The Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1893. The Sydenham Bhow Ground.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4739, 2 September 1893, Page 4

The Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1893. The Sydenham Bhow Ground.

The people of Sydenham deserve bucc«s«; in the effort they are making to get the old agricultural show ground as a recreation reserve. The advantages which the posßßßßion of suoh a splendid playground would confer on the model Borough are too obvious to be repeated here, and if] appears that they are not altogether un« deserved. The Borough Council has shown; that the Colony owes some compensation to Sydenham for a certain reserve which; the Borough, so it is said> should have got.; but did not. It seems that, at the request} , of the Government, the Council, in years' ' gono by, selected a reserve under " The '; Municipal Corporations Act, 1876." A-: block of 1600 acres was chosen by the representatives of Sydenham, but, instead; • of giving the model Borough the whole ; of it, as the Council had been led to expect, the Government gave only half, though Sydenham paid JBI6O to clear off 8} ; claim which a cortain person had over the '• whole block. Again, the Government' holds property in the Borough, the railway ; premises, which, if rated, would return' £500 a year, but which, as it is, does not give the Borough funds a penny, though the Council has to spend a considerable portion of those funds in maintaining the ; roads around the property in question*' : roads whioh are used mainly by-the traffic ' to and from the railway. The Council', asks a grant from the State of £2000, not a, ■ very large sum, and it is to be hoped that ■ the Government will be able to induesParliament to accede to a request which; is certainly not immoderate, and whioh isj apparently, based on good grounds.