The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1889. LIQUOR BELLING IN THE DOMAIN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2279, 13 November 1889, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1889. LIQUOR BELLING IN THE DOMAIN.

Tho Borough Council is carrying out an excellent work m its capacity as a Domain Board. Largo numbers of persons among those who occasionally visit Ashburton, and even a few of those who reside m tho town or m its immediate neighborhood, who havo not recently visited our public park aro altogether unaware of the wonderful change which has been effected during tho past tew years. Once an ugly, treeless, tusßock covered waste, it is now really and truly a very charming place — its clumps and plantations of well-grown trees, its bright green turf, its ornamental water, with its graceful white swnna and luxuriant willows, making up a picture vory grateful to the eye m contrast to the dusty streets, especially on a fiercely hot summer's day, Its central situation, too, renders it generally available to the public and it is becoming a very favourite resort ; while the fact that it is within a stone's throw of tho principal thoroughfare, and is yet incapable of being overlooked, renders its open spaces especially suitable for sports and out-door gatherings of all kinds. The Council is thus performing a real service to the burgesses by laying dowo a running track for our wheelmen, level pitches for our cricketers, and grounds for the lovers of lawn tennis, when all of which are completed all kinds of open-air athletic sports will naturally bo located here. The Bicycle Club is shortly to have its race-day on the new ground, and tho example thus set will doubtless be followed by the Cricket Clubs aud othor Associations for the cultivation of manly games and sports. Thus the Domain will speedily become on holidays the centre of attraction, and m view of this a movement has been set afoot by the citizens with a view to preventing that fruitful cause of disorder and overythiug that is reprehensible and to be deprecated whenever crowds of people are assembled together—via, tho sale of intoxicat ing liquors —within its bounds. A memorial, asking that provision to that effect might bo made m tho bylaws for the management of tho Domain, has been very numerously signed throughout the town, and was presented to tho Borough Council at Monday's meeting. On that occasion also a deputation attended lo present the memorial, and pointed out that the signatures represented tho clergy, solicitors, bank managers) tradesmen, licensed victuallers and others, including a large proportion of the members of tho various Societies who would use the ground, and urged that the Council, as guardians of publio morality, should give effect to tho wishes ot the petitioners. It will have been seen with very general disappointment that tho Council after considering tho matter decided otherwise, though by a narrow majority, reserving to itself the right to grant written permits for the Bale of liquor within tho grounds. It is a y.ory great pity that this decision has lteen arrived at, as it would have been far easier for tho Council lo lay down a general rule forbidding tho sale than to refuse individual applications for permits from time to time. There is no necessity whatever for tho salo of intoxicants withiu tho Domain, when thero aro thrco licensed hotels within a quarter of a m : le of its gates, and others within half a milo, and we hope that tho Council will oven yet re consider its decision and set a good example to other Bimilar bodies by enacting a by-law which shall protect our public park from the possibility of becoming a placo of temptation instead of a plaes of healthful and innocent recreation ',