STREET NAMES.

The street index in the Canterbury Directory supplies quite sufficient reason for the action of the City Council in deciding; to change the names of thirty-two streets in Greater Christciurch. The list abounds in duplicates to ail extent that suggests poverty of imagination on the part of those who hare been responsible for street nomenclature in the past. Many of tho duplicates are to bo found in and around Christchurch, in other cases Christchurch and Timaru have each, selected th& same name for a thoroughfare, while Woolston, Riccarton, Fendalton, and Papanui have not been able, in several instances, to avoid the repetition of Christchurch etreet names. This, no doubt, confusion, and occasions no small amount of trouble to the Post Office officials, for whether from thoughtlessness or indifference numbers of people eeem to think it unnecessary, in addressing a letter, to give tne suburb or district of Christchurch in ■which the intended recipient lives. With two Gloucester streets witEin tho city oonndaries, with a Harper etieet in Christchurch, another in Riccarton, and a third in Woolston, a Bowen street in Christchurch and another in Riccarton, a Hill's road in Christchurch and another at Hiilsborougn, and so on—examples could be multiplied—it is obvious that a change In some of the city street names is desirBut the alterations require to be dene with some taste and with some respect to the circumstances which led to the names being given in tho first instance. There is, of course, no ex-

cuse for snch blundering as permitted two Gloucester streets to adorn the directory, and there is. every reason why one should be re-named Without delay, though we do not observe that th<- City Council took any action in this particular case. But we fail to see why Park Terraco should be transformed into Ito'leston Avenue* eren though it is a continuation of the thoroughfare bearing that honoured name, for Pnrk Term.co is at oneo distinctive and descriptive, and if any change had to be made the street in Papanni bearing the same name could have been re-christened. Antigua street is no .improvement upon Windmill read, which owes its name to a windmill that was a well-known landmark to the early settlers. Boundary road is another descriptive naino which should not have been abandoned without p.n effort being made to have another name chosen for the Boundary road in Bryndwr. tinwood Avenue is. admittedly a better-sounding name than Canal Reserve, and in time it may deserve its new title, but the old name perpetuated a little bit of ancient history. As far as nossible the

memories that were enshrined in our street names should be preserved. Carlton street means nothing, but Carltcu Mill road, its former name, preserved the recollection of the old mill on the Avon that gave the road ita title. We would have hero something of the sentiment that makes the preservation of old names so assured in tho Old Country. Numbers of London street names may eeem meaningless nowadays, but they are the sole remaining links between tho present and tho past, and no Londoner would listen to a suggestion that they should bo changed to something more modern and up-to-date. It would be no bad thing if our City Councillors were imbued with the same sentiment.