PUBLIC MEETING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 163, 19 November 1868, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING

A public meeting was held in the Town' Hall last evening, for the purpose of considering.the question relating to the carriage roadway through Hagley Park. The meet-' ing was convened by his Worship the Mayor, in accordance with the request conveyed in a requisition signed by Mr Jphn Anderson and 53 other names . There were on the platform W. J. W. Hamilton, R. M. J. Ollivier, J.P., Mr R. W. Fereday, Mr W. H. Lane, Mr H. Montgomery, Mr H. Sawtell, Mr M. B. Hart, senr., Mr John Anderson, Mr George Allen, Mr R. J. S. Harman, J.P., Mr G. C. St. Quentin, and Mr T. D. Jones. The Mayor presided. He said the meeting had been called for the purpose of considering a proposition now on foot to carry a road through Hagley Park. No doubt many of them were aware that a petition signed by about 300 persons had been presented, he believed, to his Honor the Superintendent and his Executive. He had also been informed that a petition against the making of the proposed road, signed by at least 400 persons, was about to be presented to his Honor, and the chances were that this number would be considerably increased before presentation. He desired to tell the meeting that he had taken no part whatever in this movement, for he felt that, as mayor, he was bound to re* gard the interests of Christchurch as a whole and not any particular section of it. (Ap> plause.) He bad written no anonymous advertisement; he had taken no part in starting! or in securing signatures to any requisition] he had not written or dictated a single lin& of any anonymous letter; nor had he seen! either of the two petitions said to be for and against the road in question. He came beforo the meeting perfectly unprejudiced, and h« would use his endeavours to conduct the pro 4 ceedings with the utmost fairness and im-4 partiality. He trusted tbat the fullest oppor-f tunity of stating their views on the mattes would be accorded to those who should corns forward to address the meeting. He was* not aware what resolutions would be proposed d all he knew was that he had been instructed: to call upon Mr Ollivier to move the first. He was glad to see such a large attendance. The subject under consideration had baen before the Provincial Council on two former occasions, and each time the proposal to make a road through Hagley Park was opposed by a large majority of those who composed the Provincial Council. (Applause.) He would now call upon Mr Ollivier to move the first resolution. - Mr Ollivier said the opportunity of appearing again on a public platform afforded him very considerable satisfaction and more especially so when he came forward to assert the people's rights at a time when an attempt to invade them was being made. (Applause.) Hagley Park formed part of what were called the Town Reserves, made originally by the promoters of the Canterbury Association. These Reserves consist of something like 820 acres, including what was known as Hagley Park. It became necessarily the duty of the promoters to mark upon the map of the Survey Department certain roads that were to pass over the Reserves in order to afford means of communication to and from the city. Fortunately, he had the original map with him oh tbis occasion, and it was a curious and most interesting one, for they would learn from it that it was intended to give the name of Lyttelton to what is now Christchurch. There was marked on this map a road all round the town, which they all knew to be the Town Belt. The Canterbury Association, looking much farther than some were looking now, thought of the day when Christchurcb might become as thickly a populated city as many at home, and when the Reserves would become essential to the health, the enjoyment, and the welfare of the public of Canterbury. They accordingly decided tbat they should be reserved forever for, the people of the province, because they had been purchased, not by funds accruing from the sale of land in or around Christchurcb, but out of funds realised from the sale of rural .lands. When the Provincial , Government system was instituted, it wag t agreed 'that -the property should pass to. the j Provincial Government, to be held by them 1 in trust for the public under certain condi- 1

tions. The sum of £86,000 was agreed to be paid in consideration of the association relinquishing the whole of their interest in the property. A deed of transfer was drawn up, and in order that there should be no misconception about the matter, " The Canterbury Association Reserves Ordinance" was brought in and passed ; this Ordinance sets forth the terms of the trust, and was passed in the month of October, '1855. He had the honour of being a member of the Provincial Council at that period, and was very jealous of conferring on the Superintendent the power of making roads through the reserves transferred by the Association to the Government He demanded an explanation from the Government as to the meaning of the words relating to the power of the Superintendent to lay out public roaas through the park. The reply which he received was, that the Superintendent could do nothing except by and with the advice of the Executive, and that lhey could do nothing in the way of authorising the expenditure of public money without the sanction of the Provincial Council. But on no account was it intended to lay out public dray roads through the Park. In 1858, Mr Moorhouse induced Mr Barker to come to Christchurch and lay out the Park for Ornamental purposes. In order to ensure its cultivation, power was given to the Government to lease the