SMOKE NUISANCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVI, Issue 12573, 7 August 1901, Page 6

SMOKE NUISANCE.

TO THE EDITOR. , i Sir, —In your report of the City Council meeting is’ a paragraph as follows:—“The > committee recommends that’action be taken ] to compel Messrs P, and D. Duncan to; abate the nuisance caused by the smoke' from their chimneys.” Now, as the pub-j lie, on reading this, will have no alternative; but to think that we are not law-abiding' citizens, we' will, with, your permission, give the history of the affair as far as it is known to us. Four or uve months ago the City Inspector, Mr Stringer, called at our engineering' works, in Tuam , Street, and informed rs verbally that complaints had been made ol the smoke from our establishment being nuisance, and informed us that we would have to do something to abate the same. We asked if he could suggest any way. He replied that he could not, unless it was to increase the height of the forge chimneys. We explained that to put anything on the present chimneys would be unsafe, as they were not built for it; and even ii we put up new chimneys twice the height, it would not prevent smoke beating down on any occasion that it may beat dpwn.at the present height. His reply, that unless something was done he would have to serve us with a notice, was followed shortly afterwards by the receipt by us of the notice ; to abate. ■ ' I After three or four weeks,' we were ask- ; ed by Mr Stringer if we had done any thing? to which we replied that if he could advise us what to do we would do it. His reply was that he could not advise us, but i that he would see if the City Surveyor could suggest anything. Nothing further, until after some lapse of time we received another notice, when we called upon the Town Clerk, and expressed our desire to uphold our reputation as law-abiding citizens, and asked if he could show, orfadvise us, how to comply with die notice. He decided to refer the matter to the Surveyor, who unfortunately was out. Next day we called upon the Surveyor, and after a long, conversation upon the matter, he promised to visit our works and give us his opinion as to what could be done. He has not yet called, and we heard nothing further until reading your report of the City Council meeting. As regards the nuisance, we admit that smoke at any time is a nuisance; bub it generally has associations which area benefit, and that the benefits outweigh the nuisance. We think it is so in our case ; but in any case, there is no more smoke nuisance than is associated with most industries, and the only effective way of stopping itis to stop manufacturing, and we can hardly think it is the desire of the City Council for us to do that.—l am, etc., P. AND D. DUNCAN, LTD. . Christchurch, August 6, 1901.