The Sun WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 1919. GREATER CHRISTCHURCH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1643, 21 May 1919, Page 6

The Sun WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 1919. GREATER CHRISTCHURCH.

Mr Walter Hill launched a very important proposal at the meeting of the Drainage Board last night, when he brought forward a scheme for the creation of a Metropolitan Board of Works to' control drainage, sewerage, tramways, light and power, public gardens, etc. For several years The Sun has been advocating a policy of reorganisation so far as local government in the city and suburbs of Chrisichurch is con-, cerned, and we are glad that the Drainage Board has taken the initiative in convening a conference of local authorities to review the position. It is important that the whole matter should be thoroughly ventilated, with a view to seeing how far it is desirable and: practicable to supersede existing authorities, and what is precisely the best way of securing improved public services and more efficient administration. It would be easy to find objections to Mr Hill's proposals, and he himself appears to anticipate strong opposition from the tramway authorities. The latter will immediately ask why their large reserves should be employed in the construction of sewers. But we hope such narrow and parochial considerations will not be raised at this stage. The various authorities, and institutiqns responsible for our local government are the growth of years, and represent various expedients adopted from time to time to meet special conditions. For instance a drainage board was created because it was necessary to deal with a district of much greater extent than that enclosed in the boundaries of the city. . When the tramway district was constituted another set of conditions had to be taken into consideration, and the problem to be dealt with to-day is whether an authority can be created which will be able to administer satisfactorily practically all the municipal services within a radius of seven or eight miles of the Post Office. It is a big order, but we are living in days when big things are done, and we woidd earnestly appeal to the proposed conference to take a broad and comprehensive view of the matter. The sole consideration should be: what is best for the community as a whole? We are inclined lo think that the key to the situation is with the City Council. There is not much in a name, and although, a "Metropolitan Board of Works" is a line mouth-filling title, we do not see that it is any better than the Christchurch City Council*' The simplest way of bringing about the desired result would be to extend the boundaries of the city till they were practically coterminous with those of the present drainage and tramway districts, and then bring in the Drainage and Tramway Boards as departments of i the city of Greater Christchurch.' There are men on both whose services are too valuable to be lost, and whose presence at the council table is highly desirable. Christchurch is growing very fast, and its needs in the matter of improved sanitation, street construction, passenger transport, and housing, must be catered for by men who are not afraid to spend money, and who arc capable of building for the future. Sums that look large to-day will be small beer to-morrow, because inside of 20 years the population will have almost doubled, and our city will extend from Sockburn to the sea with very little unoccupied land in between. We welcome an early discussion of the question in all its bearings, and trust that something Will be evolved which will lift Christchurch out of the rut it has settled into, and place it municipally in a position by itself. END OF A GREAT ADVENTURE. Harry Hawker, it seems, must be given up as lost. The intrepid Australian airman and his companion are too long overdue to leave any hope of their survival. A message this morning confirms that view. Somewhere in the Atlantic the Sopwith machine and its occupants—(wo "very gallant gentlemen," indeed—have surrendered to the ele-

ments. It is a tragic ending to a great adventure; an ending rendered more poignant by the optimistic, but' wholly misleading, reports which j we received yesterday. Hawker, we were told early, had been sighted j off the Irish coast. Then his machine had passed over Waterford. " The! Sopwith people had heard from him 150 miles out to the effect that his supply of petrol was running short. Finally, after more suspense, came the news that the airman had been picked up. To-day all these canards are contradicted. The truth of the matter is that no news of Hawker was received since he left Newfoundland. The Government's representative in the Commons, in reply to a question, said that the authorities had no information whatever regarding the airman. In view of the world-wide interest taken in the flight, the Press agent at the other end of the wires ought to be called upon to explain his hysterics and stupidity. When mere rumours are cabled out as fact it is time to remonstrate. We suffered overmuch in the same .way during the war. Hawker's fate and heroic failure will be regretted in all countries. It was vefy characteristic of the Australian that he should essay such a hazardous feat in a small two-seater machine. So long as he .avoided engine trouble and there was petrol in the tank he had little to fear. But he must have known the consequences of being compelled to descend. Once afloat on the uncertain Atlantic, the Sopwith would be the easy prey of winds and currents. Such a frail craft would not long remain perpendicular in the event of atmospheric and wave disturbance. Notwithstanding the odds . against him, Hawker started off on the uncharted and perilous air track between St. John's and Valentia. One of the conditions of the contest was that the journey .should be completed in three days. Hawker, calculating on an average speed of 100 miles per hour, hoped to reach the goal in a quarter of the maximum time. The world record for sustained flight—made by a German before the war—is 22 hours 12 minutes. Two other aviators had remained in the air for over 20 hours. In each case the accompanying circumstances were not so nerveracking as those which confronted Hawkcrl They liad a, clear rurt and land beneath them, if descent had become necessary. Hawker not only had the danger of fog to contend with, but the Atlantic wastes waiting for him,when flight was no longer possible. However, nothing daunted, he followed up bis challenge—and lost. Had Hawker not been so desperately anxious to beat the Americans, he would probably have taken the Azores route. This would have ensured him a landingstage within 900 miles of Lisbon—a substantial consideration where so much depends on mechanical equipment. The spirit . of emulation, so strong. in this recordbreaker, impelled him to attack the more direct path, with all its attendant dangers. In this gamble with death he staked his own daring and skill and the greatest of all engines against the elements. And the elements conquered, as they have conquered so often before when challenged by the dare-devils of humanity. But the Hawker "touch" will remain to spur man on to resounding deeds in the interests of science and the world. Where Hawker failed, a score will yet succeed, but their fame will be no more resplendent than his. A decade ago the flying man was the merest fledgeling. To-day he has taken unto himself the wings of the eagle. For this development we have to thank the Bleriots, the Hawkers, and all that army of birdmen who have sailed the sky at dizzy heights, in fair and foul weather, to prove that mankind may safety use the empyrean as a thoroughfare. If Harry Hawker and his observer had succeeded in crossing the Atlantic they would have achieved a stupendous performance and enduring renown. Even so, though they perished short of their objective, the attempt will rank with those feats which make luminous the pages of history.