Park for seven years. He was Provincial Secretary in 1858, and when it was decided to lease the property, certain pathways were marked out — one leading from the College bridge to Dilloway's, another from the Carlton, another from the College bridge to Fendaltown. A. centre line wais marked out in two of these, but they were not laid out for carriage roads, merely as a broad path. The one from the College bridge was marked in order to afford more convenient access to the Grammar School from Riccarton. They were now told that a carriage roadway had been actually marked on the maps of the Provincial Surveyor. He denied this altogether, inasmuch as he was in a position to know better. Those who were in office at the period to which he had alluded bore him out to the fullest extent in the assertion that the tracks were intended only for footpaths. (Hear, hear.) He had seen the original map in the office of the Chief Surveyor, and there was no carriage road marked upon it. (Applause.) There was another map, it was true, on which such a road appeared, but it was not the official map. It was drawn by Mr Dobson simply to indicate the intention of the Government in carrying a footpath across the park. No one would be ao insane as to set his face against anything that would be for the benefit of the place, but he was at a loss to understand why the promoters of the proposed road — a small section of the inhabitants —so urgently desired its formation when no necessity for it existed. If they did not wish it for the promotion of their own individual interests, he was at a lots to understand why they I were prepared to pay the money necessary for its construction. (Applause.) The argument in support of the necessity for the construction of the road was, that the distance would be shorter from Dilloway's to the Post-office. To what extent would it to be shorter ? Himself and many others had measured it, and were prepared to assert that the distance saved would be exactly five chains. (Hear, and laughter.) And to gain this, they were asked to cut up this magnificent estate, set apart for the benefit of their children's children into little holes and corners. If such a thing were done, the sooner they could sell the property the better. (Hear hear). Hagley Park! contained something like 170 or 180 acres ; the proposed road would almost touch upon the bank of the river, so that the park would be cut up into three angles—one of 20 acres, another of 22 acres, and the third of 17 acres. Such a proceeding would be utter destruction to the property ; a dray road would isolate each part from the other, and the public would be deprived of what the promoters of the settlement desired to confer upon them . forever. (Applause.) Who would benefit by the formation of the road in question ? It was contended by those who desired its formation, that it was advisable to extend the means of communication with the town and the country as much as possible, and that no bar should be put in the way of the commercial interest of the city. Granted ; but before granting tbis, it was right that the public should calculate what were the necessities, on the one band, and what the vary people who were calling out for a road had neglected to do for themselves hitherto. The greatest inducements had been held out to make the upper end of the city the centre of business. Some present would recollect that 10 years ago the Government, at the request of a body of men calling themselves the Farmers' Club, erected a market-hall at a cost of something like £1500, the tenants at that time agreeing to pay to the Government a per-centage in the shape of rental, in consideration of the large expense incurred. There was an attempted market, but the people living about the place made no effort to ensure its continuance. Not only did they not try to help themselves, but the whole trade left them and came down here. In the south part of the city the rateable value of property amounted to £1276, and in the north part to £511. (Laughter.) That was to say that for every £100 of rates which the people north of Cathedral Square contributed, the people of the south contributed £250. This afforded a good indication as to the part of the city in which the most 1 valuable property was comprised. He had very little interest in Christchurch, as he I lived a mile-and-a-half from it. When he ■ came to. town, he went to the place to make purchases where he' was best served— served cheapest, where most civility was shewn, and where he had a greater quantity of goods jl to choose from. What would five cludus | matter in his marketing ? He held an adver I tisement in his hand, which purported 'to I assign certain reasons why the gentlemen ' signing it didn't think it worth their while lo

present themselves that evening. On the 20th October a meeting was held at the Criterion, and the attendance at it did not j represent above one man to every hundred now before him. He was not going to say a word about their cowardice in not presenting themselves, but the platform on which he stood, he must remark, was the place where the matter should be argued between'those assembled and the gentlemen who thought they knew more about it than anybody. (Hear, hear.) He was sorry to say that there were two mis-statements in eight lines of their advertisement. The first of these was the assertion that the road had been acknowledged by the Government sometime since as a necessity — he assured the meeting that such was never the case — and was now acquiesced in by the Domain Board. It had not been acquiesced in by the Board, and if it had been so, the opinion of the Domain Board would not be worth a snap of the fingers, and