IN THE PUBLIC MINI.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 204, 29 August 1929, Page 6

IN THE PUBLIC MINI.

CITY SPACES. ■• PRESENT ENJOYMENT AND FUTU** needs; ■•■ •*:; (To the Editor.) It is very pleasant to see hW mariv wt 5 are using Albert Park and the reserve M e bottom of Princes Street these sunny It 1B also instructive. This enjoyment.oK, sun shows how necessary open spaces 2.the centre of the city, but -onVdi.?'* whether those now provided will be suffic£ a few years hence. Yet when there opportunity of using the Civic Square are!' : public purposes it was not taken. An A,, i° r lander now living in Australia, who vfS: this city this year, was disgusted at this l! f of foresight. "Auckland,'' he said soul.' In years to come we may W-« ■' resume areas for open spaces at enormous S? It strikes me again these bright days w£v a pity it was that years ago the whole -E-α from Waterloo Quadrant to- Wellesley Strf > and Princes Street to Sympnds Street was V taken, for public use. Some .day, when tv* City Council's leases fall .in, a.g/eat oSJhr nity will be presented, but I understand tW that is a long time off. In 'the meantime ir would be good policy to save every we can, so that the beauty of the city ren be enriched and the inhabitants provided with' open-air spaces in which they may take tl sun. CIVIC PRIDK 6

THE NO-CONFIDENCE DEBATE. : ■' In your leading article on Friday last von say "the Budget has been criticised; by iU Leader of the Opposition on the ground tfat Sir Joseph Ward before the elections pledged himself not to increase taxation. This 'isVa curiously inaccurate statement." Might; t suggest that the last sentence ■ of , : the quotation is itself "curiously inaccurate" i-i have before me an election manifesto published by the United party last year in which-tie following benefits were [ promised -to electora if the United party were returned to powerCorn pletion of railways; Customs-free imported foodstuffs; lower taxation; employment iftfr all; prosperity and happiness, etc., etc. Surely then, your later statement -that "the major count in Mr. Coates' indictment is thus wholly pointless and ineffective" should read the very reverse. ..-,.. .MJI.&7

[Sir Joseph Ward said -that hispblW proposals would not increase taxation. Agfjjf, the party's promise toipwer taxation, we mity , remind our correspondent that it is'.consider* ably less than a year since the party took office, and that it found in the Treasurysui embarrassing state of affairs it did not anticipate. To expect the. fulfilment of, politidl , promises at once is not reasonable; Apafty' must be judged. by. its actions over alenetW period.—Ed.] }■; \ ,'; ; ~Ji£ : -;> '<■'■

LOCAL TRANSPORT. ,7 f • ; i As one who is interested in the transport problems-at present gripping Auckland,: the following observations may be of interest .and perhaps value. The reason for the inability/of outlying districts to secure adequate services is because the Transport Board, a transport organisation, is also the licensing authority. The position, -then, is that tfie licensing authority; receives a deputation; from residents .'in a particular district in its own area, and should this district require a bus service it promptly decides that such a service could not pay .'(as run by the board) and vetoes the application. Obviously it is unreasonable that the transport organisation should also decide who is to run, where they are to run' and where they .are not to run. I suggest, that the Ministry Jof Transport takes over the 1 control of transport throughout the Dominion and that there tie appointed a committee to control the transport in a given district to issue licenses and generally to overtake the work previously done.'by No. 1 Licensing Authority and latterly by the Transport Board. I further suggest that this committee should consist of, nominees frdrn the Transport Board, private bus and trans-; port lines and Government nominees. Further, perhaps, it would be wise to include in the duties of the board the inspection and licensing of buses at present overtaken by the Public Works Department. Does any reader think this suggestion merits consideration? '• ", : H.K.A,

reciprocity. ,;; Seeing that New Zealand is likely to have a Labour Governor-General, might I suggest that New Zealand "returns'the compliment and sends the leader of the New Zealand Labour: party, to England to fill the position of High Commissioner ? . . . ■ . : I.M.F, f>

MOUNT ROSKILL LOAN PROPOSALS. ; At a meeting of ratepayers held last / Monday evening, the chairman, of the Road Board, Mr. E. F. Jones, is reported as haying stated that if both drainage and roading loafr proposals were carried "the rates would;be affected to the extent of 9/11 in every £100 valuation, a cheap insurance from ill-healthj while good, roads would enhance the value of properties." These figures are obviously wrong,' as in the advertisement about- the proposals the proposed security in regard to the drainage is a rate of 5 5-8 d in the £ arid the roadirig proposal a rate of 1 3-16 d in the £. On these figures the western area will be affected to the extent of £2 6/9 per £100 fortlxfe. drainage alone, and £2 16/9 for the two proposals. Taking an average valuation of £200, this would mean that rates in the western area would be practically doubled. Obviously, the rate of 9/11 in every £100 mentioned by. Mr. Jones would cover the roading loan only. TWO RATEPAYERS.:

Mr. J. J. Preston writes complaining that whereas stormwater drainage work has been done in the eastern part of Mount Koskill out of revenue, to which the western part contrt buted, the western part is now. asked to carry out all the cost of draining its own area. ,

INFECTIOUS DISEASES BLOCK. I enclose an advertisement that appeared several times in the papers in April urging the claims of certain candidates on one of th? several "tickets" then issued and giving thert platform. For the Hospital Board citizens were urged to vote for "Dempsey, Gunson, Kidd, Thompson; Wallace," on the ground, inter alia, that they intended "to recommend to the Hospital Board the building of the infectious diseases ward in a sparsely-pop u " lated district, well away from the present hospital block." Dr. Gunson, certainly, has redeemed his pledge, but what of the other three elected on the same ticket? ; ; FEVERS.'

A SLIGHT MISTAKE. '■>; What a beautiful avenue of Phoenix palms! It does remind me of the Casino at Monte Carlo, and the authorities of your casino and Ellerslie gambling reserve are to be commended 91 having such avenues reminiscent of the aveiiues leading to the famous gambling reserves of the Old World. ... What! Not a casWO' What else could it be? A splendid site, aim but for a certain plainness should be an excellent casino. ... A war memorial museiiw' Well, why Phoenix palms? In keeping : -w# the architecture? Surely, it would have been more suitable to have planted the upriP , - cypress, the typical tree found all over tW south of Europe near memorials to the dea* TRAVELLER, 1045," [Other correspondence appears on page §*•]