BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14354, 20 July 1917, Page 8

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

(To the Editor of the Herald.) Sir,—To the best ot my recoUections, it is about twenty years ago when bands were playing, banners flying, and bonfires were blazing when it became known "that the non Sir James Carroll, then Mr. Carroll, procured for the citizens of Gisborne , the reserve ■m Childers road, * known tlien by the name of the Gaol Reserve, and there were great rejoicings, and everybody seemed exceedingly pleased at having somewhere that we couid lay claim to as a people's reserve, ami 1 think it was bis (_ir James's) first public, out of the many, benefits that lie bad obtained for Gisborne. I am going to say. too, that we thought it a very great public benefit, indeed, after havingfor £Q many years the" few acres as a re- • creation ground, known then as the Carnarvon street paddock, now known as the Botanical Gardens. Take Auckland, with their large domain, When somebody ad-, vocated selling even a portion of it, how j the public howled against" it, and rightly I so, for they found as the city became, larger they wanted still more "lungs." Then they got the Albert Park, then the' Western Park, and of late years' they ( have actually filled m. Freeman's . Bay ! and made a beautiful park there, and I am-told that they are stiU wanting more. Then take Christchurch, with its; beautiful grounds near the museum, and their Hagley Park, and a few others that. I just now cannot remember. Then there is Dunedin with its Forbury, and many others; New Plymouth with the beauti- j ful "Rec," and nearer home Napier with Clive Square, right 1n the centre of the town. Are any of those councils advo- j eating the leasing of those fine reserves'/; No, nothing of the kind, and you, sir, certainly deserve the greatest praise for the manner m which you have denounced the intended barter of our re-' serves, which is perhaps among the most valuable • assets that we possess, and I only hope that you will deal most severely with anybody, whether councillor or. anybody else, who may advocate the parting with any of-our reserves. W-hen Mr. w. D. Lysnar's sdheme was beifore ihe ratepayers he told us that we wanted even more reserves: than what . we have, and advocated the purchase of some land on Kaiti and- Whataupoko, and now some of the new councillors advocate m the Council meetings to part with what wo have already had a hard Job to obtain. No, sir, we" must not allow it, and you, sir, must put your\foot right down on it, and crush it.—l am," etc., • J. PIERCE.