ornamental would that eminence have been to the city in its original condition than it now is!
The streets were as far as practicable laid off at right angles. Of course in some instances, from the steep and broken nature of the ground, this rule had to be departed from. The number of streets laid off was about sixty, several being over a mile long, and the length of the whole close on thirty miles, each street being a chain wide. About the centre of the town an octagonal piece was laid off as a reserve to be kept for increasing the attractions of the place, and not to be built on. Notwithstanding the precautions taken to keep this piece of land sacred for public uses, an insidious attempt was made by Land Commissioner Mantell to alienate it from its original purpose and hand it over to the Bishop of New Zealand for the exclusive use of the Anglican Church. So soon as the secretly-devised scheme was discovered, a meeting was held, and a representation made to the Governor of this flagrant attempt at a breach of faith on the part of his subordinate, and fortunately the protest was made in time, as initiatory steps had been taken to have the necessary documents prepared to validate the illegal gift. The return mail brought the satisfactory reply that all proceedings had been stopped. To show that it was not from animosity or ill-feeling the interdict was applied for, the prime movers offered to contribute liberally so as to purchase sections in an approved locality for the use of the Church. This Land Commissioner on other occasions showed by his conduct a spirit very inimical to the settlers and injurious to the settlement.
Other smaller reserves for special purposes were also set aside, but the non-building restriction was not applied to them.
Reference has been made to the Town Belt, the landward boundary of the city, and by far the most important recreation ground. To those unacquainted with the colony it will be necessary to explain that the "Belt" was a wise provision made, not only as regards Dunedin, but also in the cases of several of the towns of the colony, whereby a wide strip of land, as far as practicable circumambient, was laid off and reserved inalienably as a public park or recreation ground for the use of the inhabitants. In the case of Dunedin, as has already been shown,
