PUBLIC HIGHWAYS AND RESERVES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17218, 8 December 1923, Page 12

PUBLIC HIGHWAYS AND RESERVES.

TO TIFF. KTHTOR. Sir, —What- some of your correspondents had to eay m Tuesday’s “Star” calls for some reply. I am pleased to have Mr Heatheot© G. liohnore’s statement that his mother has “ never approached the Beautifying Association or Mr Owen ” re the fences outside her boundary. I did not say that Mrs HeJniore dill approach Mr Owen, nor did I intend to create any false impressions. 1 have known tho family for over sixty years, and I have nothing but respect for them. What has influenced the Beautifying Association I do not know, but I do know that its actions are not in tho interests of the public. Mr Hel more is treading on very loose ground when he questions your actions on this subject, because you have right on your side. When he asserts that those living in that locality “ have more right to a say in the matter (in widening the roads) than, for example, R. E. Green, who lives in Springfield Road,” lie displays a lack of knowledge. He should know that every British subject has the same legal right to every road in every British settlement, whether the road bo in Fiji or Fendalton. I am pleased that Mr K. Neave read my letter with much interest, and that he does not think any exception can be taken to my remarks concerning Rossall Street. So far so good, but Mr Neave seems to have a family leaning for Helmore’s Lane. That’s quite natural, but to be consistent in the eyes of a discerning public one would expect a gentleman in his position to say that what is sauce for the goose is sauco for the gander. Health and safety must be considered before sentiment.

When I took up my pen on this subjest last week I was under the impression that I was up against three parties —tho Waimoiri Council, the Beautifying Association and a few of tho buyers in Helmore’s estate. Now it appears that I was mistaken. Mr Owen manfully (to his credit) comes forward and openly expresses himself as “quite willing to take all the blame for wliat has happened.” Well, I must say it is indeed manly of Mr Owen to take upon his shoulders such a weight of misdeed. Mr Owen “ presumes ’**•■ that I am “tho Mr Green who has contributed many interesting talcs of early days to your paper.” Yes, it’s the same Mr Green, and I am pleased to hear that Mr Owen was “ much interested ” in them. But does not Mr Owen disrate himself when he expresses the hope that “ the stories were a little more accurate than the one ho gave on Saturday.” The stories were written mostly from memory, and on the whole I believe were correct. But what *1 wrote last Saturday was founded on facts which are palpably plain, even to the most dense. I will defy Mr Owen to point out one single instance where I have departed from the truth. Mr Owen advises me “ to wait and see.” I have already seen, and so have the public, where money has been wasted and where a large portion of a public property was about to be usurped by fencing it off from the public. Since I wrote some of that fence has been taken down, but there is still a lot of it to come down, and come down it will! The public are not going to have their rights taken from them, and this applies to tho fence in Helmore’s Lane. If it has t-o go to the law courts it has got to make way for tlie- public. As for the iron fence in Rossall Street, of course it is coming down,' but I fail to see-what the Beautitying Association has to do with it. Tlie whole of tho fence from Rhodes Street to the river is on Rossall Street, ancl none whatever is on the reserve. The reserve boundary is 16$ft west of tlie fence, and therefore it is the property of the Waimairi Council, which is the proper authority to take the matter in hand. I have no doubt that the council will do that in. the interests of the public now that its attention has been drawn to what is required.—l am, etc., R. E GREEN, 159, Springfield Road. December 6, 1923.