CORRESPONDEMCE.

Colonist, Volume VII, Issue 670, 29 March 1864, Page 3

CORRESPONDEMCE.

MR. CH4RLES ELLIOTT'S GORSE HEDGES,

To the Editor of The Colonist,

Sib—ln your article on Gorso Hedges which appears in your journal on Friday last, you say " that a gorse hedge in Examiner-street on ground belonging to Mr. C. Elliott has for years been untrimmed." llm is a mis-statement. The whole of the hedges which enclose my paddocks have been trimmed twice within the last twelve or fourteen months, I am, &c, rw «. , • °- ELLIOTT. LWe regret having made this "mis-statement," which arises simply from Mr. Elliott taking one view and a peculiar one, and we another, and we think the right one, of what " proper trimming " of hedges really is. The only reason we had in singling out the hedges on Mr. Charles Elliott's property was the very patent one that there the dangerous fire occurred. But tor that, good taste, to say nothing else, would nave led ua to be silent respecting that particular

place, notwithstanding the condition of both Examinerstreet and Waimea-street," adjoining the prbpc.ty in question. We hold, what common sense and plain English warrant—that "proper trimming" means the entire clearance of any part of an owner's or occupier s hedges from any encroachment on the pubiio streets. It i a idle to attempt any other interpretation —otherwise we require a new nomenclature. Let any one examine either of the two streets named, and they will see that in neither have the hedges been trimmed within the palpable meaning and purpose of the Act. After receiving Mr. Elliott's note last night, in order to be still more certain as to facts, we had the places measured, and theresult is that in Waimea-street the hedge nearly all along the frontage extends from ten to twelve feet on the public street. It is the growth of years, filling the ditch and encroaching largely on the highway. This there is no question about. The gorse which forms this encroachment is part of the hedge originally planted. In Examinerstreet the hedge has spread half way across (we are within the mark), as the scorched and blackened ground and the gorse still standing will testify. A true specimen of what proper trimming means is seen in the adjoining property belonging to Mr. Braithwaite, whose hedge, a quick one, is beautifully trimmed, and the ditch kept perfectly clear and without a single incumbrance. This is a practical carrying out of the Act, and nothing Bhort of this is demanded by the public safety. Mr. Elliott's is not the only case of the kind in Waimea-street and many other streets in town; but as we have said, the occurrence of the fire justified reference to the locality.—Ed.]