CORRESPONDENCE CONDENSED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9305, 14 September 1893, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE CONDENSED.

Mr. J. A. Campbell, Jervois Road, writes on the subject of the matter from the city * streets going into the harbour. He says : — Mr. Crowther is trying to make the people of Auckland believe that matter from our city does not greatly affect our harbour:' I think he has set himself an herculean task. It is quite unnecessary to describe the position of Auckland. Every child knows that most of our streets are hilly and regularly covered ' with metal and scoria, which by reason of constant heavy traffic is converted into dust, and when one of Captain Edwin's nor'westers comes along the streets are swept by storm water as if with a new broom, into the only natural outlet, the harbour. Now, to get at the quantity of matter that goes into the harbour, let us take one of the streets whose position is level, and the slush cannot possibly get washed into the harbour, say Patterson-street, from Billington's corner to the foot of College Hill, which is also supplied with grating. Within the last three months the City Council men have taken to my knowledge from it not less than fifty' tons. The only question for Mr. Crowther and his friends to decide is, supposing the stuff from this little street had got into the harbour, would it have retained its particles or dissolved into vapour? I hold to-the former. Before Mr. Crowther wastes any of the public money in putting a pigeon hole in the harbour by way of a test, I would advise him to take a pracitical lesson, that is, to stand by one of the gratings when the storm water is . rushing down. He would find that for every; particle that went in, twenty times as much is carried on by force.