MATTERS MUNICIPAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13894, 4 May 1907, Page 141

MATTERS MUNICIPAL.

SiKj—The rjiiesl ion of a. swimming balh silo i:tis boon before the public for some considerable time past, each interested party, r.-ith its proverbial axe to t>rind, advoca.'im; a different site. But it seems to me the mutter will never be settled unless some otLvi' n>ethod of decision is adopted. One tiling is quite evidciil as lo the site— n'smcly, it will hive to be within nil easv distance of the trams, both for the convenience of the travelling public, tind ;il-:o from .1 icvsnue-piodacH-.K point of view. It is to be ltoped that the newly-elected council will appoint a commission that will be entirely free from municipal wirepulling to ijiport on the best silo procurable, willi a rough estimate of the etist of the baths. As to whether the Southern Reserve wou)d be an ideal spot for bulbs or not, I ani not prepared to say. but one IliiiiK certain is: it has been a waste of money to have paid £2500 for I he Morav piace silo that is Ivinj? practically dead. It mav be asl-cd. What amount of interest has limi paid, ami from whom was the property piirel'as.'d. and where was the authority of the. corporation to do fo'i Cr Scott seem? to know all about the business, :md now that he is again elected to a council snat he might coi.desceixl to throw some light on the position. There is a triangular vaeunt section' of ground at llie intersection of Prince* and Lce« streets, .where the trams paM to and fro every few minute?, which would answer the purpose very well, if it could bo bought at a reasonable figure. When t.he secretary of the Baths Committee reports Dr Colquhoun to lmve said that Moray

place, south of the Octagon, is not going ahead lie talks arrant nonsense. And it is also absurd to count upon patronage for the baths from the foundries. When the foundry hands have finished work they arc in too great a. hurry to get home to allay ihc pangs of - hunger without bothering themselves to splash ir. baths. The secretary of tho Itaths Committee feems to know very little about, the position of tho city drains and sewers, or ho wouldn't talk so much about having 1o pump .the water out of the baths. Is he sure, when referring to the vacant site near the Art Gallery, 'hat the main intercepting sewer passes immediately in front of it at a depth of 18ft?

Whilst a ccrtaiu scction of the community ore worrying about baths, they forget that matters of far moro importance are absolutely neglected, even by the town elerk in his lone report—namely, the want of places for the convenience of tho general public. No later than this evening Ihc dungeon cell under tho Dowljne street steps and the wall about a chain further up tho street, alongside the rocks, were simply disgusting to look at. Fortunately, 1 happened to meet a. councillor, and pointed out to him the condition of matters. It has often been asked, Why don't the police interfere in tliefc matters? Mr Widdowson, S.M., somo time ago dismissed a charge against a person for committing a nuisance in a public place, and "rubbed it in" into an unsvmpathctic corporation for gross neglect of duty, whon at the same time plenty of money can be had to practically throw away on a soeflled winter garden.—l am. etc., A. W. Bmmker. Crawford street, Aprii 2".