THE HEATH ESTATE AND THE CITY COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 562, 17 July 1909, Page 10

THE HEATH ESTATE AND THE CITY COUNCIL.

Sir -I ''nofitb that the City 'Council'are worrying themselves over the purchaso of thoiiHeath "Estate in Manners l Street '» lt is iwell-known<that several shrewd specu•latorft refused to purchase the whole of this 'estate, including land'in Manners Street, 01d„Custojahou?e Street, and Mercer >Street i forlthe sum pf £95,000, which was the sum grveYby the syndicate that secured it THo shrewd people who refused to purchase , - weighed "very fully the pros and cons to the estate, and it only showed on tho rentals /, according to the leases (some of which are very long) a very small return. They therefore passed this huge bargain. Tho picsont owners then came on tho scone, and, after havin'g sold all they can, try and foroo it . on the city,'f(ns about £140,000, Whore do the ; Ratepayers como in? Why should they can-y 1 the load? , Surely the city haspaid i heavily enough 'in tiro purchase of the electric light workß at £150,000 (jnst double the Talue), also with tho Byko cdrby tho rotten tram instalment, whicll cost double of what it should have ' done) then why should we suffer further , ' losst* Wilba Street is wide enough for rwhat' traffic' there is at the present tirno People are,not<ijostliiig each other as they 'wereia year ago. Poverty 1 Shafia] aro emptying every day, ißents^^i , going down, anu so aro tho holds. , ' ■• '■ What I 3b thjnlr is, necessary at the pr<*, sent'time is-for tho council to resuriosthe , Goodall ahoVLyoh's l Cafe leases (the .council ownß * the freeholds), and Duthie's block, -. which' would widen Willis Street up to Mercer, Street ( This would relieve the congestion of traffic, and if the council wero to only "light up Victoria" Street properly, instead df it /being a dark thorougtifare, as it is at present, tho overflow of traffic would ' naturally go that way, and thence.' into Lower Cuba Street, but, alas, the. specu--1 lators and boomsters are worrying' *' thfyr souls out to save the half-fed pedestrian from being jostled, and, at tho same the speculator is jostling the council, on- 1 deavounng to get rid of his "bargam<'' —I am, etc , -r EICHAED H. MUftRAY. - July 10.