THAMES STREET TREES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12282, 8 July 1914, Page 7

THAMES STREET TREES.

THE OPPOSITION MEETING. In response to the advertisement calling a meeting of those opposed to tlie planting oi tree.s in Thames street a large, number assembled at the Druids' Hall last night, the hall being full. The audience included a few ladies. M r G(-org<" Hrownleo was elected chairman, on the motion of 111' !•'. G. .Marshall. The meeting was marked by considerable enthusiasm. The Chairman asked Mr Marshall to read the advertisement notifying the meeting, and this having been done, .-aid the first thing they should do was to elect a secretary and treasurer.

Mr Robert Jackson, proposed .Mr F. G. Marshall for the position, and the nomination having been seconded by Mr .John Moore and Mr Wansborough simultaneously, it was put to the meeting. and Mr Marshall was declared elected.

The Chairman said that- all knew his feelings a-> regards the planting of trees. He was fond of trees of all kinds and liked to see them planted, but in proper "places. Through the main thoroughfare of the town was not the place to plant trees. —(Applause.,) ]f planted in the spare places where avenues could be made and squares adorned and on the bald hills round the town, that would be money well spent. Mr Brownlee continued: —"I have been opposed to the planting of forest trees in thoroughfares, for the reason that it is not- their proper place. Street, if anything, means a clear space for traffic between the line of channels. "We should give every opportunity for pedestrians and vehicles'of every description to pass along with safety. To reduce a. street like Thames .street- to a narrower space than what we allow to a side street is surely nonsense. Indeed, it is nothing short of courting trouble and disaster. Imagine one hundred and one crossing places over three lanes, where an up and down traffic'is frequent. What accidents may occur. It was laid down bv an eminent lecturer oil town-plan- .. nmg that, ' to prevent congestion of 'traffic and danger pf collision, as few roads as possible should meet.' But : n our improved ideas of town-planning we. have made, our busiest street into two- thoroughfares of 38 feet each, withcrossings many. We have quoted to us examples of trees being planted .n streets. I know of no-place where they are planted in the middle ; but I kno-v of manv places where the streets have encroached on suburbs where trees had been growing from times of long ago. These are now being cut down as the towns progress. The narrowing of Thames street has been productive of trouble so far. Some limbs have been broken and one life lost, and only' the other night a buggy and pair came to grief. Should 1 this state of things continue. What may we expect as traffic becomes greater and travelling milch quicker? Should these trees grow, j future generations will blpss us, 'and may well call us stupids. But I haveno "hesitation in saying that the trees in Thames street will be a thing of the past. Beautify the town by all means; set out squares and-vacant places with trees; plant, avenues, and make drives 011 the bald hill's of the reserves which look down upon Thames street; get our drains put- in order; clean up the back yards; give the residents of the hack streets better paths; make many of the unmade streets, and spend our rates on things profitable. Stop this high-falutin' craze of adorning the outside of the cup and platter while we gloss over the nuisances which do not show up. Ratepayers, we are past the age of narrow streets, and low ceilings. We want open spaces to give us sunshine and light. Imagine el'ms in; Thames street- 80 feet high, with a profusion of leaves, shedding during four months of the year, and bare poles during a considerab'e period. Let us be up and doing and throw off the burden of heavy taxation which has been heaped upon us by, shall I sav, incompetent valuers and beautifying faddists. The previou .planting of northern Thames street — 'what- is there for the. money we pay for its upkeep? Two rows of sickly, dead and dying trees, many mounds of mouldering * turf, the natural fall of the crown of the road destroyed, and a. mass of what might be called ' glaur ' in- wet and ' stour' in dry weather; .' and to add to the prospect two rows oi' unsightly timber crates called for want of a~ better name tree-guard's. Count the cost, ratepayers, and make our Councillors call a, halt; stop their erring ways; make amends for past mistakes, and beware of ;being caught by beantifiers." Concluding his remarks, Mr Brownlee said the meeting was open to anyone interested to express his views. Mr F. G. Marshall explained his presence as a speaker. He said he was anxious that fairplay should be accorded to the .ratepayers in -the matter of planting trees in the main thoroughfare of -Oaniaru. He had no desire to enter into the controversy of' treeplanting, but as one who felt that he had unintentionally helped to inflict injustice on the majority of the ratepayers, he deemed it his duty as far as possible to- remove that- injustice. He was one of the last, to sign the petition. No influence was used, but believing that it was the wish of the majority that the trees should be planted lie signed the petition. Mr Marshall said lie had his own ideas of beautifying the street, but not with trees, regarding the petitions, the speaker said ■that very little consideration had been given to the carters, although they were unanimous, the petition being sio-ned.bv 33 and most of them ratepayers." * Next- came the Beautifying Society's petition. This was worked quickly and cleverly, and a large, number of names were obtained, and the Council doubtless felt that it was the desire of the majority to have trees. Immediately work was commenced on the street, 'a. double row of graves being dug, a. double row of monuments erected? and the trees planted. From an interview with a professional gardoner from Homo, Mr Mnrshnll found that the worst kind of tree had been planted, and a. tree that- would eventually do harm to the drainage. There had 1 "been an outburst of indignation the outcome of wliicli was three deputations from the business men and pro-pertv-owners of Thames street. He did not- hold that the Council should have immediately uprooted the trees that had 1 been already planted l , but t-hev should have followed the example set' by the Mayor, and held up the work,' and taken a vote of the ratepayers; but the majority of the Councillors sat- tight and offered a ; number of lame excuses. One of the excuses urged by Councillors was that the pet-i-----tioners had been too slow to move in the matter, but he (Mr Marshall) argued t-liat if the ratepayers had been too slow the Beautifying.. Society had been a long way in advance. . They had invited the ratepayers to a- meeting, but how many ratepayers, he asked, could) be got into the Borough Counci. Chamber. Some Councillors by their action practically said they represented a, section of the community. What was wanted was a Council that represented the ratepayers in general. The question to be decided was whether the ratepayers wanted the trees to remain in or come out.

