A POTENTIAL RESERVE

Evening Star, Issue 18504, 11 December 1923, Page 2

A POTENTIAL RESERVE

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Your 'By tho Way’ contributor, | “Q.V.,” in Saturday’s issue has struck the 1 | right note regarding the beauty spot near i the butts at Opoho. The fate of this ’ woodland tract seems to be in tho balance. It is fervently to bo hoped that if the t city fathers aro not sufficiently aiivo to i the best interests of the citizens and should let this opportunity ship, the public will * interfere ere it bo too late. That it would f bo a grievous pity that those sixteen end * a-half acres, including silver ferns and | other native flora, should fall under the axe ; goes without saying, especially when, by 1 all accounts, tho present owner offers such 1' easy conditions. It would be to the lasting shame —firstly of the City Council and \ secondly of the general public—should [ nothing be done to secure tho said land. “A thing of beauty is a- joy for ever; its ■ loveliness increases,” Keats truly sings, and this is peculiarly true of woodland | beauty. Moreover, it is true of forest j land near a city, whose inhabitants can \ scarcely have too much of the beauties of if Nature. It needs no great imagination to I conceive what physical and mental re- [ freshment (and that for all time) would be t gained once this matter was satisfactorily • settled. William C. Bryant in his ‘ Forest E Hymn ’ reminds us that “ tho groves were * God’s first temples.” Needless, perhaps, to j state that many another bard baa drawn j inspiration from close contact with and - contemplation of sylvan scenery'. It could | scarcely be otherwise. And to let this j land go up in smoke, as " Q.V.” puts it, i would be Hunnish in the extreme. Trust- | ing that Or Wilson will fulfil the pledge j mentioned by your contributor, and that ! has fellow councillors will support him— ; I am, eto., Woodlanueii. \ December 10. j