50 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. 



that except under a despotic government, any essential 

 alteration of the original plan of a city must be regarded 

 as hopeless. 



Since the above was written, the destruction by fire of 

 the richest portion of Boston has raised the same question 

 of the possibility of re-arrangement in that city. The 

 following article from the Boston Commercial Bulletin 

 contains so much that is pertinent and interesting in con- 

 nection with the subject that I insert it entire : 



DIFFICULTIES OF REBUILDING A CITY. 



WHAT THE BOSTON MERCHANTS SAY. 



As we predicted would be the case, the efforts of our Street Com- 

 missioners to secure the desired improvement of those business thor- 

 oughfares included within the burnt district, preliminary to rebuilding 

 it, are met with strenuous opposition from a large majority of the 

 abuttors. To be sure, their objections are of a purely personal char- 

 acter, and do not pretend to be based on any grounds of public pol- 

 icy ; but, nevertheless, they are of a very serious nature, and have 

 raised the question as to how far those public exigences which demand 

 the widening and straightening of these thoroughfares will justify our 

 municipal government in running counter to the private interests 

 involved in the undertaking. This question will have to be carefully 

 considered, not only to secure the ends of justice, but also, to save the 

 city from incurring an enormous addition to its debt in the shape of 

 land damages. 



That these projected improvements will greatly depreciate the 

 value, for mercantile purposes, of hundreds of costly estates situated 

 in the very heart of the city, where building sites command almost 

 fabulous prices, there can be no question. Many of these estates, 

 with every inch of land and store room appertaining to them utilized 