Voices: Out! Out! Continuing, Mr Marshall said one argument against, removal to tixe Beautifying Society, j)Ad in this connection urged that the amount-spent (£180) had been given to the Beautifying Society on trust and came out of the pockets of the public. But what, about the expense that the ratepayers had been put to? Ten lamp® were being erected at a cost of £55. and the cost of gas for twelve months would •probably" he another £SO. He asked how many ratepayers had askeij for lamps on the outskirts of the town and had failed to get them. Ratepayers would find ' that sentiment would be urged against the removal of the trees. Sentiment was good in its place, but this was not so much a matter of sentiment as justice. As long as the question remained: unsettled a bitter feeling would remain in the town. The ratepayers should elect Councillors who would give effect to the wishes <.f the majority.—(Applause.) Mr Robert' Jackson, .it the request of the chairman, was the next speaker. He said he had no objection to saying a few words, although, lie would have much prc-ferrad to hear the residents of Thames street strongly express their views; it was tliey who nere interested in t-h«? subject. l'Yoiu the first, he was amongst those who were opposed to the planting of the trees in Thames street, and there, were many reasons why the ratepayers should oppose it. In the first- place, it was a terrible waste of money. The Beautifying Society I should have taken a rote of tlie rate-

payers before they spent the money in this way. This tremendous c-ost and expense would benefit the medical men of Oamaru, but he (the speaker) did not think it was going to be favorable to the ratepayers at all. The trees would be very"hurtful to the business people on the west side of Thames street, who would suffer as a- consequence of the planting, as people would not go tip and down that side as they were accustomed to. Then he (Mr .Jackson) did not- see any beauty in the trees, and those who lived for years would never see any beauty in them. It was not very long .since he had been visiting many parts of the globe. lie had noticed'most of the Australian cities and likewise the cities at Home, but he had never seen one instance where the principal streets in any city were planted with trees. They would see it about the back-lying streets mostly used as pleasure resorts. He could'not conceive it possible that- the people, of the cities he had visited would consent to the planting of trees in the streets where the prin cipal traffic was. —(Applause.) Mr Robert Brims said the planting of trees in Thames street would be a nuisance to the whole public. The Beautifying Society should be called the Accident Society. He said that Borough Councillors were more to blame for the planting of the trees than the Beautifying Society. The Council should not have allowed it. Mr Brims complained also that the Borough Council had spent £OO odd 1 of the ratepayers' money which the Auditor-General would 1 not pas.?. Councillors should be forced to rel'un-ji this money out of their own pockets.— (Loud applause.) He did not think he could say much about tree-planting, only that it was a. nuisance in tli-_ street. It would hurt traffic to a. great extent on both sides.

Mr John Moore also spoke. He said the Beautifying Society had spent money that was .not theirs but the ratepayers', and the ratepayers should have been asked how it was to bespent. -He complained also that those who went round with the petition did not- give those who were opposed to the planting an opportunity to sign against it. He. considered that those Councillors- who were in favor of keeping the trees in should be asked to resign in -a body, as it was the Council who were responsible. If the Council would not resign when asked to do so. then- they had the light to put them out. Mr Moore said he had an opportunity daily of seeing what was going on, and he felt "sure that sooner or later there would be a very serious accident. >

Mr Marshall moved-4-'-'That a- petition! signed by the ratepayers be presented to the Oamaru Borough Council asking for the removal' of the trees." Air Moore seconded the motion.

Mr J. l'obson asked if the motion was intended to include all the trees, or only those that had been planted recently. The Chairman: AH the trees between Kibble street and the Post Office. Mr J. Robson said he was glad to see so large a number taking an interest in the town. He felt convinced that what had already been said by the various speakers, collectively and individually, proved that the tree's were obstacles in the way. He.quite agrees that it was the doctors who would benefit-. ! A Voice: What about the undertakers? —(Laughter.) Mr ltobson continued that the trees were dangerous to the public and tin public's children. A Voice: Well sit down then. The Chairman appealed for a fair hearing for all the speakers.

Mr Robson concluded by saying that they should -insist on the Council giving ■an order for these trees to be taken up. IF they- did that they would be doing good_to -the town. The motion was put and met with a fair response of Ayes, a solitary but very decid'ed No expressing the negative side. A Committee comprising the Chairman, Messrs Marshall, Jackson, Emslie. Moore, Ivelly. and W. M. M'Keny.ie, with power to add, was nominated to give effect to the resolution and obtain signatures to the petition. The Chairman remarked that the meeting should form itself into a Ratepayers' Association and Vigilance Committee, but on the suggestion of Mr Mackay, it was agreed that this might be done at a future meeting when those holding opposite views coukl have the opportunity to be present. The meeting closed with the usual compliment to the Chairman.