BRIGHTON DOMAIN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20021, 11 February 1927, Page 5

BRIGHTON DOMAIN.

THE WORK OF THE BOARD. HINDERED BY LACK OF FUNDS. Some ex-Brighton resident, like Goldsmith, has returned after many years to his "Sweet Auburn,” only to find, like the poet, that neglect on tne part of those ho left behind him has brought this once beautitui .Brighton Domain to a state of disgraceful dilapidate!!. A Daily Times reporter went out to Brighton yesterday to see just how great the neglect of the domain by the board has been, and he came away convinced that wherever dilapidation is to be found it is the result of vandalism and lack of public spirit on the part of those who use the domain, and not as a result of any dilatoriness or neglect on the part of the board. When it is remembered that the Brighton Domain Board has no rating powers, and that it is dependent on public subscriptions for all its revenue, it must be admitted that the general condition of the reserve is a credit to ail concerned. One of the oldest residents of Brighton, when asked what he thought of the administration of the present board, said it had done far more good than all the other governing bodies had accomplished for 30 years previously. iir One correspondent refers to the demolition of the natural bathing shed with its manuka front. The destruction of this convenience vas the result of floods. board erected another shelter, which now been severely knocked about by bathers jumping about on the roof. As a shelter for dressing ' 'rnoses there is litle wrong with it. Flood waters also damaged the ladies’ dressing sheds, but these have been repaired quite effectively, considering the banking account at the board’s disposal. The dilapidated state of the fences is the result of picnickers forcing their way through, and tying wires down to make it easier to get through. For two years in succession the board planted several hundred kaia trees around the domain, but of these scarcely two dozen remain. They disappear entirely a few days after planting, and the only explanation of their disappearance is that someone steals them. , . , What the board has done during the past year or two has been largely the result of the public spiritedneas of individual members. The seats placed at intervals all round the foreshore were made in the workshop of the chairman and no charge was made. That section ot the community that has no respect for public property also finds a source of amusement in these seats, which are continually being torn from their places and carried to all parts of the Domain. , . . The position in which the board nnds itself to-day is briefly this: It has 30 acres (not 12) of land to deal with, and it has no regular income. Moreover, the residents of Brighton, according to the chairman, are for the most part working people who have been able to establish a holiday home at the seaside, and they cannot be expected to be for over paying out for the upkeep of the domain. No charge is made for the use of the domain or any of its conveniences, so that no revenue can be derived from that source. Yet residents of Brighton, as a whole, are satisfied with the work the board is doing. It would appear, however, that unless a certain class of visitor or resident can learn a little more respect for public property, any money spent at Brighton must he wasted. A fine promenade from end to end of the foreshore has been provided as a result of the present board’s efforts, and this appears to be the only one of the recent improvements that has not suffered at the hands of irresponsible nuisances.

Tho 12 acres of domain are not overgrown xvith lupines, which are mostly confined to the sandhills, where no good purpose could be served by cutting them out. Perhaps, a little trimming might do no harm. The domain hoxx’ever. is quite clear of gorso, the clearing of which is an annual charge on the board’s slender purse. As regards the suggestion that the City Council should take over the domain, tho board xvould have no objection to such a course, according to the chairman, but if either the City Council or the Taieri County Council would make an annual grant to thq board a great deal more good could be done. When the board asked the Minister of Lands for assistance, he promised a grant of £IOO next session, and said he xvould see if ho could induce the City Council to make some grant. That is the position to-day. Tho board is doing its _ best under great difficulties, and its best is no moan accomplishment.

PURE ENGLISH. TO THE EDITOR. tlm, —Sir James Barrett is reported in your columns to have said that the New Zealanders speak purer Englis'’ than the Australians. The language as spoken in New Zealand is no better and no worse than in Australia. Visitors who call at one part often make these statements, but when they land in Australia they put New Zealand “up the chimney.” Wo have the same errors —-“mows” and “kainds”—and unfortunately amongst the intellectual class, or at any rate amongst those who should know better, the affectation which results as follows, “ Noa, deaaw, ai would raythcr raide; I am soo tayerd.” And particularly are the faults noticeable in the vowel sounds; all day long people are “absalootly,” etc. They might as well put the same ugly “toon” into the "moosic.” I notice that Sir James Barrett says “there arc not five vowels, but over 20.” According to all good authorities this is wrong. Perhaps lie meant vowel sounds, of which there arc 10. Bell tried to introduce a seventeenth, but his failure is apparent when wo study better authorities. Vowel sounds are not vowels simply, but vowels associated with other vowels and consonants. A great authority says, ‘'The vowels constitute the essence of words. It is to the judicious prolongation of vowel sounds that pronunciation owes one of its greatest beauties. Vowel sounds make the music of language. There are five vowels.” Shall we be told next that the number of letters in the alphabet is to be increased: or, like the Americans, be persuaded to make one vowel do for two. Our laws may he altered according to necessity, but pray leave our language alone. It is too precious to be meddled with. As Canon Fleming says, “If we become pleaders, preachers, or writers, it must he in English, and yet of all branches of study in our public schools and universities there is none so little fostered a<3 that of cultured reading and good doliverv.” —I am, etc., T. Uk Spong. “Lynwood,” February 10.