Notes of the Day

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3585, 10 March 1914, Page 4

Notes of the Day

THE CORRESPONDENCE ON THE

SMELL NUISANCE.

What may be described as an unusual complaint to be made at a public meeting has to bo recorded this morning. “I think that we are not being, at the present moment, too well served by the press in Gisborne,” said Mr E. H. Mann at the local bodies’ conference yesterday. The position, as ho went on to put it, was this: ‘‘The members of the Borough Council, or perhaps some other body, after due consideration, would come to a certain conclusion, and that conclusion would be published in the columns of the press. Then next day, one was faced with a letter, perhaps from ‘Ratepayer,’ ‘Nuff Sed,’ or ‘Kaiti Citizen/ or somebody else, and they hardly knew what it all meant. These letters might be very valuable or not. 'They might be from the very people who were vitally concerned in the welfare of the town, or from someone who did not count. He might be wrong, but ho had something more than a grave suspicion that these letters were often’ written by people who did not care whether there was spent £IO,OOO, .£IOO,OOO, or anything at all. “1 feel sure,” he said ; “that there has been too much letting in of irresponsible correspondence. f l hose are my own personal beliefs, and I am prepared to apologise to the two editors concerned, if I am wrong.” As far as the correspondence that has appeared in this journal is concerned, we may just say that we have felt bound to admit into our columns anonymous as well as signed letters even on this very important subject. Nor could anyone sav that tins decision has not served a useful purpose in that it has enabled a great variety of opinions, valuable and otherwise, to be expressed both as to the degree of the nuisance and what methods of abatement should be tried. Wo can assure Mr Mann that we bad no reason to consider any of tliese correspondents in the light* o; being irresponsible individuals. even though m some cases views that were satirical or oven hysterical were voiced. The rebuke which has been the sequel to opening wide the columns of the press—and we speak of course only for our own journal—was certainly more to be preferred under the circumstances than any possible rebuke which might have followed had, say. only very seriously worded correspondence or correspondence limited as to its scope lieen permitted.