. The police are very much alive, and very arbitrary in their methods. Woe betide the offender caught damaging tho beauty spots of any American city the summary application of the policeman's club and the hauling off to the police depot and a smart fine are sure to be his fate.

The thanks of the community are due to the Committee of the Society for the interest they have taken in the work, and very especially to the honorary secretary (Mr Alexander Bathgate), to whose valuable services the success achieved is mainly due. He has been constant in advocating the cause of the Society, in devising improvements, and seeing to their being carried out with judgment and economy.