he would tell them why, because they hadnothing whatever to do with the question, because their functions were simply to superintend and control the plantation and ornamentation of the park. (Hear, hear.) He hoped the meeting would agree to the resolution which he now proposed, as follows: — " That this meeting is of opinion that it is not expedient to lay out any carriage or cart roads for the purpose of public traffic through any portion of Hagley Park, ■ besides those now existing, and originally designed by the founders of the Canterbury settlement, as set forth in the map of the Canterbury Association Reserves. That the Provincial Council has distinctly declared by Ordinance, in accordance with the original design of the founders of the settlement, 'that Hagley Park should be reserved for ever as a public park, to be open for the recreation and enjoyment of the public' That although power was given to the Superintendent to lay out public roads, the framers of that Ordinance never intended such power to apply to other than pleasure roads and broad and ornamental footpaths. That this meeting, therefore, desires to record its opinion that the construction of any other roads through the park, will not only be a departure from the original design but in a sanitary point of view will hereafter be highly injurious to the public interest, and therefore respectfully prays that his Honor the Superintendent and the. Executive Council will withhold their consent to any memorial seeking to construct any such main road for public traffic. This meeting further urges that no public necessity has been shewn for cutting up the park (which is the property of the province, and not of this city only) other than the assumed inconvenience which a small section of the inhabitants of a given locality in Christchurch are said to suffer, but who for the most part acquired their property and built their houses with the full knowledge of the purposes for which the park had been reserved." Mr John Anderson seconded the resolution. He said he supported it because no necessity had been shewn for cutting up the park in the manner that was proposed. He considered that so numerously signed a petition as was about to be presented to his Honor the Superintendent would have such weight as to settle the question for once and for ever. (Applause.) Mr W. J. W. Hamilton addressed the meeting. He testified to the accuracy of the statement made by Mr Ollivier with reference to the intention of those who were concerned in the framing of the Ordinance to which Mr Ollivier had alluded. It was not their intention tbat a line of road for public traffic should be cut through Hagley Park, at least in their day, for they were convinced that there were sufficient roadways about Christchurch. There was not the slightest necessity for the formation of a road in continuation of Armagh street to Dilloway's. What would be the advantage ? "At the very most, people riding or driving would only gain five minutes' time in coming from the Plough Inn to the Post-office. Cn the other hand, the disadvantages that would accrue from the cutting up of the prettiest part of the p ark were manifold. The chances of recreation and enjoyment would be out of the question, for tbe dust would be quite as annoying, if a road were carried through the park, as it was disagreeable in the city itself. (Hear, hear.) Besides, there would be no chance of having a cricket-ground. It was necessary that a cricket-ground should be as near the city as possible, in order to ensure full attendances at practice. (Hear, hear.) Re trusted the meeting would agree to the resolution proposed by Mr Ollivier ; and in conclusion he begged to remind the meeting that it was not the people of Christchurch alone, but those of the prorince, who were to be consulted prior to any invasion of this public trust being attempted. (Applause.) Mr R. J. S. Harman said that the question of cost had been lost sight of by prevous speakers. If leave were granted to make the road, the question would then turn upon the cost of its formation ; and if the promoters were not prepared to pay down the necessary amount, they would make application to the Government for a grant. He trusted the Provincial Council would refuse to grant a single penny. (Applause.) Mr Hewitt, who stated that he lived in the North part of the city, spoke in favour of the resolution, remarking that the making of a road through the Park would result in its utter spoliation. The Chairman put the resolution, which was carried amid loud cheers. Only three hands were held up against it. Mr St. Qujentin moved the second resolution, as follows: — "That the Chairman convey the foregoing resolution to his Honor the Superintendent and the Executive, in the name, and on behalf of this meeting and a copy thereof to the Speaker of the Provincial Council." A public trust ought not to be interfered with, in order to advance the interest of a small section of the cona-

munity at the expense of the large majority. (Applause.) Mr W. H. Lane seconded the resolution. Those who were interesting themselves to get a road through the park would be doing a public benefit if they would give their money towards the repair of some roads in the' outlying districts, and so increase tbe traffic towards Christchurch. (Applause.) This resolution was also carried amid cheers, there being only one dissentient. Mr Ollivier moved a vote of thanks to the chairman for the impartial manner in which he had conducted the proceedings. The motion was carried with acclamation. The petition alluded to above was then submitted for signature, and there was an immediate rush to the platform to sign it;