The Star THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1898.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6130, 17 March 1898, Page 2

The Star THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1898.

Unless a certain amount of tact is used, bhere promises to be a breach, in the diplomatic relations between the Selwyn , County Council and the Christchurch City , Council, upon the much-vexed abattoir 1 juestion. The County Council aforesaid 1 lias, in a letter which we published ( pesterday, informed the Mayor that ' ihe Council is at present negotiating ] with the Belfast and Islington Freezing Factories with a view to having ■ i public abattoir established at one or ,\ )ther of these places. The public of ' Christchurch and suburbs has through its i •epresentatives on the various local bodies \ leclared that a public abattoir is necessary md must be obtained. Bnt it is just pos- I sible that the councillors of Christchurch ] nay prefer to have the abattoir somewhat learer the city, for reasons alike of public \ sonvenience and facility of inspection 3 Further, it is more than probable ( ;hat the City Council aforesaid — which s mainly composed of fairly inde)endent members — would at all events ike to be consulted before the site is lefinitely fixed upon. And it is further >pen to question whether the direct inerests of the city and suburban districts 1 n the abattoir are not greater than those !■ )f the large though rural population over l vhose interests the Council of the ] bounty of Selwyn in some respects keeps 1: vatch and ward. The subsequent pro- i' :eedings in this little play will be noted v vith interest. s Mill Island, in the Avon, bids fair to ll >ecome one of the beauty spots of Christihureh. The. Beautifying Society has >een given, charge of the area by the .. 2ity Council— an exceedingly desirable \. sourse to adopt— and, better still, the t Council has given a substantial donation I owards the cost of carrying out the work c Uie scheme of planting-, we are glad to t lotice, is decidedly of a permanent nature I iiveu' reasonably good atmospheric conlitions, and in due time beautiful creepers a nil clothe the willows, a variety of flower- I nff shrubs will bloom i v their several i( easons roses, daffodils, narcissi and other a ovcly things will lend colouring and fra- £ franco, and the stone walla of the island S nil be clothed with rockery plants. It is ° or the pushing forward of this particular ? ,ork that the Society _ - list now J

Making a special appeal to the public for funds; and be it borne in mind that any ' Bum, no matter how small, will be fully appreciated. Let it be remembered that in this, as in other cases, "he gives twice who gives quickly." And it may be further pointed out that there aro numbers of people who have in their gardens clumps of bulbs of which they could easily spare a few. Let them take these to the office of the City Council, and they will be practically aiding in a movement that must appreciably benefit the citizens generally, and enhance the reputation of Christchurch.

By the way, there are in reality three societies or associations that have 'similar aesthetic work in hand. The Beautifying Society we have already referred to. Then there is the Chrysanthemum Society, which has given us an exceedingly good idea of its capabilities by the adornmeut of the Market Eeserve with brilliar^ beds of colour and sweetness. And ther is also the body that has in hand the im provement of the Port Hills reserve now known a? Victoria Park. We should like to see some sort of an amalgamation effected. Money is a first essential in each caße, expert knowledge is needed, and a judicious exchange of plants of various kinds might be a good thing. If there were one common fund the work of augmenting it would be simplified, and inasmuch as -there would be a concentration of effort, with the common purpose in view of improving the appearance of the city and its eurroundings, the financial results, to our thinking, would be likely to prove far more satisfactory.