The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 1905. THE RECREATION GROUNDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7809, 29 April 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 1905. THE RECREATION GROUNDS.

In the exhaustive but by no means •dreary" report of the Chairman of the Recreation Grounds Hoard, which was published in our issue of Friday, will be found much,that will interest the public, and a good deal that should arouse Uiclr sympathy in tho work on which the Hoard is engaged. Mr Govett makes it perfectly plain that tho views stutcd in tho document in question aro his own, and that they do not necessarily represent the feeling of the whole Board. That attitude possibly has its advantages under the circumstances, and as it is well known that the present Chairman is most enthusiastic over the welfare and improvement of our far-famed public reserve, though some of his remarks may provoko criticism, lie may well be credited with the desire to make the utmost of every opportunity foi accomplishing tho meritorious object he has in view. In the first place, however, it can hardly be expected that Mr Govett a views as to the Board's "main duty" will meet with the concurrence of the public, to whom he pleads for assistance. He states that "The Act under which the Board is constituted is 'The Taranaki Botanic Garden Act, 1876,' and, with the exception possibly of tho title of the Board, there is nothing in the Act irom one end of it to tho other which implies that the Hoard should have anything to do with tho holding of sports. The main duty of the Board is to maintain th« grounds and keep adding to their beauty, and if the Board has been ■ iruilty of any sins of omission in this respect it has been the fault of I those who have not supplied them with sufficient funds." As it may safely be assumed that the generality of the public are not acquainted with the Act, and cannot therefore judge as to the correctness or otherwise of Mr Govett's contention, wt propose to enlighten them on the sSbjcct. The short title of the Act s as quoted above, but the actual title is : "An Act to constitute a Board of Trustees and vest v in it certain Public Reserves at New Plymouth, for the purposes! of a Botanic Garden and Public Recreation Grounds." It will be at once apparent that the Recreation Grounds arc to be quite as prominent a feature in the trust as the Botanic Gardens. The preamble,' however makes this point even clearer, for after reciting- that tho lands were then vested in the Superintendent, it concludes :—'And whereas it is ex-

pedient to'vest a portion of the said . lands (referring to the unalienated lands in the town) in a 'Hoard of Trustees for the purposes of public recreation/' Here not a word is said about, a Ilotanic Garden, though this very properly forms an important feature in the trust. Again, under the vesting clauses in the Act the lands arc held by the Hoard fol Public ■Recreation in trust for a botanic garden ami recreation ground. Originally, Including parts of certain streets, there were iSac. !!l\ 6p, vesed in the seven trustees constituting the Hoard, who hold oflice until they die, resign, or become disqualified. Under clause r> of the Act the Hoard is to be a corporatu body—under the name of the "Hoard of Trustees for Public Recreation," and under other clauses the Hoard has power to make ibyp-lnwß which must be approved by the Governor and duly advertised. Irrespective, however, of any bye-laws, the Act defines certain offences and provides for penalties up to X 5. The annual statement of receipts and expenses hau to l,c furnished to the flovcrnor, who may, if he shall think" lit. order the same to be published in the Gazette- It i will be seen that the Board should consist of seven members appointed by the Governor for life, any vacancy being filled by him, but the last clause of the Act a provi-

the administration of the reserve : ( "The Governor may on the petition j of the majority ol the members lor , the time being of the Hoard, or of i two-thirds of the ratepayers of the ' Borough of New Plymouth, dissolve the said Hoard, and on such dissolu.ion the said lands vested by this \ct shall vest in the Uorough Coun■il of Xcw Plymouth, and bo manted by the Said borough as the toaid is authorised to manage the aid lands." Probably some of the at payers are aware of all those natters, but there are many who, hough much interested in the "(Jarlens," are quite in the dark as !o ,he constitution, powers and duties >f the board, hence the necessity for inuring into the matter in detail. 11l- Govctt claims that a very great mprovement has taken [)lace in the ook of the grounds. This must be idmittcd without question, and it is

to the credit of the Hoard that they have accomplished so much with the limited funds at their disposal. Wo do not think the public will agree with Sir Govett's remark that the grounds are taken too much as a matter of course, and "arc admired more by strangers than by those whose familiarity with them breeds indifference, if not contempt." A moment's consideration must hava convinced Mr Govett that this was not the fact, but the public want some special attraction to induce large numbers to flock to any particular place, no matter what naturjal beauties it may possess. The [suggestion that has been thrown out for giving the much needed colour effects to the grounds is one that should be carried out wisely and well, without loss of time. The provision of accommodation for ladies is also an excellent move, and it is by such progressive acts that the Hoard will earn the favour and support of the public, but whether the idea of calling in the school children to undertake competitive gardening is just as much open to doubt as is the contention that the children would to more benefited by such employment than if the time were spent in games. Still, the experiment might be tried. The suggestion made by the Chairman that the, citizens should bring pressure to bear on the Borough Council relative to voting a more liberal subsidy requires very cnreful consideration, inasmuch as tho present requirements of the borough are imposing a heavy burden on the ratepayers, with n certain prospect of an increase. It may be urged that such a grant as Mr Govett has in view would not bo felt when spread over the whole of the citizens, but there are other reserves, such as the Western Park, which have to be nnd it would seem prudent to defer drawing further on the borough colters until till other sources have been exploited. Mr Govett's attitude towards those interested in sports is rather severe. Xp doubt there is some ground for dissatisfaction at the haggling over terms, but possibly some of the blame is attachable to both sides. Strongly as Mr Govett reiterates that it is no part of the Hoard's work to make or improve the sports ground, he cannot shut his eyes to the fact that under tho Act the Hoard are "trustees' for purposes of public recreutiion." Moreover if a judicious policy is pursued there is more money to be got , out of that part of the reserve than

from the botunic gardens. We might point out here that as the Hoard have power to lease for at years part of the reserve not exceeding onetenth, advantage might be taken of this power, and a definite amount secure:! to the Hoard e\cy venr. 11 the other mombers of the Hoard hold similar views to thoi-c of the Chairman they should welcome such an Oiisy way out of the difllrulty. H cannot be gainsaid that it is tho sports which attract the crowd to the grounds, and the more facility's that are given for these sports to be held the larger will be the income derived. Even last year more than a third (£4O It's bVI) of the Hoard's income was obtained from that source, though we quite agree with Mr Govett that the amount should have been larger. There should be no difficulty in increasing the sub>criptions if proper steps are taken to that end. In giving up, their floral fete last year so ns not to clash with the exhibition' tho Hoard took a very proper coussc, though they suffered financially. This gives their case a greater claim on the sympathy nmd liberality of the public, and wc trust'that, for the credit of the town, tl'.e upkeep of tlm grounds will not be allowed to suffer through lack of finuncinl support.

ON THE FOUKTH IWOE, Commercial). Divine Services.