CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 May 1927, Page 12

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

BUILDING BY-LAWS.

(Special to “Star.")

CHRISTCHURCH, May 12.

The method by which building permits are obtained in Christchurch is farcical. There is no system of supervision to protect the public in the erection of houses and buildings, in consequence of which, speculators have erected houses constructed of inferior material, built by second rate workmen, therefore in the interests of the community, the by-laws governing the erection of houses etc, should be re drafted without delay. This opinion was expressed to-day by Mr E. C. Sutcliffe, Secretary of the Christchurch branch of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, and is in accord with that of W. H. Winsoi secretary of the Christchurch Builders’ Association, who was subsequently interviewed on the question. “Unfortunately, Mr Sutcliffe is substantially correct in his statement,” said Mr Winsor. “There are far too many loopholes in the present by-laws of which the jerry builder can take advantage while in many cases recently, we have had experience of land agents and others erecting buildings under conditions that would not be tolerated by a recognised contractor.”

A CANDID CRITIC. Wherever we hear the lines: “I wad some power ” we smile a little to ourselves, and imagine that such a state of things can never come to pass but sometimes there arises one who has reflex eyes or something like that. Woe betide our self satisfaction. Here is an article on Christchurch written in the “Liverpool Post and Mercury,” March 9, by a New Zealander, who signs himself “C.B.” — “The last time 1 was in Christchurch, that small city was suffering from an particularly acute attack of local patriotism. The Prince of Wales had been and gone amid such a tornado of loyal feeling as had never -before been witnessed. The Cathedral bells rang their wildest welcome, buildings were beflagged and blazing with electric salutations, every heart burned with loyal zeal that had suffered a partial repression since the visit of the present King and Queen twenty years before. This week, it will all occur again, when the Duke and Duchess of York make their entry into the Garden City ! of New Zealand. I hope that the Royal party are forewarned for ' the loyalty of the Christchurch man is peculiarly of a virile order, deep seated and unique. It arises, I think, from pure egotism. All those little cities in the far Dominion are horribly vain, fiercely contemptuous of the pretensions of their neighbours, but Christchurch I fear is frankly snobbish. It hates Auckland for that city’s bigness, and sub tropical exuberance; ’ abominates Wellington because it has such a great advantage in being the capital. Dunedin of course, is despised as the seat of Scottish dissent and un-English traditions, and itself is only worshipful for its quiet green beauty and history, which marks it out from all conglomerate towns of the country, at least so the Christchurch man firmly believes and says on all prudent occasions.” CYCLIST AND DOG. They met at the intersection of Bealey Avenue and Victoria Street. The bicycle described a few curious evolutions, and the dog became tangled with the wheels. Then a girl sat on the top of them both. Dazed perhaps by the fall, she remained where she was. Anxiety w-as rendered more acute by the fact that any movement would release the infuriated animal, that was rapidly developing man-eating tendencies. A passer-by coming to the rescue said some incantations over the pair, and raised the girl to her feet. She rode away hurriedly while the dog confined his attentions to the nearest portions of the rescuer’s anatomy. HARDSHIPS OF THE POOR. Stating that distress in the city in the present time was the worst she has ever known, for so early in the winter, Nurse Maude, one of the best known social workers in Christchurch, expressed the opinion this morning that the central relief depot should be opened immediately. Instancing the class of case she is now being called upon to help Nurse Maud mentioned that last night she gave food to a family who did not have a bite to eat in the house. These people had been too late to obtain relief that day from the Hospital Board. They were starving, when she was appealed to for help. People need never starve nor go without a bed in Christchurch because the Hospital Board will always grant relief, if the application is made during the hours its office is open, Nurse Maude added, but in a number of cases the people who need help do not care to go there. Others leave it too late. The family I assisted yesterday came in after the Board’s depot was closed. They were quite decent people, well worthy of help. In a number of cases Nurse Maude supplies food in addition to what is issued by the Hospital Board. Her reasons for doing this is that while the Board supplies groceries, often there are a. number of extras which people need. Among the callers she has received at the office lately have been a large number of men whose boots were worn out. They had no change of clothing. There are some undeserving cases, but the majority are worthy of help. Drink is at the bottom of much of the distress among men. High rents is another cause of distress. declared Nurse Maude. Rents which some people had to pay, she considered were terribly high. The result was that many of them struggled to pay their rents, for fear of being turned out of the houses, and did not have enough money left for food. “I think the Central Relief Depot should be opened without delay,” she remarked. This is the only relief depot I know of at the present, apart from the Hospital Board’s depot. The large number of applications we are receiving is a heavy drain on our funds, especially as nursing work is always heaviest in the winter months. They seem to be taking a long time to get going with the unemployment relief works. I can’t understand why there is so much delay, especially as the position is so bad.”