THE DUNEDIN RESERVES. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4027, 14 January 1875, Page 3

THE DUNEDIN RESERVES. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir—l am a stranger to Dunedin, but not a stranger to the Province. Though my home is among- the woolly flocks of the interior country, I take, and have ever taken, a deep interest in all that concerns the fair city of Duncdin and its inhabitants. I have watched with the tenderest anxiety the departure of its old inhabitants to that " bourne whence no traveller returneth," in the fond hope that in their last testaments they would leave me some worth}' token of their regard, and as a solace to me in my affliction. I have seen the rosy toddlers of a score of years ago grow up into stalwart men and lovely lassies. I remember the time when quail dwelt securely in the swsimps about Pelichet Bay—now the abode of busy hordes of humanity ; and when the city, which now can boast of its palatial-looking Banks, stores, a' A manufacturing; houses, consisted of a fow scattered huts, which stood in stately isolation, like "pelicans in the wilderness" or " sparrows on a house-top." Uutali this has posted away; a. new generation has swarmed in, consequent on the disoovory of gold, and civilised humanity, which being in. want of

woo !en clothing, and aided by the cheerful confidence ; nd profuse liberality of admiring capitalists, havemade Dunedin-nlmt it is. No longer is it connected with tic Port by a pissengor boat, which could take the whole town of form ;r days in one trip, but steamers r.in to and fro as if mad. A railroad shakes you into p'.easing convulsions. The river, with its vast expanse of glittering mud flats, is about to bo converted into a reservoir for shipping; and so fierce* is - the Etrife of rival cabs, expresses, and coaches, that the insurance offices have been multiplied,' and on a Saturday evening so dense. is the surging- multitude in Princes street that when I leave my quarters to attend some patient, or console some friend who has just had a fresh supply of the whisky for which the city is so famed, I fondly kiss the dear little cherubs who part with me full of sad misgivings as to my return. But why linger on the past, it is gone. But there is one thing which I notice," and groan over, and that is amidst the vast material signs of prosperity—the steps in the direction of providing for the health of the thousands of Dunelin have been painfully slow, ami almost invisible. The state or the drainage of the city is but an investment lor infant mortality ; the thousands of chimneys vomiting forth dense and dirty smoke, redeemed in some measure by a delicate flavour of sulphur, have uot been obliged to swallow ther own filth ;- and some of the wooden boxes, divided into compartments, and which a fond fancy calls a house, are the breeding ground of disease, and around them is a series tit cemeteries for dead cats, rats, and puppies All tins is sad and saddening; but what grieves me most of ail is, tnit while Providcnce-for I retain my belief in such a power, despite Tyndall, Bradlaugh, and their tollowers—has given Dunedin a park of which any city ni the world might be proud. It is so little valued that it remains almost in a state of nature redeemed in some measure by quarries and shattered trees, inviting the wanderer to suicide, or to a playful game ot shin-breaking. This, the people's inheritance •md people's life-blood, should no longer remain a disgrace and a shame. Wandering as I do, to and fro l see reserve after reserve snatched from the people and converted into a kind of milch cow for others I resolved to visit the Town Belt before I ventured absolutely to express an opinion, and, consequents, I sallied forth at a very early hour; but scarce had I turned tho coiner before I was met by a furious .shower-bath, ejected from some mysterious engine winch was supplied from that reservoir wherein whales are -said to dehg: t m disporting themselves. I hastened forward, and took up a meditative position just above thu Lunatic Asylum ; and [ frankly confess that a view greeted me which would have delighted an anchorite. The rays of the rising sun tinted the pinnacles of the Hospital and the spires of the chimhes, which had been built in faith, unripened into fruition; tar beyond was the gleesome rivulet, affectionately termed the Water of Leith, wherein are caught trout of such portentious dimensions that whole families are summoned from the neighbouring heights to aid the lishor in lauding liis fourteen pounder. Descendin« from my vantage ground of obser.ation, I pursued the road under construction by the town Corporation and s iw there every promise of a successful termination of a. noblo design—if only the liberality of the Provincial Council, or rather their sense of ju-tico, would aid in a work which is the common property of the whole Province. I, a countryman from the far interior, plead in behalf of this work of mercy. It wiil benefit thousands, and it would be a deep disgrace if the work were stopped for the want of funds. Nature has provided a wooded landscape of which we may be proud All that is required is to metal the road, and metal is everywhere liamly ; to cut meandering paths sacred to family groups and romping children. It is impossible to conceive a sylvan glade by nature so titled to delight, requiring but the hand of man to trim its luxuriance. I can spot some lia'f dozen men who o« c their all to this Province ; is it too much to Mope that they will not grudge a few hundreds each in this noble work, and hand their names down as beiielactors to a grateful post-rity, till they arise to a sense of duty, if not of mercy ? Let the lunatics and short service men be employed to prepare metal, and under a tasteful and judicious gardener to convert a thirket into a noble forest Let there be no delay ■no hesitation. Let nnt visitors tell of a people immersed in seifish gratification, and unmindful of the multitudes who pine for fresh air and iunoeent recreation. I am, &c, Viator.